Social Security

This article will focus on social issues, public policy, and the U.S. Social Security system in particular, exploring the role of social security in four parts: an overview of the sociology of social issues and public policy; a discussion of the principles and history of the U.S. Social Security system; an analysis of the ways in which social scientists study the U.S. Social Security Insurance programs of Medicare and Medicaid; and a description of the issues associated with defining social issues. Understanding the role and purpose of social security, or social welfare, in U.S. society is vital background for all those interested in the sociology of social issues and public policy.

Keywords Federal Government; Insurance; Public Policy; Social Insurance; Social Issues; Social Policy; Social Security; Social Security Act; Social Welfare; Sociology; Welfare State

Social Issues & Public Policy > Social Security

Overview

Societies care for individuals in economic, social, and medical need in a variety of ways. For instance, social welfare systems may depend on extended family networks, reciprocal exchange relationships, or large-scale redistributive plans. Across societies, social welfare, also referred to as social security, generally follows trends in social and economic development (Erinosho, 1994). Social security, a fundamental right in many modern societies, refers to social protection programs enacted into law that provide individuals with some income protection during times of old age, disability, unemployment, poverty, or survivorship.

According to the International Social Security Association (ISSA), social security includes a wide range of benefits programs such as insurance, social assistance, and universal support. The International Social Security Association, founded in 1927, is an international organization committed to uniting national governments and social security administrators. The ISSA serves as a resource for member nations' efforts to build systems of social protection and support. By 2013, the ISSA had 338 member organizations in 159 countries ("Member Organizations," 2013). The ISSA's large-scale membership reflects the global importance of national social security systems worldwide.

This article will focus on social issues, public policy, and the U.S. Social Security system in particular. Understanding the role and purpose of social security, or social welfare, in society is vital background for all those interested in the sociology of social issues and public policy. This article explores the role of social security in four parts:

An overview of the sociology of social issues and public policy;

A discussion of the principles and history of the U.S. Social Security system;

An analysis of the ways in which social scientists study the U.S. Social Security Insurance programs of Medicare and Medicaid; and

A description of the issues associated with defining social issues.

The Sociology of Social Issues & Public Policy

The sociological study of public policy has a long history, beginning in the early twentieth century with sociologists committed to applied research and social justice. For instance, sociologists, and social scientists in general, studied early child labor policy as a means of publicizing and possibly ending abusive practices. Public policy refers to the basic policy or set of policies that serve as the foundation for public laws. Public policy is created to address a specific social issue. Social issues refer to problems identified and shared by a large portion of society. Public policy is often characterized as a social goal, enabling objective, or social solution. Public policy, requested by society and enacted by government, unites and mediates the relationship between society and government. Public policy is created within a specific historical context, socio-cultural context, and political system.

One particularly large body of public policy concerns the social and economic experience of citizens. Social policy, like all public policy, is an expression of values held by both citizens and government. Social policy is an expression of moral and economic values and viewpoints. In the United States, social policies, enacted through social welfare programs and serving as a social safety net, regulate and govern human behavior in areas such as general morality and quality of life.

Social policy is created, in part, to respond to pressing social needs such as poverty, social exclusion, unemployment, aging, children, mental illness, learning disabilities, and physical disabilities. Social policy is developed, enacted, and implemented to create self-sufficiency, equity, and social cohesion for all members of a society. Examples of significant social policy created in the United States during the twentieth century include the social security system, welfare, public housing, hunger and nutrition programs, childcare and child support, health care for people on low incomes, public education, and the social and health services of the Veterans' Administration (Spicker, 2006). All of these social policies, and social policies in general, reflect moral, political, and economic choices. Social policies tend to focus on maintenance of incomes, healthcare for sick, and basic services to those in crisis due to loss of income. In the United States, social policy is interconnected with economic policy (Amenta, et al., 2001).

Principles & History of the U.S. Social Security System

Sociologists study the U.S. Social Security program, one of the largest social safety nets worldwide, as an entrance to topics such as family-government relations, aging, health, poverty, and the family. Sociologists study different kinds of social security benefits programs, analyze social security decision and policy-making processes, and explore the political forces shaping social security programs. Sociologists have paid particularly close attention to the ways in which changes in Social Security and Welfare programs in the 1990s transformed notions of the welfare state and family-government relations. Policy makers use sociological research on social security, and to varying degrees research on public policy in general, to inform their policy-making process and decisions. Sociological study of Social Security and social welfare programs in general has contributed to the reduction of social inequality (Sigg, 1986).

In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt, under the advisement of the Committee on Economic Security (CES), signed the Social Security Act and created a system of general welfare as well as a social insurance program for retired workers 65 years and older. President Roosevelt intended Social Security to provide protection for citizens and their families in case of job loss or old age poverty. Social Security was developed to protect the working population and their families against economic instability. The Social Security Act provided provisions for unemployment insurance, old-age assistance, aid to dependent children, and grants to the states to provide for specific types of medical care. The Social Security Act was later amended to add disability coverage and medical benefits. The Social Security Act established a Social Security Board (SSB) made up of three presidentially appointed members.

The Social Security Act protected the elderly in two main ways: Title I-Grants to States for Old-Age Assistance and Title II-Federal Old-Age Benefits. Title I-Grants to States for Old-Age Assistance supported state welfare programs for the aged. Title II-Federal Old-Age Benefits was the social insurance program that grew into the modern Social Security system. The new social insurance program was revolutionary to the degree that the program sought to address the long-range problem of economic security for the aged. In the Social Security system, workers contributed to their own future economic retirement benefit through regular payments into a joint retirement fund. Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes were collected in Social Security Trust Funds. President Roosevelt believed that as the contributory system, Title II, grew, the contributory system would eventually replace the temporary relief system of Title I grants.

The Social Security Act was amended numerous times during the twentieth century. For instance, in 1936, the federal government began registering employers and workers to the contributory retirement system. The Post Office Department distributed Social Security applications en masse. Other examples of Social Security amendments include the following:

• In 1939, the Social Security Act was amended to add two new types of benefits: dependent benefits and survivor benefits. Dependent benefits refer to payments made to the minor children and spouse of a retired worker. Survivor benefits refer to payments made to the family of a worker in the case of premature death. The 1939 amendment to the Social Security Act broadened the focus of Social Security to cover families in addition to workers.
• In 1950, the Social Security Act was amended to increase beneficiary benefits and grow the program for future beneficiaries. Beneficiary benefits were increased to address the effect of rising inflation rates on fixed incomes. Cost of Living Allowances (COLA) were used to guarantee that Social Security income grew along with inflation.
• In 1954, the Social Security Act was amended to add disability insurance.
• In 1961, the Social Security Act was amended to lower the benefits age to 62.
• In 1965, the Social Security Act was amended to add the Medicare bill. The Medicare program, a form of social insurance, guaranteed health care to most Americans over the age of 65.
• In 1972, the Social Security Act was amended to make annual Social Security Cost of Living Allowances automatic. In addition, the 1972 amendment created the Social Security Insurance program with specific insurance benefits for different categories of people and need, such as elderly widowed spouses and those who suffer end-stage renal disease.
• In 1977, the Social Security Act was amended to address the funding issues of the Social Security program. Short-term and long-term Social Security funding deficits were, and still are, serious issues.
• In 1983, the Social Security Act was amended to create solutions to short-term Social Security deficits. The amendment added the taxing of Social Security payments and increase in retirement age beginning in 1990.
• In 1996, the Social Security Act was amended to add time-limits and work requirement for families covered under AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). In addition, the 1996 amendment changed the law to disqualify Social Security or Social Security Insurance applicants who were found to have a disability caused by addiction to drugs or alcohol.
• In 1999, the Social Security Act was amended to change disability policy. The 1999 amendment provides financial assistance to disability beneficiaries for retraining and vocational services.
• During the early twenty-first century, Social Security was further modified and improved. Particular attention was paid to improving online accessibility of applications, tools, and important information.

Ultimately, the Social Security and Social Security Insurance programs evolved to meet the changing needs of American society. Despite these improvements, critics of the Social Security program have predicted that the Social Security program will be bankrupt within a matter of decades. Supporters of the Social Security program acknowledge that trust fund reserves will eventually be exhausted if changes to the system are not made. Social Security, as a social safety net, is in question. American society and government debate social, economic, and political aspects of the Social Security program. Supporters and critics of the program alike continue to explore options for reform as a means of preserving and sustaining the Social Security program for future generations.

Applications

Social Security Insurance Programs

United States government insurance programs address social problems and protect people and institutions from risk. Examples of social insurance programs include Social Security, disability insurance, survivor insurance, unemployment insurance, and Medicare insurance. The federal government's main health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, were established in 1965 through an amendment to the Social Security Act. Congress enacted Medicare and Medicaid to provide access to health care for poor and elderly Americans. In 1965, the Social Security Act, originally passed in 1935, was amended to provide government-financed medical care for at-risk segments of the population. Title XIX of the Social Security Act was passed to create a Federal and State entitlement program to fund medical care for certain individuals and families with low incomes or resources. Medicaid has become the most common source of medical and health services for America's poor (Carlstrom, 1994).

Social scientists study the Social Security Insurance program to better understand social need, poverty, family-government relations, and the social safety net. In particular, social scientists are interested in exploring large-scale and small-scale social issues associated with the Medicaid and Medicare systems. For instance, social scientist David Smith (2002) studied the large-scale politics of the Medicaid and Medicare systems. Smith found that the "entitlement" basis of the Medicaid and Medicare systems inspired Republican calls for reform, decentralization, and privatization. According to Smith, society and government wars with each other over the size and scope of social safety net society requires. Smith's research illuminates the connections between social structure, policy, need, and belief.

In contrast to Smith's macro-political study of Medicare and Medicaid, JoAnn Stubbings conducted an applied, small-scale study of the factors effecting Medicare implementation. Stubbings studied the process of implementing the Medicare drug benefit in a diverse inner-city community. Researchers studied and participated in the cooperative effort to help Medicare patients living in the inner-city maintain continuous access to their pharmacy and prescription medication during the implementation of a program change in prescription benefits. Research was centered on an academic medical center in inner-city Chicago. Researchers studied the administrative and medical task force that was created to ease the transition in drug coverage from Medicaid to Medicare Part D that occurred in 2006. The task force engaged in education and outreach. The study concluded that the task force was successful in ensuring continued pharmacy and medication coverage for patients living in inner-city Chicago. The researchers documented what could become a prototype for other Medicare community task forces. The study includes suggestions for other institutions and states responsible for implementing changes in Medicare policy (Stubbings, et. al., 2007).

Stubbings' research demonstrates that governments and health agencies have different roles and responsibilities in the Medicaid and Medicare systems. The federal government is responsible for policy-making as well as ensuring standardized and uniform insurance requirements. State governments are responsible for implementation and administration of the program. Medicaid benefits, eligibility, services, and payment can and do vary by state. Individual states each have their own eligibility standards and administer their own programs. They determine the type, amount, duration, and scope of services and set the rate of payment for services.

Issues

Defining Social Problems

Social scientists recognize that public policies are shaped by a problem, and the policy is intended to address the way in which the problem is defined. Societies and governments debate which stakeholders should have the opportunity and duty of identifying and defining social problems. There are two main approaches to social issue or social problem definition and policy-making: strength-centered and problem-centered approaches. These two approaches to social problem definition and policy-making (i.e. strength-centered and problem-centered approaches) are based on different understandings of social need. The American social policy system is predominated by problem-centered and pathology-oriented policy (Haveman, 1988).

While American social policy is characterized by the problem-centered approach, strength-centered approaches to policy have an important role to play in empowering people within society and promoting social cohesion. The strength-centered approach to social policy argues that strengths and resources of people and their environments, rather than their problems and pathologies, should be the central focus of social policies and programs. The problem-centered approach to social policy argues that social problems, which represent the deficits in people and environments, can be addressed and resolved through social programs and policies. Critics of existing social policies in the United States, characterized by problem-centered approach, argue that by emphasizing individual pathologies and deficits, policies ignore structural barriers to social and economic participation (Chapin, 1995).

Ultimately, America's welfare state influences the majority of the nation's social policies. The post-1970 trajectory of the American welfare state has been characterized by efforts to combat poverty. For instance, the U.S. government announced a "war on poverty" in 1964. Poverty-related topics dominate government-sponsored research and programs. Social policy of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries has been characterized by a problem-centered approach to policy formulation. Governments have used social and economic indicators to evaluate and assess social health. The focus on problem definition and assessment has largely ignored assessment of the strengths of the people and the environment that social policy target.

Conclusion

Social security, and social policies in general, are viewed as societal responses to social issues and problems. In the final analysis, social security, also referred to as social welfare, is considered to be a fundamental responsibility of modern governments and society. The U.S. Social Security program, which began in the early twentieth century, has evolved to meet the needs of a changing society. Social scientists study the U.S. Social Security system, a large scale system of social policies intended to function as a social safety net, to better understand topics such as the family, poverty, health, the welfare state, and family-government relations.

Terms & Concepts

Federal Government: A form of government in which a group of states recognizes the sovereignty and leadership of a central authority while retaining certain powers of government.

Insurance: A contract by which one party assures compensation or indemnification to another for losses from certain specified contingencies or hazards.

Public Policy: The basic policy or set of policies that serve as the foundation for public laws.

Social Insurance: A compulsory public insurance program that protects against various economic risks or loss of income due to sickness, old age, or unemployment.

Social Issues: Problems identified and shared by a large portion of society.

Social Policy: Policy, enacted through social welfare programs and serving as a social safety net, that regulate and govern human behavior in areas such as general morality and quality of life.

Social Security: Social-protection programs enacted into law that provide individuals with some income protection during times of old age, disability, unemployment, poverty, and survivorship.

Social Security Act: The 1935 law, enacted by President Roosevelt, that created a system of general welfare as well as a social insurance program for retired workers 65 years and older.

Social Welfare: The relationship and responsibilities of governments to their members.

Sociology: The scientific study of human social behavior, human association, and the results of social activities.

Welfare State: The social programs and public institutions providing unemployment support, aging population assistance, and public assistance as well as health, housing, and educational benefits to citizens.

Bibliography

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Chapin, R. (1995). Social policy development: the strengths perspective. Social Work, 40, 506–515. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=9507183496&site=ehost-live

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Seipel, M. O. (2013). Social security: Strengthen not dismantle. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 40, 69–84. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=90154241

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Stubbings, J., Durley, S., Lin, S., Kliethermes, M., Aruru, M., Evangelista, C., et al. (2007). Implementing the Medicare drug benefit in a diverse inner-city community. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 64, 193–199. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=23700616&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Dallinger, U. (2013). Economic openness and domestic demand for social protection: A multi-level analysis of social security preferences between 1990 and 2006. Comparative Sociology, 12, 585–616. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=91252435

Gillen, M., & Heath, C. J. (2013). Women's receipt of social security retirement benefits: Expectations compared to elections. Journal of Women & Aging, 25, 321–336. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=90676110

Kennelly, B. (2005). Myths and realities about social security and privatization. Generations, 29, 97–99. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=17346489&site=ehost-live

McCarthy, A. (1999). Saving social security. Commonwealth, 126, 9. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2261352&site=ehost-live

Stone, W. (2000). Social capital and social security. Family Matters, 57. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=4438103&site=ehost-live