("Pre-Social").
             No action would be taken to provide some sort of social insurance for the elderly until Franklin D. Roosevelt took the office of the President of the United States. Roosevelt announced his intention to design a program for social insurance in June of 1934. By January of 1935 Roosevelt had a plan for Social Security. His plan, similar to that being used by at least 34 different countries in Europe, was a "work-related, contributory, system in which workers would provide for there own future economic security through taxes paid while employed." ("Social")
             President Roosevelt later signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935. The Act provided, a social insurance program "designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement ("Social")." Franklin Roosevelt said, "We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age." ("Social")
             From when the first Social Security payments were made, in 1942, to now, Social Security has provided a "...minimum 'foundation of protection' for retired workers..." ("Future"). 148 million workers are protected by Social Security, with 44 million people receiving some sort of benefits today. Social Security has become an irreplaceable part of most of today's retired Americans. More then 90% of "older" (retired) Americans receive Social Security benefits each month. Consequently, only 11% of American senior citizens live in poverty. If there were no Social Security benefits guaranteed to retired workers, nearly half of retired workers would be living in poverty. Social Security has become virtually the only income received by 1/3 of all retired workers, and for 2/3 of all retired work...