Social Security: Protecting America’s Bedrock Social Program
August 14, 2025
Social Security is one of the bedrocks of the US social safety net, ensuring economic security and protection against poverty for millions of Americans. The program was created in the throes of the Great Depression, when more than 11 million people were unemployed and economic hardship was rampant.
Overview
On June 8, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke before Congress and outlined his reasoning for the national program of social insurance:
Fear and worry based on unknown danger contribute to social unrest and economic demoralization. If, as our Constitution tells us, our Federal Government was established among other things, “to promote the general welfare,” it is our plain duty to provide for that security upon which welfare depends.
On the basis of these principles, the Social Security Act was passed on August 14, 1935, was strengthened over the course of the following decades, and operates to this day as one of the most effective national measures to provide economic security and alleviate poverty.
Through a series of explainers, research reports, and policy briefs, the Roosevelt Institute offers an overview of this system of social insurance: how it works, how it’s evolved to include programs ranging from Supplemental Security Income to Medicaid, where these programs stand today, and what can be done to deliver further on the promise of a government that promotes the general welfare.
This page will be updated periodically as we continue to explore these themes in upcoming work.