Social welfare encompasses some issues which are mainly directed towards ensuring that the less privileged members of the society are helped to overcome the challenges that they face. Although they differ across countries, they all address specific problems within the society such as inequality, unemployment and poverty among others (Warde, 2016).  The social security act in the United States is an example of a social welfare policy that was put forward to enable the states to provide for a federal system of old age benefits. It is a self-sustaining system which operates due to the introduction of the income tax. The amount of money collected from the taxes helps in operations of the social security programs. The social security act is a vital social welfare policy that has enabled the U.S. citizens to address the existing social concerns which can be understood through looking at the goals of the plan, its history, stakeholders, ideological perspectives and its critique using the critical race theory.

The first goal of the social security act was to allow for the creation of better benefits for people with disabilities. There was also the appointment of the security board to help manage welfare. The board is charged with the responsibility of identifying different arising social needs that could be included under this act (Brown, 2015). This is because society keeps changing, and thus there was the need to address social concerns that came about due to societal changes. Thirdly, the United States has once suffered economic depression which was the primary reason for the formation of the act. As a result, the policy was to prevent the nation from landing into another economic recession. Lastly, the law helps children from poor backgrounds to have a way through which their dreams can be achieved. It helps the children directly, or through assisting the less privileged families, for example, widows and this helps them take their children to school.

Prior to the establishment of the social security policy there existed other economic policies.  The economic security policies were changed due to the rapidly industrializing United States in the 19^th century. Industrialization made a majority of people to move to towns whose livelihood was threatened by sudden unemployment, leaving them with no means to support their daily lives (Brown, 2015). Moreover, with the improvements in the health conditions life expectancy improved making the number of elderly people increase. Therefore, there was a need to create a scheme that could take care of the old. Furthermore, when the great depression hit the American economy, there was no proper mechanism to cater for the elderly and the unemployed. This made president D. Roosevelt create a committee in 1934 which was mandated with the creation of an economic security bill (see fig. 1 on the appendix). After a series of debates, Congress passed the social security bill and was signed into law by the president in 1935.

One of the major stakeholders in the social security policy is the Social Security Administration. It is an independent body created by the federal government to administer programs that are part of the act. It was a way by the federal government to ensure that the social security act is successfully implemented (Brown, 2015).  It administers the social programs such as the retirement benefits which is part of the social security act. Although it is an independent urgency, it’s a way through which the federal government ensures that enough funds are collected through taxation of the employees, employers and the self-employed for the running of the program. It also plays a significant role through determining eligibility, the required premium payments and the provision of the social security number, which must be availed for one to access a number of programs under the social security act.

The other stakeholders are advocacy groups such as the old pension advocacy groups, which play significant roles in influencing the societies’ perception of the social security policies. They change individuals perception based on the shared believes, which helps the federal government to ensure the entire population is subscribed to the program (Brown, 2015). They have facilitated the smooth running of the program because they can be joined by legible members to help advocate for the social security policy. Moreover, they form the basis that informs the establishment of other social needs that the public identifies due to the nature of the changing society. The idea behind this is that societal needs keep on changing, and as such the groups help identify social problems that perhaps need to be included in the social security act. They are the reason for the different amendments that have been done to the social security act.

Conservatism holds that human beings tend to incline towards programs which are tested and verified. Therefore, social security act from a conservatism perspective justifies the inclusion of the government as part of the plan to help oversee and maintain the status quo (Warde, 2016). It provides the reasons why more individuals are willing to participate in social security (Moffitt, 2015). The policy seeks to enhance equality by providing a means through which the less fortunate persons in the society can be helped through the social security policies. Conservatism further holds that equality is necessary for the achievement of a given social order. Therefore, social security act facilitates a mutual obligation that helps bond the American society together. The inaction of social security into law was to provide a way through which the government can champion for social welfare programs. Moreover, conservatism is the reason individuals are taxed differently depending on their salaries towards the contributions of social security programs.

Liberalism holds that individual potential can be achieved provided the existing barriers in the society are addressed. Therefore, the social security act aims at reliving the potential obstacles to less privileged members of the society (Warde, 2016). It provides means that helps address issues such as the lack of a retirement scheme that could help people achieve what they want in life. Moreover, liberalism justifies the passing of the social security act by Congress as a way of achieving equality in society (Russell, 2017). The social security act prioritizes a means through which equality can be enhanced in the nation especially for the disadvantaged by providing a mechanism that allocates resources for such persons. For instance, neoliberals believe that addressing the challenges that individual members of the society face is an effective way of ensuring that equality is achieved in society.

Libertarianism justifies the role of the government in guaranteeing the fundamental individual rights such as the right to life. Therefore, social security act is a means through the government guarantees individuals fundamental right (Warde, 2016). There are different barriers to individuals’ ability to enjoy basic rights, and therefore through the social security act people able to address the different hurdles that might limit enjoying such basic rights. For instance, lack of retirement benefits might limit individuals’ access to basic rights such as shelter (Russell, 2017). The government plays a significant role in ensuring that the existence of certain social barriers does not hamper its citizen’s ability to enjoy the rights.  The implementation of the policy by the government provides a way through which the tax on citizen’s income is plowed back in helping them address social concerns that are bound to occur in the future.

The critical race theory holds that certain social constructed concepts are ways through which they advocate for the rights of the majority race which formed them. Racial inequality continues to be prominent in the different spheres within the society. The critical race theory provides an appropriate approach to understanding the existing racial disparities and provides solutions towards achieving justice (Delgado & Stefanick, 2017). It further helps to uncover ways that institutions use to enhance racial inequality. The social security act mainly provides favorable means through the employed benefit from tax contributions. Considering the fact whites are the employed majority, social security is discriminatory to individual races. The social security act includes programs such as the dependent children program which are administered at the local level (Brown, 2015). This has provided a possibility through which the people of color are discriminated when providing the services. Moreover, the welfare provided majorly benefits the employed, and therefore it hinders the unemployed majority from a given race from enjoying the benefits of the social security act.

In conclusion, social security act is a significant social welfare policy that has enabled the American society to address social problems that prevent its citizen. Since the inception of the social security act, different stakeholders such as the advocacy groups have played a significant role in ensuring that social security act is effectively implemented. The welfare has specifically helped to cater for the interest of the less fortunate in the society, through helping them achieve their personal goals, as well as mean of ensuring that they enjoy other fundamental rights. Conservatism, liberalism and libertarianism ideologies provide essential explanations that help in understanding the roles and the goals of the social security policies. A goal such as providing benefits for people with disability is a way of enhancing equality in the society by ensuring that even such less privileged groups in the society are helped to achieve their desires through the elimination of the existing barriers.

Appendix

Figure 1. Copy of the social security act

References

Brown, J. D. (2015). An American Philosophy of Social Security: Evolution and Issues. Princeton University Press.

Delgado, R., & Stefanick, J. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction. NYU Press.

Moffitt, R. A. (2015). The deserving poor, the family, and the US welfare system. Demography, 52(3), 729-749.

Russell, J. W. (2017). Double standard: social policy in Europe and the United States. Rowman & Littlefield.

Warde, B. (2016). Inequality in US social policy: An historical analysis. Routledge.