Rod Grams: “Today, I want to discuss an aspect of Social Security that often gets distorted in the reform debates going on…”

“Today, I want to discuss an aspect of Social Security that often gets distorted in the reform debates going on throughout this great nation. It is the issue of how the current Social Security system puts women and minorities at a greater financial risk and disadvantage than other retirees face today. We must address the questions of how these Americans will fare under any reform of the current system, so we can empower them with the ability to have a more secure retirement future than that which Social Security promises today. First, it is essential to understand why these Americans were put at a disadvantage in a system supposedly established to help them. To do that, we must go back to the beginnings of the Social Security program. When Social Security was first enacted in the 1930s, the discriminative elements were inherently built into the system. Professor Edward Berkowitz of George Washington University has done excellent research on this subject. According to his studies, policy makers taking part in the first Social Security advisory council freely indulged in racial and sexual stereotypes.”