Conclusions

Debates around financial aid for aging populations in the early 1930s were highly visible in the public sphere, as seen by the presence of popular visual media such as advertisements, political cartoons, and other promotional media. These decisions around how much aid should be given and how benefits should be distributed among the aging populations spurred questions of worthiness for older generations as a whole and on an individual level. 

While the Social Security Act of 1935 and the Townsend Plan appear to reflect significantly different value judgements, the mechanics of each plan were also likely influenced by other social and political contexts. The Townsend Plan appears to assign greater worthiness to aging populations, as visible through the generous benefits awarded to any senior eligible by broader guidelines, whereas the Social Security Act was more restrictive in its eligibility requirements, and its benefits were significantly smaller than those proposed by the Townsend Plan. Additionally, the Townsend Plan outlines a system for distributing financial aid that is perhaps less discriminatory—not distinguishing benefits based on prior income or occupation—but it also did not have to face the same assessment of feasibility or scrutiny under political compromise that the Social Security Act did. It is possible that, given the same pressures to limit eligibility and funding, the Townsend Plan would have made similar value judgements.