Debates Over Feasibility and Stress on Intergenerational Relations
As a motif repeated in many political cartoons critical of both the Townsend Plan and the Social Security Act, fiscal feasibility was a significant concern for many, especially for younger generations. There were many large-scale fears around government debt and failure to balance the federal budget, as well as on a smaller scale, where the financial burden placed on members of the working population was worrisome. While the Social Security Act and the Townsend Plan had different methods to finance benefits for aging populations, both involved a tax that drew funds primarily from workers (Haber, 1938).
While the Social Security Act was created to be fiscally reasonable, it was, and still is, critiqued for putting an unreasonable amount of pressure on the working class and not providing enough support for elderly populations. This perceived dependence of the elderly on worker contributions appears frequently in political cartoons as well. The Social Security Act struggles to satisfy both younger and older generations because, at the same time, the burden on workers is too high and benefits are not enough. This concern around financial stress on the working class is only growing today as the Baby Boomer generation comes of age to receive social security benefits, which must be paid for by today’s workers.
The Townsend Plan was more of a radical departure from past options for old age benefits, but it was often seen as overly idealistic and not economically possible. While in theory, the Townsend Plan satisfied both the younger generation with low taxes and older generation with generous benefits, further economic analysis indicates that such a proposition may not have been possible (Dewitt, 2001). Additionally, the Townsend Plan would have been financed by a transaction tax, which distributed the burden among a broader population base. Thus, the “worth” assigned to both the working and aging populations in the Townsend Plan is not often criticized, but the plan’s feasibility is commented on frequently as a theme in political cartoons.