Democratic Party

Along with the creation of the state came the idea of the state providing assistance for the poor and needy, the elderly, and those unable to help themselves. Throughout history there have been various systems that have sometimes been successful and sometimes not. Most of the time families would take care of their own disabled and needy with the state providing some general assistance to the poor. As the world evolved into Western European feudalism models, the Roman Catholic Church assumed the responsibilities for caring for the poor. Through most of the second millennium the Church ran all of the institutions and services for the indigent and poor, such as hospitals and poor houses.

The notion of state support for those unable to take care of themselves in the United States came with the colonists from England. In the Spanish and French colonies, the Roman Catholic Church played the central role, whereas in Protestant England the expulsion of the Church meant that the state had to intervene. Building upon previous efforts, the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 represented the first major English law meant to provide some relief to the impotent poor. The impotent poor were those who could not work, specifically this included those with debilitating diseases, the elderly, the blind, the crippled, and young children without guardians.

The relief extended to the impotent poor usually amounted to grants of free food (the parish loaf) and clothing. In some areas, alms houses accommodated the elderly without families able to care for them. The programs were administrated by local officials known as Overseers of the Poor. Each parish had such an overseer and the idea was that the local overseer would come to know the local poor, thereby making him qualified to differentiate between the deserving and undeserving poor and extend relief as appropriate. The idea made sense, but it also led to gross abuses as the overseer had almost total power over his charges and their ability to live.

The Poor Laws were an act of Englands Parliament and were recognized as national laws across off of England and Wales. Unfortunately, there was no national groundwork to support the local administration and distribution of assistance and resources. The wealth of each local area was the deciding factor in how much relief was available to the poor. While each area was allowed to levy a poor rate or tax for helping the poor, the Overseer of the Poor was also the tax collector. Unfortunately, with no check of authority the overseers could abuse the system with impunity. In spite of the corruption the systems continued to work but mostly because the poor and disabled could not travel to find better assistance and care in wealthier areas. This also meant, however, that there were no benefits for the able-bodied who were able to travel to more affluent areas.

This basic system remained in effect until the nineteenth century and these were the ideas that came to the English colonies in North America. The Poor Laws were brutal and corrupt by modern standards but at the time they were viewed as reasonable. The 1601 classification of impotent poor still represents many of the same conditions that qualify people to receive benefits from Social Security today.

Wendy Polisi is one of the owners of SocialSecurityInsiderSecrets.com With the help of Pete Black, who was a manager for Social Security Administration for 34 years, they provide insider information to those who want to know how to maximize their social security retirement benefit