Social Security at 75: The Legacy and Vision

This forum was sponsored by the National Academy of Social Insurance
in collaboration with the Insight Center for Community Economic Development,  Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative

Event Chair: Lisa Mensah, Executive Director, Initiative on Financial Security, The Aspen Intitute

Social Security helped pave a humane path out of the Great Depression in 1935 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s broad agenda that lifted the poor and fostered the growth of a strong middle class. In today’s Great Recession, pundits question whether we can still afford Social Security’s promise to empower the vulnerable and sustain a vibrant middle class for tomorrow’s working families. This forum explored lessons from history that shed light on the future.