The convergence of social security and public assistance: An analysis of social security benefits models and the political and economic implications

Formal government intervention into the social welfare fabric of society has primarily been through two programs; social security (OASI) and public assistance (AFDC). These two programs, created in concert to meet diverse needs, had clearly different models which have shaped the societal perceptions of the programs and their recipients, as well as their funding mechanisms. Social security was designed to provide income security through work and self-reliance, without regard to need. The model was based upon the concept of individual equity through earned benefits, and its funding was based upon insurance and savings principles. Public assistance was to provide income maintenance, according to a means-tested need, without regard to labor force connection. The model was based upon the concept of social adequacy, and its funding was based upon charity through the use of general tax revenues. This research explores the changes in both programs which have produced converging instead of contrasting models.;The research first examines how each program model has evolved within the framework of traditional American cultural, political, and economic values and theory. Comparing current public assistance and OASI models, the study examines the merging trends of these models, from a funding and redistributive perspective, and the implication of this trend for continuing political support. The data from the New Beneficiary Study, conducted in 1982, were used to construct six models of the OASI program. Each model tested specific components of the OASI model to determine the original and the changing balance of individual equity versus social adequacy in the program.;The changing balance between equity and adequacy in the OASI model were compared to this balance in the AFDC program model. The study results indicate that the OASI model is becoming increasingly supportive of social adequacy goals, while the AFDC model is increasingly connected to individual equity through the emphasis on earned benefits. The implications for the political support for both programs is discussed. The study results indicate that current proposals for both the AFDC and OASI programs are of the same nature as those that have already produced a significant convergence of the models.