Why The 1981 Failed At Reforming Social Security Under The...

The reasons why the 1981 attempt at reforming Social Security under the Reagan administration failed, as detailed in Chapter 8 of Martha Derthick and Steven M Teles’ The Reagan Presidency: Pragmatic Conservatism and its Legacies, boils down to the following factors: it did not have a clear goal in mind about Social Security reform (Derthick, Teles 187), it had a poor working relationship with Congress on the issue (Derthick, Teles 185), and leadership, on part of the president, was lacking (Derthick, Teles 192). In contrast, the attempt at reforming welfare in the 90s, as chronicled in Chapter 4 of Gary Bryner’s The Great American Welfare Reform Debate Politics and Public Morality, was successful because the Clinton administration worked†¦show more content†¦Those who have paid into the system expect to get their money back when they retire, which makes cutting benefits politically hazardous and explains, in part, why the Reagan Administration’s attempt at reforming Social Security failed. Social Security was facing insolvency if steps were not taken to resolve the gap between benefits going out and tax receipts being collected (Derthick, Teles 183). This prompted many actors in the political sphere to take part in the reform effort. The most influential actors in this process were Office of Management and Budget director David Stockman, Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, President Reagan, Congress, and the Department of Health and Human Services. As a political actor, David Stockman was not too interested in the possible political repercussions of Social Security reform. Instead, he was mainly focused on the budget cutting aspect of reform, irrespective of Congress’ reaction. Stockman was the main proponent of the administration’s Social Security reform proposal sent to Congress that had â€Å"deep and immediate cuts in benefits for early retirees† (Derthick, Teles, 184). When Congress saw this proposal, they quickly disowned it (Derthick, Teles, 184). Speaker of the House Tip O’ Neill used this reform proposal and its ensuing rebuff from Congress to his political advantage; as a result, Democrats would forever â€Å"portray