This is John Batchel. Conversation with my colleague and the historian and author David Petrucia.

Roosevelt sweeps the nation, FDR's 1936 landslide in the triumph of the liberal ideal.

In this excerpt, David describes the origins of Social Security. It's from a man named Townsend. Townsend plan, the idea to get the

nation spending again by giving money to elderly people for a finite period of time. Now, Roosevelt is

very upset by this, the president, very upset because he doesn't like the dole.

David describes how it is that the Townsend Plan wins through because it's so popular,

not just people who are receiving it, but in Congress, the Townsend Plan.

What becomes the Social Security in the early years,

and eventually becomes the great triumph of the New Deal, Social Security.

And all these decades later, it's said to be going bankrupt in eight years, not just bankrupt, out of money, so that the reduction has to begin immediately of Social Security payments to the elderly,

the seniors, my lot, and your lot soon enough in the nation.

The Townsend plan.

Here's David Patricia.

Well, Townsend was this old geezer doctor who writes a letter to the local paper saying we've got to have this plan which

is going to give $200 a month to everyone over 60 and they will have to do two things for it.

One, not work anywhere and two, spend it all in 30 days.

He thinks this is going to be create a velocity

of money, which sort of like priming the pump, getting the economy up and running.

He's a pretty dull fellow otherwise, but millions and millions of people join these

towns and clubs around the country, and they start

electing congressman. Now, Franklin Roosevelt, well, first off, one thing about Franklin Roosevelt is,

for all his big spending, hates the dole. He hates the idea of people just sitting around and giving a government,

...