ABSTRACT
The Carl T. Curtis hearings opened in July 1953 and covered a wide array of topics including US population trends; public assistance; OASI's coverage, benefits, eligibility, and financial position. Curtis drew attention to the reduction in the single man's retirement benefits by the 1939 amendments. Curtis pointed out the misleading nature of the official descriptions of Social Security as "insurance" and the Social Security card as an "insurance policy," noting that "a 'policy' to the minds of most people, in the generally accepted meaning of the term, means a contract that cannot be changed by either party. Curtis had in many ways succeeded in establishing the falseness of the false consciousness which had been so assiduously instilled. In 1956, Social Security was expanded yet again, to add disability insurance, which paid monthly disability benefits to workers aged fifty to sixty-four and totally or partially disabled.
