FDR’s grandson: Social Security will be "successful right through the 21st century" (24min)

This weekend marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The program remains the most successful social program of the century. Host and executive producer Amy Goodman speaks with James Roosevelt, Jr., grandson of FDR and president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan.

President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14th, 1935. Social Security was the centerpiece of his New Deal Program and included benefits for the elderly, the retired and the unemployed.

President Bush has made overhauling Social Security a centerpiece of his second-term domestic agenda. Bush has advocated privatizing portions of the program claiming it is the only way to save the system from bankruptcy. But he has encountered fierce resistance from both Democrats and Republicans and his proposal for instituting personal accounts died in the House last session.

However, earlier this week Bush met with economic advisors to strategize ways of pushing through his plan for privitization when Congress returns in the fall. But Americans remain skeptical of Bush's efforts. The latest poll conducted by the American Association of Retired People found that 86 percent of non-retired Americans think social security should continue as a government program.