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470:, which was second such publications in the U.S. In 1922, after Witte had moved on, Altmeyer was appointed to his position as Secretary of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission, a position he held, with one interim, until 1932. In this position Altmeyer oversaw Wisconsin's worker's compensation program and developed and implemented the state's unemployment insurance system which was the first of its kind in the U.S. In 1927, he went on leave to assume a temporary federal position in the Great Lakes Region with responsibility for implementing the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
450:. They and others at Wisconsin were proponents of the progressive, liberal social policy of a positive and vigorous role for government. In 1918, Altmeyer became Commons' graduate research assistant. Together they co-authored a report on "The Health Insurance Movement in the United States" for the Illinois Health Insurance Commission and the Ohio Health and Old Age Insurance Commission. Altmeyer was also working for the Wisconsin State Tax Commission and the Wisconsin Industrial Commission, while working on his M.A. which was granted in 1921, and his
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Altmeyer was the principal advocate for changes to the Social
Security Act in 1939. He advocated for broadening the program from a personal retirement program to a family social insurance program, one that protected family dependents in the cases of death or disability and to care for families with
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Through
Altmeyer's leadership of the Social Security Board and Social Security Administration, he turned it into one of the best actuarial research offices of the U.S. government. He had a profound intellectual grasp of social policy issues as well as the administrative skills to turn policy into
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Altmeyer continued to advocated for expansion of Social
Security benefits. In 1950 and 1952, he was able to persuade Congress to include workers not included under the original act. He also fought against Congress's inclination to make the Social Security Administration a place for patronage.
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Following passage of the Social
Security Act, Altmeyer was appointed to the Social Security Board created by the act. Altmeyer, because of his background, education, and ability soon became the unacknowledged leader of the board. This was confirmed in 1937, when Roosevelt appointed Altmeyer as
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Outside of Social
Security, he was involved in implementation of a federal and state civil service merit system and for a policy making federal grants proportional to per capita state income. During World War Two, Altmeyer was the secretary of the War Manpower Commission. Following the war he
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I believe that we should be thinking in terms of developing for this country a unified comprehensive system of contributory social insurance which would cover all of the major economic hazards to which the workers of this country are subjected, namely, old age, disability, death, and
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served as secretary to the
International Refugee Organization. As the leading authority on the U.S. social security system, he was also consulted by Latin American nations during the 1940s and 1950s when those nations began developing social security programs of their own.
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social security. After public outcry because
Altmeyer's job was eliminated a few days before he could retire with benefits, Eisenhower's administration offered him a one-month appointment to a position, but he refused to accept being paid for a non-job.
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553:
Even while emphasizing the efficient and non-partisan administration of the Social
Security Administration, Altmeyer continued to speak out for policies that he believed in. This sentence from a speech in 1943 summarizes his view:
418:, on May 8, 1891, and developed an early interest in social security while working as an office boy in his uncle's law office. For a while he was a public school teacher and school principal and also attended the
446:. Altmeyer became interested in social and labor policies when he learned about Commons' role as the principal author of Wisconsin's workmen's compensation program, which was then the only one in the
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would help people get benefits they were entitled to. His critics found a law from 1835 saying that no officer of the
Federal Government "shall encourage a claim against the federal government".
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These struggles against
Congress ultimately led to his termination as Social Security Commissioner in 1953 when his re-appointment was not confirmed by a new Republican-controlled Congress.
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Following revisions to the act in 1946 creating the Social Security Administration, Altmeyer was appointed Commissioner for Social Security. Altmeyer was criticized for his policy that the
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Altmeyer died in Madison on October 16, 1972. After his death, the Social Security Administration renamed the Administration Building at its Baltimore, MD, headquarters in his honor.
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of the Economics Department at the University of Wisconsin and an expert in labor legislation. In 1935, he became a member of the executive committee of the
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Altmeyer (1968), ix; and David Brian Robertson, "Policy Entrepreneurs and Policy Divergence: John R. Commons and William Beveridge,"
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Altmeyer (1968), ix; and David Brian Robertson, "Policy Entrepreneurs and Policy Divergence: John R. Commons and William Beveridge,"
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of 1935. Perkins chaired the committee, and Altmeyer served as technical director. Other figures on the board included Hopkins,
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DeWitt, Larry. "Never A Finished Thing: A Brief Biography of Arthur Joseph Altmeyer—The Man FDR Called 'Mr. Social Security'."
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Altmeyer became Chief Statistician of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission in 1920 working under
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in 1914. In 1918, he re-entered the University as a graduate student, where he studied with
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as an aide, and Frank Bane as first executive director of the Social Security Board.
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Altmeyer (center) presiding over an early meeting of the Social Security Board, 1937
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social security was abolished, in favor of a new office, the commissioner
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to consult on relations with state labor departments. He advised the
398:(May 8, 1891 – October 16, 1972) was the United States
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posts, advising other countries on social security and labor issues.
683:," Appendix A in The Ohio Health and Old Age Insurance Commission,
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Altmeyer (1968), p. viii; John R. Commons and Arthur J. Altmeyer, "
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In June, 1934, Altmeyer, acting upon instructions from President
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In Spring, 1933, he was invited to Washington by Labor Secretary
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Altmeyer, Arthur J. "The Wisconsin Idea and Social Security."
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Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
846:(Washington, DC: Social Security Administration, 1997).
687:(Columbus: by the Commission, February 1919), 287-311.
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as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
667:(Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1966), vii.
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466:. Altmeyer founded a monthly publication, the
173:September 30, 1936 – November 16, 1936
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844:Social Security Pioneers: Arthur J. Altmeyer
634:This article incorporates material from the
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808:Helen R. Wright, "Mr. Altmeyer Resigns,"
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123:February 19, 1937 – July 16, 1946
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454:in economics, which was granted in 1931.
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479:Federal Emergency Relief Administration
402:from 1946 to 1953, and chairman of the
61:July 16, 1946 – April 10, 1953
1313:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
827:The Formative Years of Social Security
665:The Formative Years of Social Security
613:Altmeyer later served in a variety of
542:chairman of the board. Altmeyer hired
939:as Chair of the Social Security Board
829:(University of Wisconsin Press, 1966)
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759:"Social Security Originator is Dead"
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713:62, no. 3 (September 1988), p. 7.
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700:62, no. 3 (September 1988), 513.
564:Commissioner for social security
487:National Recovery Administration
400:Commissioner for Social Security
371:University of Wisconsin, Madison
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812:27, no. 2 (June 1953), 217-218.
642:", which is licensed under the
434:who was actively interested in
420:University of Wisconsin-Madison
218:Wisconsin Industrial Commission
1303:People from De Pere, Wisconsin
948:Social Security Administration
570:Social Security Administration
44:Social Security Administration
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834:Wisconsin Magazine of History
765:. October 18, 1972. p. 6
601:, the office of commissioner
536:National Youth Administration
747:Wisconsin Historical Society
724:Encyclopedia of Social Work
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87:himself (as SSB chair)
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910:Social Security Board
886:Social Security Board
864:at Wikimedia Commons
763:The La Crosse Tribune
436:workers' compensation
414:Altmeyer was born in
186:Franklin D. Roosevelt
132:Franklin D. Roosevelt
111:Social Security Board
946:Commissioner of the
825:Altmeyer, Arthur J.
663:Arthur J. Altmeyer,
595:Dwight D. Eisenhower
550:dependent children.
514:Henry Morgenthau Jr.
422:, graduating with a
343:Forest Hill Cemetery
76:Dwight D. Eisenhower
42:Commissioner of the
507:Social Security Act
1260:
870:Political offices
862:Arthur J. Altmeyer
646:but not under the
640:Arthur J. Altmeyer
416:De Pere, Wisconsin
251:Philip La Follette
161:(SSA Commissioner)
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636:Citizendium
624:operation.
298:May 8, 1891
258:Preceded by
210:John Winant
198:John Winant
193:Preceded by
148:John Winant
143:Preceded by
83:Preceded by
1272:Categories
1042:Schottland
952:1946–1953
914:1937–1946
628:References
589:Later life
353:Democratic
294:1891-05-08
274:Helen Gill
1222:Berryhill
1184:Massanari
638:article "
599:president
410:Education
367:Education
329:Wisconsin
305:Wisconsin
230:1922–1933
226:In office
182:President
169:In office
128:President
119:In office
68:President
53:In office
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1020:Altmeyer
481:and the
235:Governor
159:Himself
104:(acting)
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1116:McSteen
1071:Wortman
934:Himself
919:Himself
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301:De Pere
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1207:Astrue
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1079:Ross
1056:Hess
1049:Ball
771:2014
648:GFDL
442:and
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333:U.S.
315:Died
309:U.S.
288:Born
603:for
452:PhD
383:PhD
1274::
761:.
672:^
607:of
538:.
516:,
438:,
381:,
379:MA
377:,
375:BA
331:,
327:,
307:,
303:,
993:e
986:t
979:v
798:.
777:.
650:.
385:)
373:(
296:)
292:(
51:'
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