Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Mark Schlesinger

Second Advisor

Danye Keene

Abstract

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program was created to guarantee a basic level of income security for the nation's most economically vulnerable populations: low-income elderly adults, people who are blind, and individuals with disabilities. Despite this foundational mission, SSI has stagnated over the past fifty years, becoming increasingly inadequate in addressing the economic and social realities of those it was designed to support.

This thesis examines how congressional neglect, enduring stigma toward welfare recipients, and outdated policy structures have eroded SSI’s ability to fulfill its original promise. Grounded in a critical social policy framework and informed by the author's professional experience at the Social Security Administration, the analysis traces SSI’s historical development, structural shortcomings, and the administrative burdens placed on beneficiaries. Special attention is given to how income and asset limits, deeming rules, and overpayment policies reinforce poverty and exclusion, particularly for people with disabilities and older adults.

The findings demonstrate that SSI’s persistent inadequacy is not simply the result of budgetary constraints, but of political and social choices that devalue the dignity and rights of disabled and low-income communities. The thesis concludes by offering pathways for policy reform, emphasizing the urgent need for modernization, de-stigmatization, and a renewed commitment to economic security as a matter of justice, not charity.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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