Social Security programs in the United States (instituted in the 1930s) have long been derided as socialism. The nickname “Socialist Security” has been used since the 1940s. California Republican Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn was criticized for his used of “Socialist Security” during his unsuccessful 1992 campaign against Barbara Boxer.
 
 
Wikipedia: Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program.
 
The original Social Security Act (1935) and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs. The larger and better known programs are:
 
. Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance
. Unemployment benefits
. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
. Health Insurance for Aged and Disabled (Medicare)
. Grants to States for Medical Assistance Programs (Medicaid)
. State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
. Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
. U.S. Social Security is a social insurance program that is funded through dedicated payroll taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Tax deposits are formally entrusted to the Federal . Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, or the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund.
 
The main part of the program is sometimes abbreviated OASDI (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) or RSDI (Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance). When initially signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as part of his New Deal, the term Social Security covered unemployment insurance as well. The term, in everyday speech, is used to refer only to the benefits for retirement, disability, survivorship, and death, which are the four main benefits provided by traditional private-sector pension plans. In 2004 the U.S. Social Security system paid out almost $500 billion in benefits.

By dollars paid, the U.S. Social Security program is the largest government program in the world and the single greatest expenditure in the federal budget, with 20.8% for social security, compared to 20.5% for discretionary defense and 20.1% for Medicare/Medicaid. Social Security is currently the largest social insurance program in the U.S., constituting 37% of government expenditure and 7% of the gross domestic product and is currently estimated to keep roughly 40% of all Americans age 65 or older out of poverty. The Social Security Administration is headquartered in Woodlawn, Maryland, just to the west of Baltimore.
   
23 March 1943, Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, pg. 6, col. 6:
Maybe She’s Right
From Nation’s Business
Not long ago a Washington business friend of ours had a girl who had title trouble. She never could get the names of government agencies straight—not that we blame her, but we can’t, either. The social security deduction from her pay check was “socialist security” to her, the first time she used it, and our friend looked up quickly to see if it was her idea of a joke. She left him to join the board of economic warfare. She called it economical warfare, and still wasn’t joking.
 
18 March 1955, Pampa (TX) Daily News, Editorial, pg. 10, col. 1:
Socialist Security
We are indebted to the Indianapolis Star for some comprehensive reaearch in the field of Socialist Security.
 
Since this is a matter to which the present administration has bowed from the waist it becomes important that American taxpayers and wage earners understand the true nature of this vast barrel of jellied pork. Therefore, we are passing along the Star’s findings for your perusal and, we hope, your protest.
 
Socialist Security (we cannot refer to it as Social Security, since in essence it is anti-social) is very popular. The great American public has been sold on the notion that it is some kind of a dependable government insurance program, pro bono nostro.
 
But this cannot be, since the government has already changed the program five times and since it has not the vaguest resemblance to insurance.
   
28 January 1957, Brownsville (TX) Herald, “And Now It’s Food Stamps On The Government Dole,” pg. 2, col. 1:
Already the government is in business to provide rocking-chair money by means of its socialist security and its old age benefits.
 
10 November 1967, Walla Walla (WA) Union-Bulletin, “There’s Rising Price For Social Security” by Jim Balch, pg. 4, col. 6:
Those congressional shapers of the federal destiny are again gracing front pages with nuggets of wisdom about how secure we are to be socially—for a price.
 
This narrow ray of opinion suggests that Social Security be renamed Socialist Security, thus, in that opinion, making at least the name honest.
   
Los Angeles (CA) Times
California Elections / U.S. Senate
Boxer Woos Democrats in Leisure World
Senate candidate promises to spearhead fight for women’s and seniors’ rights.
August 19, 1992 | LILY DIZON, TIMES STAFF WRITER
(...)
Boxer also assailed Herschensohn for his stance on what he calls “socialist security.”
   
30 October 1992, Sacramento (CA) Bee, Letter, pg. B9:
He’s (Bruce Herschensohn—ed.) the candidate who has called Social Security socialist security and a con job.
 
WILLisms.com
Social Security Reform Thursday: Week Fifty-Two—Socialist Security.
Posted by Will Franklin · 30 March 2006 09:53 PM
(...)
This week’s topic:
 
Social Security Is Socialist Security.
By now, it ought to be well-established that Social Security is on an unsustainable track. For myriad reasons, reform is absolutely crucial.
 
Creative Loafing - The Daily Loaf
Social Security turns 75, Tampa recipients celebrate
August 17, 2010 at 9:50 am by Sean Bowes
(...)
Recently, some members of the Republican Party have been pushing to privatize Social Security, with some people calling it the old nickname “Socialist Security.”