Townsend plan

noun

1. a pension plan, proposed in the U.S. in 1934 but never passed by Congress, that would have awarded $200 monthly to persons over 60 who were no longer gainfully employed, provided that such allowance was spent in the U.S. within 30 days.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Townsend plan¹

After Francis E. Townsend (1867–1960), U.S. reformer, its proposer

Example Sentences

The 2-million-strong Townsend Plan — with 8,000 clubs across the country — placed intense pressure on Congress.

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The clubs declared the tests successful, and, in 1937, Washington state joined California in formally asking Congress to adopt the Townsend Plan.

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After voting down the Townsend Plan in June 1939, Congress amended the Social Security Act, making it more generous to the poorer elderly and speeding up payments for Social Security.

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That year the Townsend Plan was mentioned more than a thousand times in national newspapers.

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It’s a direct echo of the Townsend Plan, the brainchild of another political novice who also believed that the solution to economic disruption and automation almost a century ago was to guarantee an income.

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