Wilbur J. Cohen

Who was Wilbur J. Cohen?

Wilbur Joseph Cohen was an American social scientist and federal civil servant. He was one of the key architects in the creation and expansion of the American welfare state and was involved in the creation of both the New Deal and Great Society programs.

Wilbur Cohen was known by several nicknames. He was once dubbed "The Man Who Built Medicare" and John F. Kennedy tagged him "Mr. Social Security," although, it was Frances Perkins, the first woman Secretary of Labor who was the architect of social security. With The Social Security Act Perkins established unemployment benefits, pensions for the many uncovered elderly Americans, and welfare for the poorest Americans. The New York Times called him "one of the country's foremost technicians in public welfare." Time portrayed him as a man of "boundless energy, infectious enthusiasm, and a drive for action." He was a leading expert on Social Security and a member of Americans for Democratic Action.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1934, Cohen moved to Washington, D.C. where he was a research assistant for the committee which drafted the Social Security Act. Later, he was Director of the Bureau of Research and Statistics in charge of program development and legislative coordination with Congress for the Social Security Board, which was renamed the Social Security Administration in 1946.