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Constitutional Law Keyed to Stone
Califano v. Goldfarb
Facts
Under the Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits (OASDI) program, widows automatically received benefits upon the death of their husbands. Widowers, however, had to prove they had been receiving support from their wives before they could receive benefits. The stated purpose of the statute was to save the expenses associated with determining, which spouses were really dependants. The Appellant, Califano the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (Appellant), argued that the distinction was rational because of the differing welfare needs between widows and widowers. The Appellee, Goldfard (Appellee), a widower whose wife had paid taxes into the program for 25 years, was denied benefits and sued.
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