tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post3195808723309577206..comments2024-01-17T00:45:37.075-08:00Comments on Bud Meyers: New GOP Congress Launches First StrikeBud Meyershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-18255310709945295742015-02-08T12:25:51.307-08:002015-02-08T12:25:51.307-08:00Senator Paul’s latest attack on Social Security di...Senator Paul’s latest attack on Social Security disability was only the latest salvo in a decades-long attempt by the Republicans to defund, destroy or privatize our Social Security system. But Paul’s attack on Social Security and disabled Americans wasn’t only heartless and offensive, it was also untrue. <br /><br />http://hosted2.ap.org/NHCON/c26bcf5af6bd4fda84f3e73888f72aef/Article_2015-01-14-US--GOP%202016-Paul/id-d321c3016c684f948a4eb7b79de4892a<br /><br />According to a report released in November by the Social Security Administration’s Inspector General, fraudulent Social Security Disability Insurance claims are exceedingly rare. Dean Baker wrote a great piece, and says fraud accounts for just 0.02% of all payments. He also notes:<br /><br />"It is also important to note that there are undoubtedly people who should be getting disability who have been wrongfully denied benefit. We could have workers dying of cancer or unable to work due a heart attack or stroke or other disability who an a judge somehow decided was not eligible. If we put more pressure on judges to turn down claims then there will be more people improperly denied benefits."<br /><br />http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/ap-reports-that-998-percent-of-social-security-disability-payments-were-proper<br /><br />And as Social Security Works Executive Director Alex Lawson noted recently, “America has one of the strictest disability standards in the developed world.”<br />http://www.socialsecurityworks.org/statement-sen-rand-pauls-attack-social-security-americans-disabilities/<br /><br />This wasn’t the first time Senator Paul has attacked Americans living with disabilities. In a 2010 interview, Senator Rand Paul said he supports abolishing the Americans with Disabilities Act – the landmark 1990 legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability – because it isn’t fair to business owners.<br /><br />http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/05/17/97499/rand-paul-ada/<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-61091995470007393982015-01-08T13:00:34.000-08:002015-01-08T13:00:34.000-08:00And yet more updates /////////////////////////////...And yet more updates /////////////////////////////////////<br /><br />New Congress targets Social Security disability benefits --- The 114th US Congress completed its first two days by preparing the passage of regressive, anti-social policies, including measures that would defund Social Security disability insurance benefits, increase the number of hours that classify as “full-time” employment, and make it easier to pass pro-business tax cuts.<br /><br />http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/01/08/cong-j08.html<br /><br />The Coming Congressional War Over Social Security Disability --- A technical rule change engineered by House Republicans on the first day of the new Congress may signal the beginning of a major battle over the future of the Social Security Disability program—and, more broadly, other federal programs for people with disabilities ... In recent years, more workers have gone on the rolls. In part, this is because changing demographics have made more people eligible: As the Baby Boomers age, they are more likely to become disabled ... Until now, many disability advocates are been unwilling to engage in a debate over SSDI, fearing that any effort to reform the program would only result in benefit cuts. And some conservatives are indeed only interested in cutting the program ... The time for reaching a consensus is growing short. It is a critical opportunity for all parties to find ways to fix the program, not just cut it.<br /><br />http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2015/01/07/the-coming-congressional-war-over-social-security-disability/<br /><br />The GOP's Social Security Assault Has a Human Cost --- The overall Social Security fund is well-funded for the next two decades or so (and easily remedied beyond that point), but the disability insurance trust fund needs a short-term cash infusion from the larger retirement account ... This isn't the first time Republicans in Congress have targeted the disabled -- children, the elderly, and other Social Security beneficiaries. They have insisted on cutting the Social Security Administration's already lean budget (even though it does not contribute to the overall Federal deficit) ... As a result of these budget cuts, the waiting time for a disability benefit appeal has risen to more than a year -- 396 days -- and is rising each year. For someone who's unable to work, the suffering caused by that delay is incalculable ... The Republicans insist that the disability program is riddled with fraud, despite evidence to the contrary. They claim that the program is "going broke," even though it has $2.8 trillion in its trust fund, can pay full benefits for the next two decades, and can be maintained for 75 years with relatively minor tweaks ... (The GOP's very wealthy campaign doners are pushing for this, so they won't have to pay more in taxes.)<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/the-human-cost-of-the-gop_b_6436508.html<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-88989919157406579782015-01-08T12:59:55.906-08:002015-01-08T12:59:55.906-08:00UPDATES:
Why Defending Social Security Needs to ...UPDATES: <br /><br />Why Defending Social Security Needs to Be Next on Obama’s To-Do List --- House Republicans voted to block a financial fix to Social Security's disability trust fund, which runs out of money in 2016. That would result in a 20% benefits cut ... House leaders appear to be maneuvering to push through an SSDI fix during the lame duck session following the 2016 elections. Such an 11th-hour package would likely impose cuts to the retirement program, including higher retirement ages and reduced annual cost-of-living adjustments.<br />Meanwhile, the increase in the full retirement age now under way, from 65 to 67, adds cost to SSDI, as disabled beneficiaries wait longer to shift into the retirement program. [Expanding Social Securtity] is not only doable, but it has overwhelming public support. A poll released last fall found that 72% of Americans think we should consider increasing benefits. Seventy-seven percent said they would be willing to pay higher taxes to finance expansion (a position embraced by 69% of Republicans, 76% of independents and 84% of Democrats). Congressional Republicans are way out of step with Americans on this issue, and so is the White House. The administration has been all too willing to flirt with benefit cuts as it chased one illusory “grand bargain” after another [like "chained CPI"].<br /><br />http://time.com/money/3660116/social-security-disability-obama-congress-defending/<br /><br />Social Security disability payments will be cut by a fifth if Congress doesn’t act --- Rep. Sam Johnson (Republican-Tex.) said that a reallocation [from the SS trust fund to disability] would only be a temporary solution that would avoid making real changes to "the fraud-plagued disability program." But fraud appears limited to relatively few cases in the disability program. A report by the Government Accountability Office found that about 0.4 percent of disability beneficiaries were likely receiving improper payments (because they were working before or after they began receiving checks.) Another report by Social Security's inspector general examined administrative law judges who were approving an unusually high proportion of disability applications and concluded that some of those approvals may have been mistaken. That group of beneficiaries also accounted for about 0.4 percent of all those receiving disability payments. And while it's true that more and more people are on disability, this is largely a result of the fact that the workforce is getting older and more likely to be hurt or sick.<br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/07/social-security-disability-payments-would-be-cut-by-a-fifth-without-new-action/Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-12531262132923737762015-01-07T10:38:16.011-08:002015-01-07T10:38:16.011-08:00"Research shows that when countries try to co..."Research shows that when countries try to compete with each other by lowering wages and slashing the social safety net, the costs are high — both economically and socially — and why co-operative and regulated capitalism is a far better path ... It’s time to get rid of the myth that market competition is the overwhelming source of innovation (and competitive advantage). The truth is that the government plays a huge role as the ultimate risk-taker and financier and through social co-ordination (between firms and workers, firms and banks, and firms and the state)."<br /><br />Http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/01/welcome-hunger-games-brought-mainstream-economics.htmlBud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.com