With the end of the year fast approaching, many people already are making plans for the new year - and beyond. As Americans look to the future, so, too, is Social Security. Recently, the agency released its new strategic plan with the motto, "Social Security Benefits America."
This five-year plan identifies the challenges Social Security faces and the steps needed to meet those challenges head-on. This plan charts the course that will enable us to effectively manage Social Security's core workloads and work toward long-term enhancements of our service to the public.There are challenges, such as the backlog of disability claims and the increasing population of retirees due to the aging baby boomer population. To address these and other challenges, the plan concentrates on four specific goals:
Eliminate the hearings backlog and prevent its recurrence Improve the speed and quality of the disability process Improve retiree and other core services Preserve the public's trust in Social Security programs. The plan also notes the two keys to meeting our goals: Social Security's dedicated employees and advances in information technology.
Our commissioner, Michael J. Astrue, has said, "Our work force is one of our greatest strengths. The challenges we face have not shaken our resolve to provide the vital services Americans depend on. But we will need to rigorously explore and wisely employ new technology. To achieve a strong and modern infrastructure we need to invest in technology. That's all part of the plan."
Abraham Lincoln once said, "The best way to predict your future is to create it." That's exactly what we're doing with this plan - creating our future. This strategic plan charts the course we will need to take over the next five years to make our vision a reality. Working together with the president, members of the Congress and our stakeholders, we can provide world-class service for generations to come.
Jan 2, 2009
A Press Release
The article below was supposedly written by Stephen Martin, the Chillicothe, Ohio Social Security District Manager. It was published in the Chillicothe Gazette.
The comments that readers of the paper made in response to this are interesting.
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3 comments:
This is strictly party-line talking points. Why is the newspaper wasting valuable space with such drivel? The comments are certainly telling. Most folks realize that SSA mployees are doing the best they can, then there are the disgruntled few who just hate the government, want less of it, but want perfect service.
An under funded SSA is one of the consequences of the supposed Republican push for smaller government and cutting domestic budgets across the board rather than deciding which are the essential services of the government and fully funding those services. Do Americans want an efficient agency that results in timely decisions or do they want lower taxes no matter the cost to those unfortunate enough to become unable to work?
Lip service. Nobody in Baltimore really thinks any of these goals will be achieved, nor is the Commissioner yet willing to admit that massive hiring is what's needed instead of reliance on balky technology.
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