Here is the abstract of one of Professor Burkhart's recent papers:Social Security Advisory BoardMeeting AgendaWednesday, April 13, 2011
9:45 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. (sic) The Declining Work and Welfare of People with Disabilities: What Went Wrong and a Strategy for ChangeRichard V. Burkhauser
Sarah Gibson Blanding Professor
Cornell University
1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Meeting with the National Association of Disability Examiners
Andrew Martinez, President (California)
Tom Ward, President-elect (Michigan)
Susan Smith, Immediate Past President (Ohio)
Jeff Price, Legislative Director; Past President
(North Carolina
2:14 - 3:45 p.m. Third Parties Providing Tailored Eligibility Services
Ulrich Brechbuhl, President and CEO
Suzy Perlman, SSA Liaison
Chamberlin Edmonds
Atlanta GA
In the 1990s, the United States reformed welfare programs targeted on single mothers and dramatically reduced their benefit receipt while increasing their employment and economic wellbeing. Despite increasing calls to do the same for working age people with disabilities in the U.S., disability cash transfer program rolls continue to grow as their employment rates fall and their economic well-being stagnates. In contrast to the failure to reform United States disability policy, the Netherlands, once considered to have the most out of control disability program among OECD [Organizaton for Economic Cooperation and Development] nations, initiated reforms in 2002 that have dramatically reduced their disability cash transfer rolls, while maintaining a strong but less generous social minimum safety net for all those who do not work.
Here we review disability program growth in the United States and the Netherlands, link it to changes in their disability policies and show that while difficult to achieve, fundamental disability reform is possible. We argue that shifts in SSI policies that focus on better integrating working age men and women with disabilities into the work force along the lines of those implemented for single mothers in the 1990s, together with SSDI program changes that better integrate private and public disability insurance programs along the lines and economic well-being as well as reducing SSDI/SSI program growth.
All I can say is best wishes if the United States adopts a rehabilitation fantasy that ignores the facts that manufacturing jobs have declined dramatically and that the cognitive requirements of the remaining jobs have increased significantly. I really want to see a rehabilitation program that will return to work my client who is a 52 year old, 10th grade dropout who was working as a Certified Nurse Assistant at a nursing home until the facts that she is 5'2", weighs 245 pounds and has bad knees and a bad back caught up with her.
To an attorney the conflict of interest involved in representing Social Security claimants on disability claims while seeking enormous contracts from Social Security as Chamberlin Edmonds is doing is just mind-boggling. Did they really start out as a law firm? How do you go from being a law firm to whatever they are now?
here's some jobs for your client...telemarketer & toll booth ticket taker
ReplyDeleteI also have problems with the Edmonds firm - offering to save their institutional clients money and appearing before SSA as "representatives" for individual applicants. Much worse than the long term disability insurance plan pushing their recipients to be come SSA disability applicants (and reduce the insurance co. cost).
ReplyDeleteYou have pointed out the two problem: (1) government polices leading to decreased employment in USA, and (2) especially decline in "low skilled" jobs. Just the other day there was a PBS program recommending that the USA follow the HIGH ROAD (German) model of creating jobs in high skill industry rather than the LOW ROAD of favoring saving/increasing "low skilled" jobs (which at heart was lowing US worker income the third word levels, not a good choice!). The problem with the High Road (if it is possible, and not just Wall Street paper traders) is that it allows for few jobs for the lower skill population (only so many toilet need cleaning at the high skill factories, which may be automated with few toilet uses and next year a self cleaning bathroom could be on the planning board). Where are the simple jobs - other than VE testimony?
Also, I have viewed the enlargement of SSA/SSI disability roles as in part a refection of ANTI-WORKER "free trade" policies of the US government over may decades. Even more simpler Wall-Mart. IMHO
Anonymous #2:
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with you and Mr. Hall on this matter. I look at a substantial number of my clients and think that 30 - 40 years ago (and I can remember that far back!) there were simple unskilled jobs they could do. I've even had the same thought that the increase in SSA DIB is to some extent a result of the "free trade" policies. Once again, the public sector is paying the cost of enriching the private sector.
I also don't think that everyone can be a "computer analyst" or perform some other type of high-tech job. Unfortunately, given the current state of the educational system and society in general, the theories that "more education" is the answer are just not reasonable.
I don't think we'll ever (at least in my life time) bring back or create the simple, unskilled jobs that many current SSA DIB beneficiaries/claimants could perform. Could we be witnessing the beginning of the future where technology will have created a society where work as we know it won't exist - just as some sci-fi writers have described?
I certainly don't know the answers but it is just as certainly a big problem.
result of the "free trade" policies"
ReplyDeleteNot only that but also more technology mean more stress
and ease.
well this is surely a unilaterally defeatist attitude if i ever saw it. the fact that there arent jobs your clients could perform precisely means we need to step up efforts to retrain them. of course they arent able to do many jobs in their current state; that's why they get benefits. but assuming we want to decrease disability payments (a big assumption given this audience) and get people to become more productive over time, then we need to do start somewhere.
ReplyDelete