In my opinion, Michael Hitzik's recent LA Times articles have the right of it on this issue (pun intended). http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-do-republicans-misunderstand-social-security-20150107-column.html (also see the other recent articles linked there).
Anyone following this issue for the past few years realizes that there is a transparently orchestrated but well-funded effort by far right-wingers to cut Social Security and other benefits that protect the poor and middle class. It has consisted of bogus and misleading news stories, witch hunt congressional committee hearings, flawed articles by so-called academics and think-tanks, and more. Thanks Koch brothers and friends.
The unfortunate reality is that most people with disabilities are in those lower income brackets. They are unlikely to support the causes championed by the conservative ultra-rich or to vote to elect their yes men (yes they are mostly male) to political office. Therefore, the far right wingers have lined people with disabilities up in the political cross-hairs and are firing away at them.
You can see their strategy, and if they can dupe the public it might work. Cut benefits for the poor and middle class, and you reduce their influence. They don't have $5 to donate to the democratic candidate if their disability benefit just got cut 20%. Of course, they might not be able to afford their rent or other such luxuries either but the GOP don't care about that.
not ALL disability recipients are fakers...but a lot are. If you argue otherwise, you don't deal with the disability system.
Yes, most people on disability have problems, need money and are desperate. But in reality, could probably work on an assembly line or watch surveillance monitors all day (if those jobs existed).
Whenever someone complains to me about all the fakers on Social Security disability and how they know someone getting disability benefits who is not disabled i tell them that they should report the person to OIG by calling the fraud hotline. Shuts them up every time.
I get tired of non-employers (and SSA employees) who keep saying fraud is rampant and "those on disability could do something" because the "know" that's the case. Have you ever employed many people? I have attempted, on a part-time basis, employing 3 different individuals, who by education and experience could be considered capable of doing fairly routine tasks in my office and who were receiving disability benefits. I will NEVER do it again. Although I had known those individuals for a long period of time and know that their pre-disability work ethic was strong, I could not continue to keep them on. They can work ONLY IN STRONGLY ACCOMMODATED ENVIRONMENTS or in "make-work" circumstances! People whose impairments are sufficient to meet SSA dib standards have flaws which do not allow them to dependably and predictably report to work on a timely and consistent basis. No employer who is not in the business of providing welfare work can afford to keep such people in his/her employ. Several friends who are employers have done the same and suffered the same consequences. If so many of you believe such people can be employed, YOU put up the money for salaries and try to keep a business going with such employees!
If these jobs existe, the ddisabledccould do them? Both my husband and I are disabled. He was disabled in 1997 from a work injury. He had his 40th surgery yesterday. EEmployers ddon't want the disabled who have physical or mental health restriction. They are aafraid of future worker compensation claims. My employer of 10 years wanted to fire me because my doctor required I only work a 40 hour work week with some physical restrictions. My employersaid it wwould cause an undue hardship to allow me more than 2 days off a month. I had worked 60 hour weeks for years with 2 Thursdays off a month. For 10 years I worked shifts with only 8 hours in betwee. At 52, I had a kkidney removed and diagnosed with a neurological disease. Living on morphine, tramadol and gapapentin. People like you aren't doctors nor experts in finding jobs for the disabled. I earned $40,000 and now get $12,000 in disability, hardly how I want to live. With the 20% deductionin bbenefits I and my husband are facing, we will lose our home. It's the only thing we have left after working 35 years. Rent won't be much cheaper!
5 comments:
In my opinion, Michael Hitzik's recent LA Times articles have the right of it on this issue (pun intended). http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-do-republicans-misunderstand-social-security-20150107-column.html (also see the other recent articles linked there).
Anyone following this issue for the past few years realizes that there is a transparently orchestrated but well-funded effort by far right-wingers to cut Social Security and other benefits that protect the poor and middle class. It has consisted of bogus and misleading news stories, witch hunt congressional committee hearings, flawed articles by so-called academics and think-tanks, and more. Thanks Koch brothers and friends.
The unfortunate reality is that most people with disabilities are in those lower income brackets. They are unlikely to support the causes championed by the conservative ultra-rich or to vote to elect their yes men (yes they are mostly male) to political office. Therefore, the far right wingers have lined people with disabilities up in the political cross-hairs and are firing away at them.
You can see their strategy, and if they can dupe the public it might work. Cut benefits for the poor and middle class, and you reduce their influence. They don't have $5 to donate to the democratic candidate if their disability benefit just got cut 20%. Of course, they might not be able to afford their rent or other such luxuries either but the GOP don't care about that.
not ALL disability recipients are fakers...but a lot are. If you argue otherwise, you don't deal with the disability system.
Yes, most people on disability have problems, need money and are desperate. But in reality, could probably work on an assembly line or watch surveillance monitors all day (if those jobs existed).
Whenever someone complains to me about all the fakers on Social Security disability and how they know someone getting disability benefits who is not disabled i tell them that they should report the person to OIG by calling the fraud hotline. Shuts them up every time.
I get tired of non-employers (and SSA employees) who keep saying fraud is rampant and "those on disability could do something" because the "know" that's the case. Have you ever employed many people? I have attempted, on a part-time basis, employing 3 different individuals, who by education and experience could be considered capable of doing fairly routine tasks in my office and who were receiving disability benefits. I will NEVER do it again. Although I had known those individuals for a long period of time and know that their pre-disability work ethic was strong, I could not continue to keep them on. They can work ONLY IN STRONGLY ACCOMMODATED ENVIRONMENTS or in "make-work" circumstances! People whose impairments are sufficient to meet SSA dib standards have flaws which do not allow them to dependably and predictably report to work on a timely and consistent basis. No employer who is not in the business of providing welfare work can afford to keep such people in his/her employ. Several friends who are employers have done the same and suffered the same consequences. If so many of you believe such people can be employed, YOU put up the money for salaries and try to keep a business going with such employees!
If these jobs existe, the ddisabledccould do them? Both my husband and I are disabled. He was disabled in 1997 from a work injury. He had his 40th surgery yesterday. EEmployers ddon't want the disabled who have physical or mental health restriction. They are aafraid of future worker compensation claims. My employer of 10 years wanted to fire me because my doctor required I only work a 40 hour work week with some physical restrictions. My employersaid it wwould cause an undue hardship to allow me more than 2 days off a month. I had worked 60 hour weeks for years with 2 Thursdays off a month. For 10 years I worked shifts with only 8 hours in betwee. At 52, I had a kkidney removed and diagnosed with a neurological disease. Living on morphine, tramadol and gapapentin. People like you aren't doctors nor experts in finding jobs for the disabled. I earned $40,000 and now get $12,000 in disability, hardly how I want to live. With the 20% deductionin bbenefits I and my husband are facing, we will lose our home. It's the only thing we have left after working 35 years. Rent won't be much cheaper!
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