From the San Francisco Chronicle:
People who have applied for Social Security Disability Insurance and been turned down twice are having to wait a record number of days to get a hearing in front of a judge and receive a decision.
The average wait time is 596 days or 19½ months, up from 545 days in September and only 353 days in 2012. The backlog of cases pending a hearing stands at about 1.1 million, up from 700,000 in 2010. ...
News reports about disability insurance fraud — such as a 2013 episode of “60 Minutes” — make it seem like benefits are easy to get. President Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, has suggested that some recipients aren’t really disabled and the government could save billions by pushing them back into the workforce.
In reality, getting disability benefits can be arduous, and only about 37 percent of former workers who apply end up getting them. ...
The percentage of people who apply for a hearing and win has fallen to 46 percent from 64 percent six years ago ...
49 comments:
How far behind is the AC this year? I'm at 15 months and running for a non-disability issue....
If you read mainstream articles about the disability program, you'll find many commentators wondering why people don't just "get retrained" or "get rehabilitated" for new jobs. Someone should do a series of articles about how the Vocational Rehab programs in the states have been eviscerated, how there is no money being put into job retraining, how there is nothing but the holey safety net. I'd agree, get the Vocational Rehab system back to where it needs to be, especially for younger individuals.
Vocational rehab is meaningless if you don't have good use of your hands. Bot everyone can be retrained. If retraining would have helped, some of us would never have applied...
Actually, we're under 1.1 million pending and have been trending ever so slightly downward this calendar year. #fakenews #sad #failingchronicle
Of course, having writers only write fully favorables 1-2 days per week probably accounts for that drop. Not sure what happens when those run out.
I'm glad Jackson, MS ODAR doesn't take that long.
Vocational Rehabilitation is unable to rehabilitate anyone, because, as has been said, they don't have funds to sustain a meaningful program. Our voc rehab gets contracts to do work at minimum wage for factories in the area. If they don't have a contract, no work. The work is usually medium to light and temporary. Some of the counseling is good, but there is no follow-up to get done what is needed.
Believe me, most of the clients I have are unemployable and/or not re-trainable whether or not the medical records substantiate it. Vocational Rehabilitation was a pretty good program 30 years ago.
The irony. It's one of those you have to laugh so you do not cry moments. The people in congress most responsible for under-funding VR services are the same ones who wonder why more people with disabilities can't work. The main source of the problem, wondering why there is a problem.
The one I am most familiar with is about 2 years, or even more before we get a decision on the hearings we send over.
There is a job out there for anyone that really wants to work. I really, honestly believe that. They may not be great jobs and they may not pay the bills but there is work for those that want it. I have seen many people (some on SSDI but working under SGA) with disabilities working. They always say the same thing, that it is not about the wage but the personal honor and socialization. They crave that more than anything else and do extraordinary things to make it happen. You can blame the system, voc rehab, the schools, the economy, the HR people, sun the moon and the stars if you want, but it boils down to those who truly want to work will find a way, those that don't wont.
9:41 am. That's the most idiotic answer I ever heard. You are saying that someone with a total disability can work at any menial job there is available? Why don't you just say there is no such thing as a disability and on top of that put them in a job that pays below living standard wages and they work in a job that is nothing compared to what they did when they did work. This answer is very demeaning to those that were disabled through no fault of their own and be guaranteed that those who were disabled would have preferred to work but not for less and certainly not in jobs unparalleled to what they had already done. This answer from 9:am is perhaps the most moronic thing I've ever read on this blog.
I went to Manpower 15 months ago, looking for some part-time work. I told them about what half of my restrictions would be... They gave me a don't call us... within an hour.
Dina,
Where in my post did I say "menial job"? Where? I also do not believe there is such a thing as disability. I work with a man that is deaf/blind. 80% hearing loss total vision loss. No post high school education. He teaches other low vision and blind individuals how to manage todays tech without vision. I work side by side with quadriplegics, paraplegics, severe autism, learning disabilities, mental and behavioral health issues. The quads start the day two hours earlier because they need assistance in getting ready and getting to work. Every day is a 12 hour work day for them, yet day in and day out they do their thing.
I am sorry that you live in a world of defeat where disability defines the person. I have watch and assisted those on disability that swore they could never work again, get back to work, in totally different fields than they worked in before.
Tim
Naturally you were denied employment, you went in with a strategy and a choice of locations that certainly doomed you to failure. The key is not to focus on what you cant do but on what you can do and what you can learn. Retool for success, not repeat courses of failures.
@9:21, 9:24, and 9:28
Your comments are all fine and good, but they lack any connection to the real world and to individuals with disabilities as a whole. As an individual with several severe health conditions, I find your remarks condescending and vastly out of touch with reality.
With one broad stroke, you paint a pretty, overly optimistic portrayal that all ANY disabled individual need do is to convince themselves and others, especially potential employers, they can do anything they set their minds to do, i.e., ONLY think and focus on the positive ALL the time. First, this simplistic reasoning applies to ALL individuals, not just those with disabilities. Second, it does NOT take into account the nature of the human condition. No one, regardless of the level of success in life, is NEVER constantly overly optimistic and positive. Humans are not wired to be this way. To the contrary, we all have different personalities, emotions, mental and physical capabilities, etc. This is before you even take into account disabilities, physical or mental.
Although a deaf and/or blind individual you work with may have overcome tremendous odds by constantly focusing only on the positive, you cannot reasonably expect others who may have similar disabilities to all do the same. Quite simply, you are not living in the real world. Each person is unique. Many lack appropriate and necessary psychological coping mechanisms; others may not possess the level of intellectual functioning, or educational background; others may have severe pain from additional disabling conditions which cause persistent depression and prevents any reasonable ability to think optimistically all the time; for others, it may be age, i e., as they age, they are less able to handle and cope with disabling conditions, unrelenting pain, depression, etc., and their bodies are also not able to function as well, even if they have the psychological energy to want to constantly think positively.
I am limited by space here, but I would be remiss if I conclude before failing to state, "I certainly hope you are not an SSA ALJ, because your thinking is vastly out of touch with the real world."
Other issues I have not even touched on are employers' unwillingness to provide reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities even when it would NOT be an Undue Burden. SSA, for example, has a terrible track record in this regard, which continues, despite being in breach, of a recent settlement of a class action disability discrimination case. When the very employer responsible for setting the example for all other employers constantly treats applicants and its own longstanding, successful employees with disabilities is such a reprehensible manner, there is a limit to which any individual with disabilities can endure. Quite frankly, your overly optimistic, simplistic analysis and view of those with disabilities has no basis in fact or reality. Heaven help us all if you are a SSA ALJ.
What I can do for 10 minutes and what I can sustain for forty hours a week are two vastly different things. I have Ankyloding Spondylitis and fibromyalgia, which causes huge amount of pain in my back, shoulders and hands. Additionaly, I have dry eye syndrome, causing frequent eye irritations, headachrd and 3-4 migraines a month. The migraines don't respond to any pain relievers and require me to sleep 12-16 hours straight. One migraine can easily cost 2 days of work. I have IBS... Other symptoms includes frequent dizziness, nausea, vomiting (caused by migraines). I need to lay day down almost daily because of my back, dizziness and headaches. I have other medical issues too. So, what job do You think I can do?
9:24 AM Based upon your "logic" any person with ALS can become Stephen Hawking. Any person who is deaf and blind can become Helen Keller. Those are the exceptions, not the rule. And their support system made it possible. Most can't get the help they would need to be productive. Just like anyone who buys a Powerball can win the jackpot. A few do. Most lose. Some companies do help their existing employees by accomodating them so they can keep their job. Most go the other way and write them up for poor productivity and force them out the door. That is the real world.
Maybe I could ask Social Security to hire me. Because they are the only ones who "think" I can sustain a job! Manpower didn't think I could sustain part-time work. Only Social Security "thinks" I have an S7? skill level. Based upon being a "shift manager" at a convenience store. I tried to explain that I was essentially a clerk. I was paid hourly with no benefits. The only thing the title really meant was that I could be at the register by myself. The clerks could not. That was the main difference.
Good answer...I say S.S. when they turn somebody down should have that one job of under water basket weaving waiting for you in HR. Otherwise it's just hot air coming out of the VE's mouth. .lol!
@10:38 If I paint with a broad brush, you are using a spray gun to make everyone incapable of work. I do live in the real world. I work with the disabled every single day for more than a decade. I have seen success again and again and again. Where you see disability we work on seeing capabilities. No, I cannot find something totally sustaining for every individual, but every single one I do get back to work the better it is!! Your glass is half empty, filled with the poison of defeat, my glass is always full, half with water, half with atmosphere.
The only point you make that has any value is about employers. We have found that employers are the ones we have to educate the most. Not those with disability. Interestingly, once they find that a disabled worker can be productive they also learn that they are loyal and appreciative team members. I find that the blind make very good phone receptionist with highly tuned listening skills.
My main concern is why are you so negative to the disabled finding work? Why would you not trumpet the triumphs of these individuals and those that assist them instead of being insulting and hateful? Why would you not ask how and where and why and more to make this more of the norm?
Now if you will excuse me, my Uber Unicorn is here and its off to Wonderland, a far better world to live in than yours!!!!
@9:36
Reasonable individuals with an ounce of common sense reading your comments are easily able to see you are living in a fictional, alternate reality you have created for yourself. You view the world, function within it, and everyone else exclusively through these fictional lens you have created for yourself.
Your work with disabled individuals is admirable, and I have no doubt you have been able to help some.
I also get the whole thing about viewing the glass as half full or half empty. As I previously stated, this is all fine and good. In fact, I spent much of my life working very hard and viewing the glass as half full. I have spent my entire legal career in disability law, so I am quite knowledgeable and experienced in this arena. In addition, I have several severe, longstanding health conditions, so I speak with vast knowledge from both sides of the coin.
It is from this point of view and advanced age on which my remarks are based. And, I am saying no matter how much you view the glass as half full; no matter your level of optimism and positive approach toward life; and no matter how determined and focused one is to overcome such tremendous odds as severe physical and/or mental disabilities, life is going to throw you many lemons, and you are not always going to be able to make lemonade each and every time it happens.
Severe, disabling health conditions are numerous, and they produce myriad symptoms. The longer an individual has such condition(s), the more the symptoms have progressed, worn the person down, eaten away their psychological energy, and destroyed their psychological coping mechanisms. There are no medications, surgical procedures, or medical miracles for many of these severe health conditions, nor are all individuals even able to tolerate certain medications and dosage levels. These disabled individuals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. As bad as it gets for some, and no matter their determination to work despite all odds, I am saying from experience there are certain malignant forces in life many of these individuals are going to face, and there comes a point and age in which the person no longer has the energy to continue the fight.
In particular, I am thinking about long term, successful career employees who develop severe disabling health condition(s), whose employers refuse to provide simple reasonable accommodations (RA's) for them to continue to work, and decide to embark on a course harassment and create intolerable work conditions in order to force that person out of their career. This has become nearly epidemic in America today, and is happening at unprecedented rates to individuals in the prime of their careers, and those with severe health conditions are always the first targeted. It is not uncommon that the targets have sought simple RA's from their employers for years, but their efforts have been if no avail. For these individuals, in particular, there comes a point at which they no longer have the energy or will to fight. Many have already been engaged in this battle for years, and the fighting has taken an additional toll on their severe health conditions. It is long past due that recalcitrant employers start being held legally accountable for these unfair labor practices. A bright spot is a new line of case precedents requiring employers to establish RA's, and in seeking the RA, the Plaintiff no longer must claim a protected status and discrimination. In other words, they can bring legal action if the denial of the RA itself without more.
Here is a thought. If Social Security is convinced that those determined to be "not disabled by our rules" truly can do something, then they should be placed into appropriate government jobs and abled-bodied people moved to positions that can't be filled by the disabled. After all, the Republicans believe there is so much fat to be trimmed. And if the disabled have bad attitudes about their new jobs, they will fit right in. I am guessing this wouldn't go over well.
Well said 12:05 PM. There were a lot of things that I could do at 40 that I really struggled to do at 44 that became extremely difficult at 45 that became virtually impossible at 46. The difference wasn't will, it was the body. Simply walking to the car became unbearable.
12:05 would likely complain if someone gave them a brick of gold because it was too heavy to carry to the car.
I applaud the one who us trying to do something positive and making a difference. I don't totally agree bit would want someone like that on my side.
@6:52
Your demeaning of the comments made by 12:05 intimating they would "complain" if a gold brick was given to them makes no sense. At no point did 12:05 "complain," or come across as "complaining" in any of their remarks. It seems more like you have an axe to grind against 12:05, or individuals with disabilities in general. Either way, your comment is offensive, rude, and reveals your utter ignorance for all to see. There really is something behind the old maxim that if you do not have anything good to say, better to not say anything at all, then let your ignorance be known to all. While I suggest you heed to this advice moving forward, the level of idiocy you have displayed intimates you simply lack the mental capacity to do so.
6:52 PM. Please, give me all the gold bricks you can come up with. I will endure the pain in the short term. It may take a week or 2 to recover, but I am willing to take the risk. I will also take diver and platinum. Even copper. Please help, because I NEED the money.
Ahhh the return of the one that got fired from SSA, talking with that one would try even Job. Let it die young patawan.
@9:51
As predicted, this commenter literally cannot help themselves from repeatedly asserting their ignorance for all to see.
Because an individual is unable to do their past work, does not mean that they cannot work. Sometimes the biggest hurdle is the individual and not the disability. It can be very hard for some people to let go of the old position, they have a lot of self worth and self identity tied up in the former occupation. It is equally hard to get those who have limited skills to be convinced they can do more and train in areas they have always thought beyond them.
Often, the GREATEST obstacle is the employers who refuse simple RA's, which clearly would not be an Undue Burden for them, requested by longstanding, successful, career employees who have developed a disability, but are otherwise quite capable of performing the essential functions of their jobs, SSA/ODAR has a longstanding track record of doing this, and the Agency's conduct has not wavered one bit since the Jantz disability discrimination class action settlement in February 2016, which the Agency aggressively litigated for more than 10 years, by the way. It would be very interesting to add up the costs of RA's, or selections/promotions to other positions, for employees who developed disabling conditions verses the cost of litigation and a hefty settlement.
Let me spell it out for all you idiots that believe, "Just try harder, you can do something!" Just walking out to my car has caused so much pain many times that I literally wished I was dead! Likewise, or even more, from migraines, due to my eyes. My shoulders ache when I try to move them, my hands hurt constantly, which intensifies with any use. So, tell me, Mr. Know It All, just what job do you think I can do and sustain?
Why would finding you a job Tim, be anyone's job but your own?
@9:24
Your remark to Tim is arrogant and cruel. Tim's reference to jobs has to do with VE's who testify at SSA disability hearings, and identify about 3 jobs in the national economy a hypothetical individual with the same limitations, (RFC), the claimant has, i e., as determined by the ALJ, is allegedly able to perform. A lot of subjectivity is involved in determining what these RFC limitations are. Moreover, the VE is being paid by the Agency, as are some of the physicians whose RFC's in the record are solely based on their interpretation of the medical evidence, or on a one time, very brief, physical examination, the quality of which is often suspect.
From comments on this blog, Tim went through a hearing with a VE, and apparently received an unfavorable decision based on a VE's testimony. It is my understanding Tim was not represented by an experienced Attorney at the hearing. So, a lot of subjectivity undoubtedly was involved in Tim's case. Tim may have also had an outlier ALJ whose approach to every case is how can I deny this claimant?
I do not know Tim apart from this blog. However, Tim comes across as credible, having read his comments over the past few years, and his primary condition if ankylosing spondylitis is also quite severe. It is an inflammatory arthritic disorder, (same category as Rheumatoid conditions), involving the entire spine, which tends to progressively worsen over time and with increasing age, and is typically associated with chronic, unrelenting pain, and a whole host of other symptoms.
From what Tim has expressed, I have no doubt his SSDI case was close, and could easily have been decided favorably. In fact, it appears Tim's ankylosing spondylitis harbors on a Listings level of severity. Although VE's review case files, this little tidbit of information was not likely picked up on by the VE, whose case file reviews are often cursory, plus they have no expertise in reading medical records or knowing the requirements of the Listings level conditions, unless they are specifically pointed out by the ALJ, or claimants counsel st the hearing,
There really is something to 11:50's remark that if you do not have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all. Your comment concerning Tim does not adhere to this old maxim and intimates you are pretentious.
No one cares who you work with. It's irrelevant to the discussion.
Sounds like draconianism
True
I lost everthing I've worked for waiting for disability including my house. I was denied workers comp.after being hurt at work, denied surgeries.get a clue republican!
@12:33
Nice soliloquy, but it did not answer the question did it? I think it points to the heart of the problem with the program. Like you, I am entitled to my opinion, you do not have to be insulting simply because we are on the opposing sides of the issues.
If you are denied benefits you can appeal. But look at his statements. Again and again we see people say on this blog that it is SSA job to find them employment if they are denied benefits. That some agency should help them, that somebody somewhere should do something.
Never do we see personal accountability. This is not just the blog but symptomatic of the entire country and the loss of a moral center and self reliance.
@12:18AM
No doubt, Personal Responsibility, Accountability, Self-Reliance, etc., are very admirable values everyone should aspire.
None of these values, however, negate the reality there are certain malignant forces in our society who simply are unwilling to either employ, or provide simple reasonable accommodations (RA's), which would not be an Undue Burden, for their own long term employees who develop a disability(s) through no fault of theirs.
When I observe these employers repeatedly engage in illegal Prohibited Personnel Practices to force out these very employees, rather than provide simple, unburden some RA's for them; spend millions in litigation and settlement costs over this very issue; but refuse to hold the Management wrongdoers Accountable/Responsible in any way; and go so far as to promote said individuals to even higher levels of Management, and further placate them by relocating an entire Hearings Office close to their home, there is something extremely wrong with this picture. SSA/ODAR happens to be just such an employer.
Please answer why is it those Management employees who have a long track record of engaging in such illegal conduct against employees who have developed a disability(s), are NOT held to the same standard of Personal Responsibility and Accountability you so freely choose to bestow on individuals who either have, or develop a disability(s) at some point during their lifetime? Thankfully, the laws, courts, and legal system are now onto this - It's called Organizational Discrimination, and the conduct SSA/ODAR has repeatedly engaged for many years serves as the perfect Poster Child of just such an Employer.
I previously addressed other issues relevant to this Values discussion, such as how difficult it truly can be for an individual with a chronic, or multiple severe, chronic health condition(s), to aspire to such Values as Self-Reliance, Personal Responsibility, Accountability because the chronicity of their severe health conditions has progressively eaten up much of the psychological energy necessary to do so, not to mention dwindling or already absent financial resources caused by their severe health conditions.
You and I may be ideologically different, but your focus about those who have severe, chronic, disabling health conditions intimates one of pompous, stereotypical, narrow mindedness, which has minimal relevance, at best, to real world circumstances,
9:18AM Are you familiar with John Mellencamp's Minutes to Memories? "Suck it up, tough it out and do the best you can." It came out in 1985, about the time I started having pain from ankylosing spondylitis. It wasn't diagnosed until 13 years later. In the mean time, I also had epilepsy. I was fired from a job for bogus reasons 10 days after having a psychomotor seizure at work. During those types of seizures, I would run as if something was chasing me. I ran outside, crossing a main road at least twice. I had only vague flashes as to what happened, like a movie where you see only a few brief seconds here and there with the rest blank. I also suffered from grand mal and petiti mal seizures, which we're much more common than the psychomotor ones. I probably have had sleep apnea since I was a kid, because I have always had the symptoms. I actually fell asleep once standing up while spraying paint for about 45 minutes at work. Wasn't diagnosed until late 2014. Fibromyalgia was diagnosed in mid 2015, but I have probably had it in various degree for 25 years or more. A study in 2016 showed that when a person with Ankylosing Spondylitis also has fibromyalgia, it magnifies the pain of the AS. Throw in all the migraines, eye irritations, headaches, dizzyness, vertigo... There are days when I think I would welcome death. I am not just saying that. It is difficult to imagine a job I could do when the very thought of performing such a job just makes you think about the pain you would have to endure. Will power only gets you so far. If you don't understand after this, you never will. Personal responsibility... preach that to those who can, but won't. I sucked it up, thoughed it out and did the best I could for 30 years. But, I reached a point where I just can't do it anymore. If you want to call that giving up, fine. If I die tomorrow, at least the pain will end.
It is amazing how far we have fallen since 1956. The above only proves it.
10:10 AM Would you care to elaborate? Your statement is vague and could mean anything.
Tim, 10:10AM appears to be referring to the 1950's, as the 'Good Old Days,' or " Make America Great Again," slogans imply all Americans lived by such admirable values as Self-Reliance, Personal Responsibility, and Accountability. In other words, all Americans adhered to the Horacio Alger MYTH, "Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps, and take care of yourselves, your own family, and do not depend on others to take care of you or your family, Most, back then, believed family and church would be sufficient to pick up any slack left a person hard and down on their luck would need. Ayn Rand novels, which many of today's Republicans and right wing nut jobs take as pure gospel, were all about living ones life by these values.
The problem 10:10AM is unwilling, and overtly refuses to concede, is this philosophy is by and large a MYTH. No doubt Self-Reliance, Personal Responsibility, and Accountability EVERYONE should adhere during their lifetime in order to aspire toward success and a stand-up human being, it is a MYTH to believe living by these values alone, no matter ones circumstances, is ALL that is necessary for every single American. Some are born into poverty, abuse, or with severe disabling physical or mental health conditions. Regrettably, some have no choice but to rely on others just to exist each and every day because of their disabling conditions. Some are born into the financially strapped working class, while others are in the middle class, and others into the privileged, wealthy class. Some will inevitably develop severe physical or mental health conditions through no fault of theirs during their lifetime.
The MYTH 10:10AM advocates is a MYTH insofar as Americans do not begin life with a level playing field. The extent to which a severely disabled individual must strive to, "Pull themselves up by their bootstraps and just deal with it," is not the same as that which a non-disabled poor, working class, middle class, or privileged wealthy class must do to achieve similar results. The same is true regardless of the different financial classes, types of disabling health conditions, or among those who develop disabling health conditions later during their lifetime.
Similarly, the MYTH 10:10AM advocates does NOT take into account there are other certain MALIGNANT FORCES in society which adamantly, intentionally, sometimes criminally, and with their own self -interest in mind, are going to attack, bring down, destroy, or refuse unburden some reasonable accommodations against anyone, including those who develop disabling conditions during their lifetime, who is trying their absolute best to live their lives by such virtues as Self-Reliance, Personal Responsibility, and Accountability, and may very well, in fact, being doing this successfully. Perhaps those doing the attacking feel threatened themselves, or simply relish and feed off their insatiable desire to destroy another.
In 10:10AM's world, the playing field is consistently viewed as level for all, regardless of circumstances; malignant forces do not exist; and it is survival for ONLY the fittest. Quite simply, this is a distorted view of the real world and life in America.
No doubt, there are always going to be a certain number of individuals who choose to be corrupt, engage in criminal acts and other conduct in order to obtain ill gotten gains, i e., malingering, fraud scams to obtain financial benefits whether they be SSA or other forms. Like it or not, there is always going to be individuals who fall into this category. This is why we have appeals processes, i e., to sort out the truthful and the credible from the malingerers and fraudsters.
1956 is when the SSDI program started, professionals and claimants know this simple fact and do not jump to conclusions with wild flair to spread hate against others.
It was far more restrictive than current standards. The fear then was that the program would mushroom and grow out of control that 1 in 5 would be on benefits.
Why must Personal Responsibility be a myth? The family should support the members. Be reliant and resilient. When Grandma Walton had a stroke they didn't leave her in a home and file Medicaid to pay for it. No. They brought her home and took care of her even though they were not the in the 1%. She snapped beans in the kitchen and was part of the family. (This is called a "metaphor" it is not a concrete example to be taken literally, but used to advance the premise)
It is the American view now that we don't have to be burdened. That we should be free to do our own thing and that somebody (ie the Government) should handle all the stuff we do not want to do because it is hard and takes personal sacrifice. The lack of nobility and civility is the a symptom of the lack of a moral core.
The real world is the world we make every day. I like my world and work hard to change it every day.
Have a nice weekend, I have better things to direct my attention to. I am sure that you will feel the need to get the last word in. That this will mean some kind of personal victory. IT isn't, I just don't want to waste any more time. You will not change my mind and yours is set as well. Have a Blessed Day!!!
9:44 AM. So, you want to live in the "good old days," when girls were girls and men were men. Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover, again. Didn't need no welfare state, Everybody pulled his weight. Gee, our old LaSalle ran great, Those were the days! Sorry, meathead. Had to do it. I am not here to discuss how I want the world to be. I just want SSA to follow the law as it is written now. I don't want an organization to award people or deny people based upon the ALJs political viewpoints. I want an honest attempt to really try to determine if a claimant is disabled, not attempts to justify an approval or a denial. That is not a river in Egypt, by the way. I an not asking SS to find me a job. However, maybe that should be a requirement for a denial. Especially at step 5. After all, SS legally is required to prove there are jobs the claimant can do at step 5. How many VEs would actually hire the people they are paid to deny? Instead of paying an "expert" to deny, maybe each hearing should have 10 HR people from local companies at the hearing. In order to deny at step 5, one of the 10 must give a job offer of full time work with benefits. That would be a real world assessment of the claimants limitations.
@9:44 is delusional and is living in, and exclusively views the world and those around him, through a fantasy, fictional view he has created for himself.
9:44, My time is also valuable, and I realize it is impossible to have an intelligent discussion with someone whose entire view of the world around him is inconsistent with reality. FYI, I am confident very few individuals know the exact year SSDI started, regardless of whether they work for SSA in any capacity.
Tim, your reference to the theme song from the TV show, "ALL IN THE FAMILY," is spot-on!
A world with hope is better than a world of hate 2:13 and I am sorry you feel that what I do every single day for individuals with disabilities is a fantasy. They sure appreciate the paychecks and personal prestige of working every day. To each their own.
12:12 PM. These people you help, how many get SSDI or SSI? If you are helping them to supplement their income... Or, do expect them all to achieve and sustain SGA? Do you berate them if they can't? I get the impression that you talk out of both sides of your mouth. You don't really tell these people that they should be able to support themselves, do you? Do you tell people in a wheel chair, stand up? You could walk, if you would only try. You don't do that, right?
Tim
I am sorry your heart is so full of hate and anger because of your denial. Lets look at your questions:
1. About 90% of the people I work with get SSDI or SSI, half of the remaining are in process and the last 5% have been denied benefits or lost benefits during a redetermination.
2. The goal is always to perform self sustaining SGA and employment with full benefits. Not everyone can achieve those goals, but then work below SGA levels to provided additional income but more importantly the social interaction employment brings. The more common it is to see a person with a disability in the workplace the more people with disabilities we will see in the workplace!
3. I take it you are trying to be sarcastic, hard to tell in this forum, but no, naturally we do not berate them if they cannot. Not all conditions lend themselves to full SGA. We work on adding skills, both job related and interpersonal, coping, emotional, etc. to achieve as much as is possible for every individual.
4. Naturally we do not tell someone in a wheelchair that they can walk. We do tell them applying to be a ballet dancer is most likely not going to turn out like they hope and to create alternative skills that are usable to the level of disability. We then work toward what they can do and not what they cant do and work on building on the skills they can perform.
The goal is always to be self sustaining. Unfortunately, due to the wide range of conditions we deal with not everyone will reach the goal, but that doesn't mean we stop striving for it! Growth, adaptation, assistive tech, are all evolving. The human being is an amazingly adaptive and creative beast and when motivated can achieve great things!!!
12:53 PM I don't think I am bitter, certainly not hateful. Frustrated? Devastated? Yes! Depressed? Yes. Often. Suicidal? Sometimes. But, too stubborn to let the bastards win! By that, I mean those who have allowed Huntington to be used to pressure more denials, and those doing the pressuring. These people had been looking for ways to go after "Those lazy fraudsters" for several years. Conn and company just gave them the opportunity they had been looking for.
I was right about you. You talk theory but don't exactly practice it. In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.
Tim,
Those with paychecks would disagree with you about theory and practice. I was right about you but the difference is I will work hard to help anyone.
Hope things turn out for you!
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