People Want Smaller Government -- But Not For Themselves
From Tom Margenau's column in the Arizona Daily Star:
I sure am glad President Trump isn’t considering me to be the new head of the Social Security Administration. What a thankless job! As about 10,000 people retire every day, and as thousands more file for disability and survivor benefits, the agency’s workforce keeps dwindling. And it’s going to get worse. ...
The Trump administration has ordered the Social Security Administration (and almost all other government agencies) to downsize. At SSA, early retirement incentives have been offered to about 15,000 employees. That’s one-fourth of the agency’s total workforce of 62,000.That’s going to mean the closure of more local Social Security offices, which means fewer people available to answer the thousands of calls the agency gets every day. By far, the No. 1 complaint I hear from my readers is the overly long wait times when they call SSA’s 800 number. Well, all I can say is: Get used to it.
I’ve made this following point many times in this column. So many Americans claim they want smaller government. But if my e-mails are any indication, what they really mean is they want smaller government for everyone else — but not for themselves. ...
And if you also think that SSA, just like any other government agency , has a bloated administrative budget that could stand some trimming, well, think again. Out of every dollar collected in Social Security taxes, less than one penny goes toward running the agency that maintains earnings records for almost every American and pays monthly benefits to 1 out of every 6 Americans. ...
And if you think that these Trump cuts will merely be reversing all the growth in government that happened during the Obama years, you’re wrong. Between 2010 and 2016, SSA’s budget dropped by more than 10 percent. During that same period, its beneficiary base went up by 12 percent and its fixed costs increased by about $300 million each year....
That's the way it is for any part of govt. "It's bloated and needs cutting!" Oh, no don't cut the arts budget as I like art! Don't cut the Dept of Interior budget because I go to national parks and want them open. There is pork in the budget but I like my pork so please keep it!
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ReplyDeleteWho has said SSA is bloated? Even Trump's treasury does not suggest bloat is the reason for the proposed cuts. Trump's treasury is attempting to play the retirees and disabled against each other, arguing the trust funds are not stable due to the drain the DIB and SSI programs place on the trust funds...ignoring the fact that the SSI program is funded by the general fund placing no strain on the trust funds and the DIB program is a one-tenth the size in terms of payment of benefits in comparison to the RIB (retirement) program. If anything, the retirees are endangering the disability program. Still, both are deserving of benefits under the Social Security Act.