From a blog post by Jeff Nesbit, Social Security's Deputy Commissioner for Communications:
... The Biden-Harris Administration asked Congress for a funding anomaly of $800 million higher than our fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget, as we started FY 2023 in October without a full year budget. The additional funding would have allowed us to maintain level service by hiring employees, funding our fixed cost increases, funding information technology (IT) projects, and allocating enough overtime to handle workloads, provided there is not an unexpected and significant increase in demand for our services and programs.
Congress provided us with $400 million, which provides enough funding to cover our fixed cost increases only through December, overtime at FY 2022 levels, and continuous hiring at the start of FY 2023. However, it is not enough to cover the full year fixed cost increases or to maintain the hiring and overtime levels beyond December to improve service. On the other hand, the FY 2023 President’s budget request of $14.8 billion for SSA – a $1.4 billion increase over our FY 2022 enacted level of funding – would allow us to improve customer service and offer the service experience you deserve.
We have faced years of underfunding. We are currently operating with approximately 4,000 fewer employees since prior to the pandemic – a 7% drop, since we have not had the funds to hire the level of staff needed. We are also experiencing historically high levels of employees leaving the agency, because employees are carrying unreasonable workloads given the staffing shortage. As we lose employees, our service further deteriorates. You feel the effects of our staffing shortage. You are waiting an unacceptable average of over six months for a decision on an initial disability claim and over 30 minutes to speak to a representative on our National 800 Number. ...
In case you haven't noticed there's an ongoing, concerted effort to lobby Congress for more operating funds for the Social Security Administration. For the first time this includes explicit, public efforts by Social Security management as well as outside groups interested in Social Security. I wish I knew how all of this was organized but I'm delighted to see it. The agency's appropriation for fiscal year 2023 is likely to be decided before Christmas, probably just before Christmas.
Lump of coal
ReplyDeleteFor 2021, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid totaled 48.2 percent of the federal budget. If my math is right, I believe that is approximately 2.3 trillion dollars. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid consume 72 percent of current tax revenue. How much more do you want to spend? 7.8 percent of the 2021 budget went to interest payments. It has been predicted the by 2025 our interest payments will surpass the defense budget (which for 2021 was 15 percent) China holds more than $1 trillion of our debt. I couldn't find a current number but about 10 years ago we were paying China $73.9 million in interest per day. If these numbers don't scare you, I don't know what would.
ReplyDelete@10:04
ReplyDeleteThe article states how much more SSA wants to spend on ADMIN costs--1.4 billion. You are citing the entitlement spending for benefits, which has a completely different funding source, and is not part of the annual Congressional appropriations for federal government spending. Compared to the entitlement spending, SSA funding for operations/ADMIN is extremely low. To put this in context, SSA's entire yearly operating budget was less than the first main round of spending for the Ukraine war that Congress passed overwhelmingly. The defense budget dwarfs operating funds for SSA. This is what you should be comparing SSA operating funds to. An extra $1.4 billion to prevent further erosion of service at a critical federal agency is $$ very well spent.
Also US debt to GDP ratio is perfectly healthy. You are citing top line debt numbers that are meaningless out of context. The US also has an extreme advantage of controlling the worlds reserve currency.
@1004, you are discussing the cost of benefits paid out required by law whereas Mr. Nesbit and Mr. Hall are discussing the operating budget of the Agency (SSA). This is money used by the agency to administer the program, to pay employees and such to administer the benefits required by law and serve the public. It's really two different conversations. Sure the entitlements represent a massive percentage of the federal budget and are arguably bankrupting the country but that's a different conversation. The operating budgets of SSA/CMS are not a significant percentage of the federal budget, as seen in the post 14.8 billion proposed for SSA, nowhere near 2.3 trillion. Social Security is gonna cost a lot of money either way, its just whether you want to wait 30 minutes to talk to a call center representative or line up hours for service outside an SSA field office.
ReplyDeleteThey would scare me if they were actually accurate, but you have lumped in Obamacare and other healthcare programs in this misrepresentation. You can google better than that.
ReplyDeletePlease try again.
111000000 results 0.56 seconds
Social Security: In 2022, 21 percent of the budget, or $1.2 trillion, will be paid for Social Security, which will provide monthly retirement benefits averaging $1,538 to 49 million retired workers.Jul 28, 2022
Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go?https://www.cbpp.org › research › federal-budget
LOL @ "over 30 minutes". That's nothing. Last few times I've called I've waited HOURS and no one even answered then was disconnected.
ReplyDelete$27 bil a year in interest ($74 mil a day) is nothing for a country with yearly federal government revenues of about 5 trillion (~20% of GDP). $27 billion is half a percent of yearly revenue, lol.
ReplyDeleteI feel like so many Americans need to be shown, over and over again, a huge pie chart of overall Federal spending by major category and then maybe the pie charts from their favorite functional counties of choice for comparison.
Congress really needs to pass the $14.8 billion requested by POTUS' budget ASAP! This is not extreme but the result of more than 10-15 years of neglect by Congress. I say pass this request and immediately address the solvency issue for benefit payments (both Medicare, #1, and OASDI, #2). Get it done in 2023!!!
ReplyDeleteService at Social Security has collapsed. At least part, but not all, of the problem is a lack of staff. I have always thought that providing adequate service is not a partisan issue and that every Representative in Congress is getting regular reports of the problem from they own constituent services staff. Why they cannot act in concert to see that adequate funding is provided to provide an acceptable level of service to those constituents is wholly beyond me.
ReplyDeleteThis is all by the GOP's design. They want things to get so bad that public begs for the program to be privatized. We are well on our way there!
DeleteFor a little more context, Barron's and The Financial Times have reported that in March 2020 the Federal Reserve stepped in to save the bond market to the tune of a five trillion dollar backstop due to one highly leveraged, extremely overused arbitrage trade piled in on by our hedge fund industry that investor Paul Tudor Jones described as a "existential threat" to our bond markets. This trade is basically a skimming operation for a high volume of tiny profits and of no benefit to our economy or society in general. I am raising this issue to demonstrate the enormous wealth and financial power that can be summoned by this country to fund wars and bail out reckless Wall Street gamblers. Arguing we can't have a civilized retirement and disability system to serve our great American People is getting really stale. Frankly, it's a bunch of warmed over bull butter.
ReplyDelete