It's a tribute to the power of corporate owned media that we haven't seen a major network do a full expose on the collapse of the social security system in this country. I have claims that district offices and DDS appear to just stop working on. I send people into the local district office as a last resort and have recently had them told they can't come into the building or set an appointment to come back. ALJ favorable decisions on SSI claimants are being nullified by District offices by failure to effectively communicate with claimants post hearing and blaming the claimant resulting in denial by bureaucrat. Don't tell me that none of this is stealth policy. This is the warm up for what lies ahead. We should all be alarmed and doing everything we can to sound the alarm. I would imagine the Debt Ceiling Kabuki Theatre ahead is also playing a role in this. This is a very active attempt to kill the system against the will of the American people. The billionaires and their well payed political friends are dying to privatize this program and let the corporate looting begin.
I simply can’t get to my work since I’m helping people who come into the FO daily.
In addition, I think the rhetoric from politicians and media citing SSA will not be solvent in the future has many younger Americans apathetic to the issue.
Most people I talk to in their 30’s or younger don’t expect to get retirement benefits from SSA and therefore don’t understand the need to protect it going forward.
Thank you to the ssa employees who work daily to serve the public while being chronically understaffed and blamed by the public for not working fast enough and by managers for not being able to keep up with impossible demands. Customer service cannot improve while congress tries to bring back budget cuts and chase away the good employees!
Really curious what’s prompting people to expect improvement. Is it the inevitable budget cuts that will be forced through when the GOP holds the global economy hostage this Spring? Or maybe the fact that the only attempt by OHO’s Deputy Commissioner to salvage his staff has consisted of sending a survey to ask how morale can be improved (then unceremoniously ignoring the results without even a single word reply)?
@12:15 Thank you for your kind words. Some days are really tough. At least I understand the anger and irritation from claimants. It's the culture of fear in the offices due to management that gets me the most upset. Very little assistance from supervisors to be found, and complete degradation if we ask for help, Heaven forbid. Lip service at best, ignorance and silence/muteness most frequently. There seems to be little concern about losing veteran analysts when SSA will just approve the hire of more trainees. Everything continues to get worse. I don't see any light at the end of this tunnel.
The loss of institutional knowledge cannot be quickly replaced. Given the lack of budget funding, I expect it to get a lot worse. I was not a fan of Carolyn Colvin, but she nailed it when she told Congress that SSA was now going to do "less with less." And years later, here we are with less, and less....
This is not meant to be offensive to those still there. There are some wonderful public servants who are working untenable workloads. You are appreciated.
Is it possible that it will get a little bit better over the next few years as we are on the tail end of the Boomers filing retirement and Medicare? Those 10,000 claims a day should tail off and Gen X is dramatically smaller. Once those Boomers are on benefits, there isnt much to do with them.
Will this provide a little break for the agency to train and get up to speed for the uptick with GenZ and Millennials disability claims as they move into late 40s and 50s. GenX forward are much more comfortable doing things online and may use those services a bit more for the average in office visits like replacement cards, benefit statements and such. It wont be instantly but it should get a little better. Hope springs eternal.
It's a tribute to the power of corporate owned media that we haven't seen a major network do a full expose on the collapse of the social security system in this country. I have claims that district offices and DDS appear to just stop working on. I send people into the local district office as a last resort and have recently had them told they can't come into the building or set an appointment to come back. ALJ favorable decisions on SSI claimants are being nullified by District offices by failure to effectively communicate with claimants post hearing and blaming the claimant resulting in denial by bureaucrat. Don't tell me that none of this is stealth policy. This is the warm up for what lies ahead. We should all be alarmed and doing everything we can to sound the alarm. I would imagine the Debt Ceiling Kabuki Theatre ahead is also playing a role in this. This is a very active attempt to kill the system against the will of the American people. The billionaires and their well payed political friends are dying to privatize this program and let the corporate looting begin.
ReplyDeleteI simply can’t get to my work since I’m helping people who come into the FO daily.
DeleteIn addition, I think the rhetoric from politicians and media citing SSA will not be solvent in the future has many younger Americans apathetic to the issue.
Most people I talk to in their 30’s or younger don’t expect to get retirement benefits from SSA and therefore don’t understand the need to protect it going forward.
Thank you to the ssa employees who work daily to serve the public while being chronically understaffed and blamed by the public for not working fast enough and by managers for not being able to keep up with impossible demands. Customer service cannot improve while congress tries to bring back budget cuts and chase away the good employees!
ReplyDeleteReally curious what’s prompting people to expect improvement. Is it the inevitable budget cuts that will be forced through when the GOP holds the global economy hostage this Spring? Or maybe the fact that the only attempt by OHO’s Deputy Commissioner to salvage his staff has consisted of sending a survey to ask how morale can be improved (then unceremoniously ignoring the results without even a single word reply)?
ReplyDeleteBut they had a conference call, what more do you want??? (last part was snark, for the record...)
Delete@12:15 Thank you for your kind words. Some days are really tough. At least I understand the anger and irritation from claimants. It's the culture of fear in the offices due to management that gets me the most upset. Very little assistance from supervisors to be found, and complete degradation if we ask for help, Heaven forbid. Lip service at best, ignorance and silence/muteness most frequently. There seems to be little concern about losing veteran analysts when SSA will just approve the hire of more trainees.
ReplyDeleteEverything continues to get worse. I don't see any light at the end of this tunnel.
The loss of institutional knowledge cannot be quickly replaced. Given the lack of budget funding, I expect it to get a lot worse. I was not a fan of Carolyn Colvin, but she nailed it when she told Congress that SSA was now going to do "less with less." And years later, here we are with less, and less....
ReplyDeleteThis is not meant to be offensive to those still there. There are some wonderful public servants who are working untenable workloads. You are appreciated.
Is it possible that it will get a little bit better over the next few years as we are on the tail end of the Boomers filing retirement and Medicare? Those 10,000 claims a day should tail off and Gen X is dramatically smaller. Once those Boomers are on benefits, there isnt much to do with them.
ReplyDeleteWill this provide a little break for the agency to train and get up to speed for the uptick with GenZ and Millennials disability claims as they move into late 40s and 50s. GenX forward are much more comfortable doing things online and may use those services a bit more for the average in office visits like replacement cards, benefit statements and such. It wont be instantly but it should get a little better. Hope springs eternal.