You’ve probably heard that the President has fired the Director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after receiving a disappointing report from BLS on job growth in the U.S. He claimed that the Director had “rigged” the report to hurt him. There is now clear reason to fear that future job growth reports will be manipulated or outright falsified to please the President. Job growth is certainly important to Social Security. The more jobs, the more FICA money coming in to the Trust Funds. However, statistical reports on job growth themselves aren’t important to recipients of Social Security benefits. However, other statistics generated by BLS are — the cost of living numbers. The President has claimed that the Trump tariffs won’t increase inflation. Will BLS now be willing to issue reports showing a significant increase in the cost of living? The President would probably be more upset at significant increases in the cost of living than with disappointing job growth numbers. Will he insist that the books be cooked to show low inflation even if that’s not what’s happening? If he does, Social Security’s Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) will cheat Social Security recipients. That wouldn’t be popular. So, what’s happened at BLS is pretty important to Social Security. Keep an eye on it.
As an attorney representing claimants, I will begin challenging the BLS data relied upon by vocational experts in every single case. The chief executive of the nation has declared the data invalid. Therefore, vocational experts are forbidden from relying on it.
ReplyDeleteAs an OHO employee, this was my first thought.
DeleteThis certainly sounds like a legitimate argument to me. But I’m not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. Can you please expand on the subject a little, how it would work, etc.? It could really make a mess of things…sorry, more of a mess.
DeleteWell, they flat out told managers to erase records of people coming in to the field office to make the FO numbers look better, so....yeah
ReplyDeleteA solid replacement to lead the BLS is Count von Count the
ReplyDeleteMuppet character. Wait… he got DOGED under this administration.
Blatant manipulation of the facts, punishing anyone who doesn’t support the state narrative, and scapegoating an entire race of people is straight out of the authoritarian playbook. Congratulations everyone, Hitler’s back! We did it America!
ReplyDeleteJust wait till folks get no COLA next year because the fake BLS data shows 0 inflation...
ReplyDeleteUgh... and as a claimant, I'm already broke 4 days into the month. No COLA (tho usually small anyway) would be just another punch in the gut. ☹️
Deleteor they admit to lots of inflation [caused by tariffs but they won't say so], a big COLA results, and lots of old people think wow Trump is so much better than Biden! Even though it's only going up because things are getting more expensive.
DeleteAnother 🌮 and it’s not Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThe federal government will stop issuing paper checks for Social Security and other federal benefit payments beginning September 30, as part of a nationwide move to modernize payment systems, reduce fraud, and cut costs.
The shift means more than half a million Social Security recipients—less than 1% of all beneficiaries—must choose a new method to receive their payments. Those affected will need to enroll in direct deposit to a bank account or opt for a prepaid debit card known as Direct Express..
Frankie runs to Fox Business to present his own RIGGED numbers. I see a pattern In this administration.
ReplyDeleteThe Trump administration's Social Security commissioner on Monday hit back at criticisms of "mismanagement" leveled by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., against the agency's changes to its customer service practices.
Frank Bisignano, commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), responded to Warren's criticisms in a letter exclusively reviewed by FOX Business ahead of its release. He defended the administration's changes and wrote that the SSA is "experiencing a customer service turnaround after four years of long wait times and record backlogs under the Biden administration."
"While I welcome your recent interest in customer service at SSA and the myriad of correspondences you sent my predecessor and me since President Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025, I'm struck by how little you corresponded with the agency to express concern about deteriorating customer service during the previous administration," Bisignano wrote to Warren.
With a new administration in office and across-the-board improvement in the performance data due to strong leadership, world-class management, and a new approach, which leverages technology, you now declare there is a customer service crisis at SSA. You further question the long-standing methodology behind the performance data, which is prepared by SSA's dedicated career workforce and regularly reported to Congress across administrations," he wrote.
Bisignano's letter included SSA data showing that the average speed of answer on SSA's national 800 number has improved from 27.6 minutes in fiscal year 2024, to 20 minutes in the Oct. 5, 2024, to May 7, 2025, period. It improved further to 10.4 minutes in the May 8 to July 25 period, and was even quicker at about 4.6 minutes in the July 21-25 period, according to his letter.
Across all of our service indicators, the evidence is clear: better management is improving the customer experience on the phones, in the field offices, and online. Nothing in the data supports the irresponsible allegations of mismanagement and a customer service crisis at SSA," he wrote.
We do one thing now - answer phones. That's great, but customers want stuff done, and the trust fund needs accountability (work CSRs and such).
ReplyDeleteWork CDRs and such (previous typo)
Delete