Trouble In Social Security's Backyard

     The Baltimore Sun is running a story on the huge backlog of cases awaiting a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the Baltimore, Maryland hearing office. The backlog is now up to 17 months. This has led to bankruptcies, people losing their homes and people dying before being approved. Social Security's headquarters are just outside Baltimore.

Don't Take Those Jobs For Granted, Baltimore

     From the Baltimore Sun:

Despite budget cuts and anti-government rhetoric in Congress, Maryland officials say the two huge federal agencies based in Woodlawn — which have long helped buoy the region's economy — may be better positioned than others to ride out the political turbulence expected over the next several years.

An aging baby boomer generation should insulate the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from looming cuts, economists say. And there will be even more work at the Medicare-Medicaid office, known as CMS, if the nation's new health care law takes effect.

The fate of the two agencies, which have been based in Baltimore County for decades, will have a significant impact on the entire regional economy. Social Security has more than 10,000 workers in the county, making it the fifth-largest employer in the region — bigger than Northrop Grumman or Walmart, for example — state figures show. ...

Though there is not a great deal of development immediately surrounding the campus today, economists say the two agencies have a major impact on the region's economy.

"Many Baltimoreans don't even realize that our region has been very fortunate throughout the downturn," said Anirban Basu, chairman and chief executive officer of the Sage Policy Group. "It's something we take for granted."

     I don't live there but it is obvious to me that those in the Baltimore region take having Social Security's headquarters in their midst for granted and the Baltimore Sun is itself a huge reason. It's your largest employer, for goodness sake! If you ignored Johns Hopkins the way you ignore Social Security, people would think you were nuts. This is important. Being ignored by local media can only give Social Security headquarters employees the impression that what they do is unimportant. That cannot be good for employee morale.

Baltimore Sun On Location Of National Computer Center

I have commented before that the Baltimore Sun hardly seems to notice what goes on at the largest employer in its area, a situation which I find deplorable since it conveys the message that what goes on at the Social Security Administration is unimportant. The possibility of an important new National Computer Center for Social Security somewhere within 40 miles of Social Security headquarters is finally attracting the Sun's attention. The Sun is running an editorial pushing for the National Computer Center to be located in a brownfields area along the route of a proposed 14 mile rail line between Woodlawn where Social Security's central offices are located, and Hopkins Bayview. Brownfields are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. The Sun wants a twofer. They want to use the rail line as a reason to locate the National Computer Center in a rundown area of Baltimore County and to use the National Computer Center as a justification for funding to build the rail line through the rundown area.

Readers who live in the area can tell us how plausible the Sun's plan is.

Baltimore Sun Notices Social Security

The Baltimore Sun has finally noticed that there are some stories at the Baltimore area's largest employer. The newspaper has a article today dealing with Michael Astrue's desire to remain as Commissioner of Social Security for his entire term, which ends in January 2013, and the Social Security portions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The article quotes Astrue as saying "I'm here. I'm enjoying it ... I'm looking forward to serving President Obama."

A big issue locally is where Social Security's new National Computer Center, partially funded by ARRA, will be located. Astrue says it is impractical to build it in or adjacent to Social Security's central office campus in Woodlawn, a suburb of Baltimore. The 1,000 employees who will be working at the new National Computer Center are concerned that the National Computer Center may be up to 40 miles away from Social Security's central offices where they now work-- and the Baltimore-Washington area has some of the nation's most congested traffic.

Baltimore Sun

Yesterday, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) ran a full page ad in the Baltimore Sun demanding the resignation of the head of the Baltimore area's largest employer, the Social Security Administration. The head of that largest employer shot back with some nasty insinuations about the union. Coverage in the Baltimore Sun: nada. Can anyone who lives in the Baltimore area explain this to me?

Baltimore Sun And Social Security

Take a look at the front page of today's Baltimore Sun. No mention of Robert Ball's death. I am unable to determine online whether the Baltimore Sun even carried an obituary for Robert Ball! Certainly, there was no major article on Ball's passage.

The Social Security Administration is the largest employer in the Baltimore area. Robert Ball was arguably the most important figure in the history of the Social Security Administration. I cannot comprehend the Baltimore Sun's studied indifference to the Social Security Administration. Is this ideological? Is it because the Baltimore Sun is just a bad newspaper? Is it because the Social Security Administration is located somewhat on the periphery of Baltimore?

Misleading Advice

From the syndicated column of Janet Kidd Stewart appearing in the Baltimore Sun:

I retired a few years ago from the military after 20 years. Does the windfall elimination provision reduce my future Social Security benefits?

A number of factors could throw you under the provision, including how long and how much you paid into Social Security from your non-military employment over the years.

The answer to the question goes on quite a bit longer, but it remains confused and confusing.

The answer should have been simple. The person asking the question might be affected by the windfall elimination provision, but military service would have nothing to do with it, except to the very peripheral extent that military service was considered in determining some governmental pension based upon work not covered by Social Security. This foolish column will convince many people that the windfall elimination provision will prevent them from receiving Social Security benefits because of military retirement pay or VA benefits and that is not true.

Baltimore Newspapers Ignore The Area's Largest Employer

Neither the Baltimore Examiner nor the Baltimore Sun covered yesterday's Senate Finance Committee hearing on Social Security. The Social Security Administration is Baltimore County's largest employer, yet the local newspapers ignored this major hearing. Neither of the papers has published an interview with Michael Astrue who took over as Commissioner of Social Security more than three months ago.