The Greatest Of All Tools

     I am reminded that a college friend once told me that the hammer is the greatest of all tools because if you can't fix it with a hammer by the time you're done with it, it can't be fixed.

Triple Amputee Denied Social Security Disability And I'm Not Surprised

     Social Security recently denied a disability claim filed by a triple amputee. I'm not surprised. The problem is that the woman had been a stay at home mom for ten years prior to the illness that led to the amputations. Generally, you must have worked five of the last ten years before becoming disabled in order to draw Social Security disability benefits based upon your own earnings.
     For decades some have called for some sort of caregiver credits as part of Social Security. This idea has never received serious attention in the past and probably won't in the future. However, should Hillary Clinton not just win but ride into office on a tsunami that brings Democrats into control of both houses of Congress, anything's possible. Clinto has called for unspecified improvments in Social Security.  The Iowa Electronic Market gives Democrats an 18-25% chance of gaining control of both houses of Congress.

Consensus Forming?

     Another sign that a consensus is forming in favor of some sort of transfers from Social Security's Retirement and Survivors Trust Fund to its Disability Trust Fund, accompanied by some sort of tweak to the disability work incentives. There will be claims that the tweak will encourage disabled people to return to work but they'll actually do the opposite since that's the only way to save money. We'll have to hope there isn't some secret agenda which will only be released after the 2016 election.

Social Security May Be Central Issue In 2016 Election

     It's now becoming mainstream for Republican presidential candidates to express a desire to cut Social Security. House Republicans seem determined to try to cut Social Security disability benefits, perhaps dramatically. Meanwhile, even though Hilary Clinton has yet to announce a position, it's become mainstream for Democrats to embrace expanding Social Security.

Good Planning, GOP

     I think I was the first one to write publicly about this. Here's Mother Jones sounding the same theme:

With Hillary Clinton now officially running for president, progressives are upping the pressure on her to embrace their policy agenda, including the Holy Grail of expanding Social Security benefits. ...

But it's actually Republicans, not progressives, who have essentially guaranteed that Social Security will be a major issue in 2016, setting up a battle that will provide stark contrast between the two parties on the issue ...

Dylan Scott wrote last week, House Republicans passed a little-noticed procedural rule back in January that will ensure a heated debate on the Social Security at the height of the presidential campaign.

As things stand now, in the final three months of 2016, the Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund will run out of money and beneficiaries will see an immediate 20 percent cut in benefits. Luckily, there's an easy fix: Congress can simply reallocate a small amount of payroll tax income from the larger Social Security retirement fund to the disability fund. ...

But just as Republicans in recent years have turned once routine debt-ceiling votes into near-catastrophic showdowns, the Republicans' new procedural rule blocks the House from voting on this simple fix unless they also address the long-term solvency of the program by cutting benefits or raising taxes. Progressives expect House GOPers to use the rule to force through benefits cuts in late 2016.

Or at least that seems to be their plan. But what House Republicans have actually done is set up a battle that will force the two parties and their respective candidates to take a position on whether to expand or cut Social Security benefits in late 2016—just as Americans are picking their next president.

     And, please, if you're a GOP leader, just dismiss this out of hand because it's coming from Mother Jones and because you're sure the public will support your Social Security cuts once you explain that that you're only trying to save Social Security. Everyone knows it's really the Democrats who are recklessly endangering Social Security. Fox News reports this all the time.