David Weaver, a former Social Security official, has written a piece for The Hill urging that incoming Social Security Commissioner O’Malley do something about the agency’s reliance on occupational data that is more than 40 years old in making determinations on disability claims.
I can only guess at what has been going on behind the scenes. My guess is that the agency would love to rely upon contemporary occupational data, as long as it doesn’t change who gets approved and who gets denied. They’re particularly terrified of using data that leads to more claims being approved. My strong suspicion is that updated data would show that too many claims are being denied. Am I being unfair to those involved at Social Security? Maybe, but they always have the option of giving a coherent explanation for all the delay. Instead, they keep everything top secret. Who wouldn’t have dark suspicions about what’s been going on?
