WCNC Story On Social Security Hearing Backlogs

The WCNC story on Social Security hearing backlogs finished last night with this segment.

Would you like to see stories like this on your local television station? Let me make a simple suggestion. Use your web browser to find one or more of your local television stations, look for an e-mail address to their investigative reporter or their assignment editor and send that person an e-mail with links to the Sunday and Monday night stories on WCNC. Tell them that the same type of problem exists in your community and that you would like to help get this story on the air locally. Television reporters need story ideas. While they like to be original, I doubt that they are completely averse to doing a local spin on a story reported elsewhere.

Witness List For Tomorrow's Hearing

Michael Astrue, the Commissioner of Social Security, and Linda Springer, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, will testify at the 11:00 hearing tomorrow at the House Social Security Subcommittee. There should be live streaming video of the hearing, but, thus far, the Ways and Means Committee has not posted the recordings of their hearings for later listening.

Poll On SSA As Employer

Free Web poll for your Web site - freepolls.com

Charlotte TV Station Reports On Hearing Backlogs

WCNC of Charlotte, NC has posted the first of a two part investigative report on the frustrations that Social Security disability claimants face with high denial rates at the initial and reconsideration levels and the long, long wait time for Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearings.

The TV station is running this during sweeps week, a time when they know that the Nielsen organization is looking at their viewership, in order to report on it to advertisers. This is the time of the year when TV stations make a special effort to run their most interesting material.

Results Of Last Week's Unscientific Survey

Social Security Hearing Backlog Poll
What sort of hearing backlog should Social Security be shooting for as an ULTIMATE GOAL?

0-3 months (15)	17%
3-6 months (34)	39%
6-9 months (17)	20%
9-12 months (9)	10%
12-18 months (12)	14%

Total Votes: 87

An Image From The Pre-History Of Social Security In the U.S.

Woman Lies To Continue Collecting Widows Benefits

The Associated Press reports that Jennifer Gimbel formerly of Carroll County, MD, but now living in Arizona, has pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud for telling Social Security that she had not remarried when she had. Her deception allowed her to receive widow's benefits.

Wall Street Journal On Garnishment Of Social Security Benefits

Take a look at this video from the Wall Street Journal on garnishment of bank accounts containing only Social Security benefits. The Social Security Act prohibits virtually any attachment of Social Security benefits, which includes garnishment and, arguably, bank setoffs. This has been interpreted to mean that bank accounts containing only Social Security benefits are also exempt from attachment. Despite this, garnishment and setoffs of bank accounts containing only Social Security benefits happen routinely.

Who knew that the Wall Street Journal was multi-media?