Privatization Not A Good Idea For Tony Snow

Tony Snow was, until recently, President Bush's press secretary. One of his jobs was defending Bush's proposal for partially privatizing Social Security, a plan that was based upon a belief that American workers wanted to and were capable of saving for their own retirements and managing those retirement investments. From Slate, a little irony:

Snow's own life in many ways symbolizes the downside of the ownership society—and suggests how much a government role in health and retirement benefits is necessary.

When Snow came to the White House after several years at the Fox News Channel, it was clear that he had relied entirely on others to save for his retirement. Snow conceded: "As a matter of fact, I was even too dopey to get in on a 401(k). So there is actually no Fox pension. The only media pension I have is through AFTRA [a union]." Even though his employer provided a 401(k) and would have matched contributions, and even though he was earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, Snow had not shown either the interest or financial capability to manage his own retirement benefits.

Off Topic -- Death Of Pavarotti

I must have heard this at least a hundred times and the hair still stands up on the back of my neck ever time I hear this -- and I am not an opera fan.

Death Of ALJ "Cleve" Miller

I regret to report that Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) James "Cleve" Miller of Greenville, SC has passed away. His funeral is tomorrow. You can see a brief obituary at the Berry Funeral Home website.

QDD Made National

Effective immediately, the "Quick Disability Determination" or QDD process has been made national, according to a Federal Register item. Previously, QDD was an experiment in the Boston region only.

I have stated previously that I regard QDD as little more than a new name for something that has been around for decades. This may induce those unfamiliar with the program to think that Social Security has a new process to make disability decisions faster, but the truth is that this applies only to a small number of claims from the most seriously ill claimants, most of whom have terminal cancer. Social Security has always processed such claims expeditiously. Everything I have seen tells me that QDD is meaningless hype.

Opposing Views

From the Associated Press:

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton promised retirees that if elected president she will not cut Social Security benefits, raise the retirement age or privatize the taxpayer-funded system. ...

"This is the most successful domestic program in the history of the United States," Clinton said to applause from seniors gathered in Washington to push their policy agenda. "When I'm president, privatization is off the table because it's not the answer to anything."

Also from the Associated Press:

[Republican] Presidential hopeful Sam Brownback said the current Social Security system "stinks" for younger workers -- including his children -- and instead should be shifted to optional personal accounts. ...

He said the system is making unfair promises to younger generations, missing an opportunity to make itself solvent and failing to offer any meaningful support for older Americans.

New Regulation

From today's Federal Register:

We [the Social Security Administration] are revising our regulations to reflect two provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that affect the payment of benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). One of the provisions extended temporary institutionalization benefits to children receiving SSI benefits who enter private medical treatment facilities and who otherwise would be ineligible for temporary institutionalization benefits because of private insurance coverage. The other provision replaced obsolete terminology in the Act that referred to particular kinds of medical facilities and substituted a broader, more descriptive term.

New ALJ Forum

Online message boards can be an important source of news and views. Unfortunately, as anyone who has frequented them knows, their openness allows irresponsible people to drive away those who are responsible. These problems have seriously damaged the ALJ Improvement Board, dedicated to discussions of issues pertaining to Social Security's Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). There is now a new message board dedicated to the same topic, the ALJ Discussion Forum, which is doing much better. Unlike the old board, this new one requires registration to post, which may prevent the problems seen on the old board.

Fraud In Paradise

From The Honolulu Advertiser:

Five people were charged yesterday for allegedly defrauding and stealing money from the Social Security system. ...

They face a maximum prison term of five years for the Social Security offenses, 10 years for theft and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Pendleton is accused of using two different identities and Social Security numbers to obtain Social Security pensions worth $50,000. Brester's indictment alleges that he claimed disability payments of $158,000 from Social Security while working as a heavy-machine mechanic.

Daano, aka Rufino Daano, is charged with allegedly claiming Social Security benefits intended for his former wife and stepchildren totaling $67,000. Von Jovi is charged with Social Security and passport fraud offenses related to the alleged use of multiple identities and Social Security numbers.

Keola is charged with theft for allegedly collecting Social Security payments to his dead father totaling about $83,000.