The pay of employees who receive more than the Social Security wage base -- now $106,800 -- increased by 78%, or nearly $1 trillion, over the past decade, exceeding the 61% increase for other workers, according to the analysis. In the five years ending in 2007, earnings for American workers rose 24%, half the 48% gain for the top-paid. The result: The top-paid represent 33% of the total, up from 28% in 2002.
The growing portion of pay that exceeds the maximum amount subject to payroll taxes has contributed to the weakening of the Social Security trust fund. In May, the government said the Social Security fund would be exhausted in 2037, four years earlier than was predicted in 2008.
The data suggest that the payroll tax ceiling hasn't kept up with the growth in executive pay. ...
Social Security Administration actuaries estimate removing the earnings ceiling could eliminate the trust fund's deficit altogether for the next 75 years, or nearly eliminate it if credit toward benefits was provided for the additional taxable earnings.
Sep 10, 2009
Isn't The Solution Obvious?
New CIO At SSA
From Information Week:
The Social Security Administration [SSA] has hired Frank Baitman [pictured to the left -- a photo taken at the Obama inauguration and posted on Baitman's blog], a former business strategist with IBM (NYSE: IBM), as its new CIO [Chief Information Officer], filling a role that had been vacant since January.Baitman, who joined the agency at the end of August, has years of business and IT experience, but none as a CIO. At the Social Security Administration, he's running an organization with a $1.3 billion IT budget
"Frank has extensive global and domestic experience in both large enterprises and small companies balancing strategic problem-solving with tactical execution," Social Security Administration commissioner Michael Astrue said in an announcement to staff. "His experience has also lent itself to developing customized insights focused on technological and industry trends, healthcare informatics, emerging markets, and social services."...Baitman is expected to emphasize transparency and innovation in his new role, according to one source at the agency. On his Caffeinated Ideas blog, Baitman has advocated simplifying government procurement and written about the importance of public service.
What Are These People Talking About?
Social Security will face a cash shortfall for the first time in decades next year, according to a little noticed report released late last month by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).As a result, seniors could face benefit cuts in as little as three years. Congress could instead raise taxes or authorize new borrowing to close the shortfall, but has never before addressed a Social Security deficit through long-term borrowing.
Sep 9, 2009
Binder and Binder Real Estate Moves
From CrainsNewYork.com (emphasis added):
In a rare show of prosperity in its beleaguered industry, architecture firm Perkins+Will is expanding its footprint at 215 Park Ave. South by more than a third by subleasing 16,500 square feet. ...
The firm is subleasing the entire sixth floor for four years from law firm Binder & Binder. A July [2009] move is planned; sources say the asking rent was in the high $30s a square foot. ...
Binder, meanwhile, will leave Manhattan by moving into 19,000 square feet at 33-00 Northern Blvd. in Long Island City, Queens [pictured above], in June. The asking rent for the deal, which runs for nearly 13 years, was about $25 a square foot, sources say. Mr.Strati says the law firm moved to take advantage of REAP, a city program that awards tax incentives to companies that relocate to upper Manhattan or the boroughs beyond.
Sep 8, 2009
Raise Corn And Raise Hell Iowans!
And from another editorial in the same issue of the Des Moines Register:According to a recent Des Moines Sunday Register investigation by reporter Clark Kauffman, Iowans wait an average of 541 days - about a month longer than the national average - to bring their cases before a Social Security judge for a hearing.
A massive backlog of unresolved disability claims at the Social Security Administration has contributed to Iowans being subjected to stress and difficulties. One disabled Iowan has been living in a storage garage while he waits for help. ...
A recent Government Accountability Office report determined 1.5 million disability claims nationwide "were awaiting a determination" in 2006. One of the main reasons: reduced staffing.
More staff working on disability claims are needed - including staff at "the hearing level" where the GAO says the greatest backlog of claims exists.
The Social Security office in West Des Moines handles most claims for Iowa. Individual judges are trying to move cases through the system by hearing 70 or 80 cases a month, as opposed to their usual 50 to 60 cases. The risk is applicants not getting fair and complete hearings.
Current law requires most people to wait two years - after they're eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance - to enroll in Medicare, the federal health insurance program.Congress should eliminate the 24-month waiting period for disabled people needing Medicare coverage. Lawmakers are in the midst of crafting health-care reform legislation, and helping disabled Americans get insurance coverage makes sense.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, studies show as many as one-third of people deemed disabled by Social Security are uninsured, and these individuals have limited access to health services.
Eliminating the waiting period will cost money - an estimated $113 billion from 2010 to 2019, according to the CBO. Disabled people are obviously sick and will use more health services. But if they have access to health care, they may be able to return to work - and get off Social Security.
E-Verify Required For Federal Contractors
Sep 7, 2009
Sep 6, 2009
A Soundtrack For Social Security
From Social Security's History website:Jim Czechowicz's Public Policy Parodies and Tributes
Jim Czechowicz is a Public Affairs Specialist (PAS) with SSA's Chicago area Regional Office. Jim lives in Minneapolis and is one of two PASs assigned to the state of Minnesota.In his off time Jim is an accomplished composer and musician. Over the years Jim has composed two albums of parodies and tribute songs on topics related to the work of the Social Security Administration and its employees. Jim typically performs his songs for other SSA employees or as part of his public education efforts. His Social Security-related songs are for entertainment purposes only and Jim makes no commercial use of this material.
With Jim's permission, we are including three of his Social Security-related songs. (All material © Jim Czechowicz.)
Song 1: "Hope is the Anchor of Life" (mpg-4 format)
(This song is about the value of Social Security in American life. It takes its title from the motto of the old Department of Health, Education and Welfare, of which SSA was a part from 1953 to 1980.)
Song 2:"E-Dib Blues" (mpg-4 format)
(In an effort to speed the processing of disability cases, in January 2005 SSA launched an initiative to move to an all-electronic disability claims process, under the rubric of Electronic Disability (E-Dib). This is Jim's tribute to that innovation.)
Song 3:"Show Someone You Love" (mpg-4 format)
(In the Part D Medicare Prescription Drug program SSA has responsibility to assist claimants who might be eligible for a partial subsidy on their Part D premiums. This is known as the "extra help" procedure (see current policy/procedure here). This is a jingle Jim wrote in 2005 to promote this SSA service.