Democrats Sharply Divided On Social Security?

From the Washington Post:

With momentum building to rein in record budget deficits, Democrats are sharply divided over whether to tackle popular but increasingly expensive safety-net programs for the elderly, particularly Social Security.

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers say they are willing to consider controversial measures such as raising the retirement age and reducing benefits for wealthier seniors as part of a compromise with Republicans to cut spending on the programs and stabilize them for future generations.

But senior lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) are lining up against them, arguing that tampering with Social Security would harm the elderly — as well as the political fortunes of Democrats hoping to maintain control of the White House and the Senate in 2012....

Meanwhile, Third Way, the centrist Democratic think tank, plans to release a memo Friday arguing that the deficit has emerged as an uncommonly powerful political issue and that 2012 voters will reward the party that takes bold action to restrain government spending — including overhauling Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

“In our view, Republicans are winning this fight,” the memo says, according to an advance copy provided to The Washington Post. “ ...

Josh Marshall at TPM commenting upon the Post article:

Beware articles that conflate Social Security with Medicare. Beware articles that hang on statements from pressure groups with virtually no constituency within the Democratic party.

OIG Report On State Agency Furloughs

Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report on the Social Security Administration's response to furloughs of state employees who make initial and reconsideration determinations on disability claims for the agency. A number of states in financial difficulty have furloughed these employees even though their salaries and all other expenses are paid by the federal government. The reason always given for this is that the states want "to be fair to other state employees." I have extracted a chart from the report showing the numbers of cases involved per state and what Social Security has done in response. Click on the chart to see it full size.

Here is an interesting paragraph from the report (footnotes omitted):

SSA [Social Security Administration] explored other options to address the effect of State furloughs, such as contracting with private companies and federalizing the State DDSs [Disability Determination Services]. However, these options would likely involve legislative changes, as the Social Security Act, in effect, requires that most disability determinations be processed by State DDSs. Additionally, SSA estimated that federalizing the State DDSs would be more costly than the current framework—costing approximately $4 billion over the first 4 years.

This Doesn't Happen Every Day, Thank Goodness

From KCTV in Kansas City:

A man was sentenced Wednesday for making threats against a psychologist in an effort to receive Social Security disability benefits, said authorities.

Tyrone L. Holman, 32, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison without parole.

On Oct. 8., Holman pleaded guilt to obstructing federal proceedings before a federal agency.

In December 2008, Holman left threatening voice messages on the answering machine of a psychologist who was supposed to be evaluating his eligibility for title II disability benefits and supplemental security income.

Disability Benefits In Puerto Rico Draw Attention Of WSJ

From the Wall Street Journal:

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico—This mountainside town is home to a picturesque cathedral, a tobacco museum and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Another defining feature: Caguas's 00725 zip code has more people who receive a disability check than any other in the U.S.

Puerto Rico has emerged in recent years as one of the easiest places in the U.S. to get payments from the Social Security Disability Insurance program ... In 2010, 63% of applicants there won approval, four percentage points higher than New Jersey and Wyoming, the most-generous U.S. states. In fact, nine of the top 10 U.S. zip codes for disabled workers receiving benefits can be found on Puerto Rico.

The SSDI is set to soon become the first big federal benefit program to run out of cash—and one of the main reasons is U.S. states and territories have a large say in who qualifies for the federally funded program. Without changes, the Social Security retirement fund can survive intact through about 2040 and Medicare through 2029. The disability fund, however, will run dry in four to seven years without federal intervention, government auditors say.

In addition to the uneven selection process, SSDI has been pushed to the brink of insolvency by the sour economy. A huge wave of applicants joined the program over the past decade, boosting it from 6.6 million beneficiaries in 2000 to 10.2 million in 2010. New recipients have come from across the country, with an 85% increase in Texas over 10 years and a 69% increase in New Hampshire. ...

In 2006, just 36% of applicants in Puerto Rico were approved for benefits. By 2010, the rate had rocketed. In December, 69% of applicants were approved, the highest one-month approval rate by any state or U.S. territory since 2002.....

Administrative law judges in Puerto Rico, who make decisions in cases that are initially rejected or need further review, approved full or partial benefits in 80% of the cases they reviewed in fiscal 2010, according to data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. One judge in San Juan, Manuel del Valle, approved 98% of the cases brought to him during that span, according to data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The SSAB Has A Vision For The Future

The Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) has issued "The Social Security Administration: A Vision of the Future: First Steps on the Road to 2020." The future looks very technological to the SSAB.

Disability claims do not completely fit into the SSAB's vision and are, therefore, mostly ignored even though they make up around half of the agency's workload.

If there is even one original idea in this report, I missed it.

Sink The Bismarck!

The new Republican meme on Social Security: It is bad because it was invented by Bismarck.

Sound odd? Unbelievable? See it here and here and here.

Update: This meme goes back much further than I thought. See here and here and here and here. I had no idea that Bismarck was such a socialist hero.

Not Getting Involved

The text of an Emergency Message recently sent out to Social Security's field offices:

A. Introduction

The purpose of this message is to provide FO i[Field Office] nstructions when claimants or representatives ask the FO to open CDs encrypted by ODAR [Office of Disability Adjudication and Review].

B. Background

Recently ODAR began encrypting CDs they send to claimants and representatives in response to an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive. Claimants or representatives are occasionally unable to open these CDs and request that the FO:

- Open or unencrypt the CD
- Burn an unencrypted CD

C. Procedure

1. FO employees should not:
- Burn a new CD of any kind
- Take the CD from the claimant or Representative
- Destroy the CD for the claimant or Representative

2. FO employees should direct the claimant or representative to contact their servicing ODAR hearings office to resolve any problem with the inability to open the encrypted CD.

Direct all program–related and technical questions to your RO [Regional Office] support staff or PSC [Program Service Center] OA staff. RO support staff or PSC OA staff may refer questions or problems to their Central Office contacts.

It is more than occasionally that attorneys and representatives have trouble opening the CDs.

Surprising Support For Data Center Funding

From, of all places, the Lubbock, Texas Avalanche-Journal:

... I am not a huge supporter of Social Security. But just because I don't think it's Uncle Sam's job to take care of me and mine doesn't mean I'm oblivious to the reality of the situation. And that reality is that our Social Security system is residing in a data center that is decades old with a backup system that may or may not work, and will take five days to bring online even if it does. ...

In five days people could - probably will - die. I may not think much of Social Security, but the system is in place, and we have to make sure it doesn't fail. For too many people it's their only safety net. Write your congressman not to cut any of the funding for the Social Security data center upgrade.