Dec 23, 2016

Dec 22, 2016

Dec 21, 2016

Proposed Final Regs Fail To Clear OMB In Time To Come Into Effect Before Change Of Administration

     The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not yet acted on two packets of proposed final regulations submitted by the Social Security Administration. One packet was on Revisions to Rules of Conduct and Standards of Responsibility for Appointed Representatives and the other on Revisions to Rules Regarding the Evaluation of Medical Evidence. Since the Administrative Procedure Act requires a 30 day waiting period before new regulations take effect it's now too late for these proposed regulations to become final before President Obama leaves office. This doesn't mean that these proposed final regulations are dead. The incoming administration will almost certainly put any proposed final regulations pending at OMB or which have been approved but not come into effect through a new review before they can become final. The review of these regulations may not even start until there's a new Commissioner of Social Security. The regulations could be modified or withdrawn as a result of the review.

Student Loan Offset Problems

     The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a 90 page report on the offsets applied to Social Security benefits due to unpaid student loans. Even though the GAO seems to me to try to downplay the problem, it's still clear that it's real and serious. Many people are being thrown into poverty by the offsets as shown by the chart below, even though many of the student loans went to pay for nearly worthless online education.
Click on chart to view full size

Merry Christmas


Dec 20, 2016

Dec 19, 2016

Dec 17, 2016