Headcount Ticks Up Slightly

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted updated figures for the number of employees at the Social Security Administration:

• September 2017 62,297
• June 2017 61,592
• March 2017 62,183
• December 2016 63,364
• September 2016 64,394 
• December 2015 65,518
• September 2015 65,717
• June 2015 65,666
• March 2015 64,432
• December 2014 65,430
• September 2014 64,684
• June 2014 62,651
• March 2014 60,820
• December 2013 61,957
• September 2013 62,543
• December 2012 64,538
• September 2012 65,113
• September 2011 67,136
• December 2010 70,270
• December 2009 67,486
• September 2009 67,632
• December 2008 63,733
• September 2008 63,990

Nine Months For Throwing Rock Through Window

     From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

A Metairie man was sentenced Wednesday (Nov. 1) to nine months in prison for hurling a "medium to large sized rock" through a second-floor window of the U.S. Social Security Administration's office in Kenner, according to federal court documents.

Bobby Joseph Hammond, 38, was also ordered to pay $1,330 in restitution after he previously pleaded guilty to felony destruction of government property for throwing the rock. ...

In an interview with federal investigators, Hammond's mother said her son has mental illness and refuses to take his prescribed medication. ...

In a separate item, the affidavit shows that Hammond's mother told investigators she used to be the payee for her son's Social Security checks, but he had asked her to remove herself, which stopped the checks from being deposited into her bank account. 

After Hammond's checks were no longer deposited into her bank account, Hammond grew angry "because he did not have access to his money," according to his mother's statements. ...

I'll Take A Guess

     The Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office is asking why there is a higher percentage of Vermonters drawing Social Security disability benefits due to mental illness than the national average. I'll give them an answer they haven't considered. Vermont is in Social Security's Region I. That Region has long had higher approval rates than other Regions. Regions matter since Regional Office Quality Assurance reviews most favorable determinations (but few unfavorable determinations) made within the Region. Mental illness disability determinations are particularly sensitive to differences in adjudicative climate.

Tinkering With Work Incentives Won't Matter

    Here's another writer who thinks that people will fly off the disability rolls if we just tinker with work incentives. We should change it from a cliff to a ramp but I'm telling you that it will make little difference. We've had near continuous tinkering with work incentives since the 1960s -- yes, the 1960s -- to no effect. Additional tinkering won't matter much. There are two fallacies underlying all this tinkering -- the belief that it's not that hard to get on disability benefits and that people who go on disability benefits will eventually get better. Neither is even a little bit true.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I know they're actually dressed for Dia de los Muertos but that's sorta the same thing.

Why So Much Homelessness?

     From The Oregonian:

Of the 4,000 people living on the streets in Multnomah County, more than half have serious mental illness and more than a third have physical disabilities.

You'd think many of these people could qualify for disability income help from the government.

The short answer is they probably could. 

The reality is the more disabled they are, the harder it is for them to pursue benefits.

This is where Mellani Calvin comes in. In April 2010, she founded the nonprofit ASSIST, which stands for "Assertive Supplemental Security Income Service Team." From a small office in Southwest Portland, the five-member staff works with indigent or homeless clients seeking to qualify for disability benefits. ...

MS Guidebook

     The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has issued a new edition of Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits: A Guidebook for People with MS and their Healthcare Providers. The 88 page guidebook includes a number of forms and checklists.

Sicker Because Poorer Or Poorer Because Sicker

     From Reuters Health:

People with fewer assets like real estate, savings, stocks and retirement accounts may be more likely to develop disabilities or die prematurely than wealthier individuals, a new study suggests. ... 

“Interestingly, the link between wealth and health outcomes was seen in both the U.S. and England, which are two countries with very different health and social safety net systems,” said study leader Dr. Lena Makaroun of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington in Seattle. ... 

The similarities suggest that for low-wealth individuals, health care or financial benefits alone may not be enough to improve their health trajectory, she added. ... 

Disability was defined as any difficulty in performing activities of daily living, such as dressing, eating and bathing. ...

     I think there may be one important explanation that apparently wasn't considered by the study's authors. People become poorer because they're sicker. Sickness limits the ability to work. Even with relatively generous government benefits in England, the ability to accumulate wealth is closely tied to the ability to work. You can't put away much money if you're on the dole.

     By the way, don't think that government healthcare in England pays for everything. It doesn't pay for dental care, for instance. Brits are notorious for having bad teeth. Poor dental care is bad for your general health. Of course, there are plenty of Americans who lack dental care.