Cleveland Plain Dealer On Hearing Backlog

     The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting on Social Security's horrendous hearing backlog problem. As the article reports "Experts, including disability lawyers, advocates and judges, say the solution is simple: give Social Security enough operating funds to hire sufficient staff to make a dent in the backlogged cases."

Merry Christmas?

The Christmas season is the busiest time of the year for psychiatrists

Merry Christmas

Two Good Ideas

     This week's syndicated column on Social Security from Tom Margenau is an open letter to President Trump which contains two ideas I strongly agree with: Increase Social Security's administrative funding and either eliminate or increase the lump sum death payment.

     Margenau notes that 10,000 people a day are retiring and signing up for Social Security retirement benefits each day and many more are applying for other sorts of Social Security benefits. As he writes to President Trump "Let’s say your steak business was growing by 15,000 new customers every day. Would you cut funding and staff to all your producers and suppliers? I doubt it. I am pretty sure you would increase the resources."

     The lump sum death payment is only $255. That's ridiculous. It probably costs more to administer it than is actually paid out in benefits. Either increase it to something meaningful or eliminate it. There's no good reason for it to exist in its current form.

Merry Christmas

Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do The Time

     From The Republic:

Charges are piling up against a Kentucky lawyer whose capture in Central America ended his six months on the run to avoid prison for his role in a massive Social Security fraud case.

A federal prosecutor filed court papers Wednesday signaling the government will try Eric Conn on more than a dozen charges including mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

If convicted, the flamboyant attorney could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Conn would have avoided the charges if he had abided by his plea deal with the government. ...

Merry Christmas

No, that's not me. Also, note that he's wearing a T-shirt.

Real IDs Will Be A Mess

     Here's a good article on Real IDs which most people don't have but which will eventually be required to enter federal buildings. Do we know when Social Security offices will require Read IDs? I'm expecting major problems when that day arrives. Many people will fail to get a Real ID until too late.