Updated Government Shutdown Plan

      Here’s Social Security’s newly updated plan for a government shutdown. There would be no immediate disruption for the public but, still, let’s hope this doesn’t need to be used.

Social Security Unlikely To Be Much Affected By Possible Government Shutdown

      There is talk of a partial government shutdown beginning on October 1. I hope this doesn't come to pass but if it does there should be little immediate impact at Social Security. Below is Social Security's government shutdown plan from the last time this issue came up. The plan could have been updated a bit since then but I strongly doubt that there's been a major change.

     Click on each thumbnail to view the page full size.

It's A Start

     Senator Sherrod Brown, whose Senate Finance Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday on the outdated SSI program, is saying that "at a minimum" the budget reconciliation bill now pending in the Senate "will include his proposal to raise the asset limit for SSI beneficiaries."

Covid Litigation

      From a press release issued by Justice In Aging, an organization which "uses the power of law to fight senior poverty":

... The Social Security Administration issued an interim rule in August 2020, due to the national emergency, that was intended to create an easier process to “waive”—forgive—certain penalties SSA imposed related to ineligibility during the early months of the pandemic. However, the agency didn’t effectively inform people that the simplified waiver process even existed, and the waiver only covered the first six months of this ongoing pandemic—before the deadly winter wave of COVID-19 cases. If an individual was lucky enough to learn of the existence of the simplified waiver, their problems didn’t end there. For example, the individuals named in the lawsuit faced problems like being told to contact a specific person at a specific phone number, yet not being able to reach anyone or leave a message; and being told to make an appointment to request the simplified waiver, only to be told that there are actually no appointments available.  

“This lawsuit aims to address the concerns of vulnerable citizens who rely on benefits from the Social Security Administration in order to survive,” said Sheila S. Boston, partner at Arnold & Porter. “Using the rule of law, we will hold Social Security accountable for amending its pandemic response to ensure that thousands of impacted individuals receive their benefits and information related to those benefits in a timely manner.” ...

SSI Is 5% Of SSA Payments But Takes 35% Of SSA's Budget To Administer

 

Senator Sherrod Brown

    From Ted Knutson writing for Forbes:

Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) is forcing millions to live in poverty, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) charged today.

Convening the first Senate hearing on SSI in the Senate Finance Committee since 1998, Brown asserted millions of disabled and older Americans are living well below the poverty line as the program’s eligibility rules haven’t been updated in decades:

“They’re punished if they try to save for an emergency.”

“They’re punished if they try to find a part-time job.”

“They’re punished if they accept food or shelter from generous family and community members.”

“They’re even punished if they’re married.”...

As evidence of the difficulty the Social Security Administration has managing the program, [a witness from the Government Accountability Office] said SSI benefits make up only 5 percent of SSA payments, but it requires 35 percent of the agency’s budget to administer. ...

Senate Hearing On SSI Today

      Here's the witness list for today's Senate Finance Committee hearing at 2:45 on Policy Options for Improving SSI: 

• Elizabeth Curda , Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, United States Government Accountability Office 
• Stephen G. Evangelista, Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy, Social Security Administration 
• Mia Ives-Rublee, Director, Disability Justice Initiative, Center for American Progress 
• Kathleen Romig, Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
  

How Common Is Work From Home?

      What percent of the working population is working from home these days? People who are working from home generally think it's a fairly high number -- at least 40%. The reality is that in August only 13.4% of Americans who work were working from home. An article in The Atlantic deals with this issue of perception versus reality when it comes to work during the pandemic.

     Almost all Social Security employees are working from home now. Many have somehow convinced themselves that this situation will last many, many months into the future, perhaps forever.  This is unrealistic. All Social Security employees who want to keep their jobs must soon be vaccinated. I can think of no rational reason for Social Security employees to keep working from home after this happens. The risk just isn't there. We can talk about when and how we allow claimants back in field offices but the idea that it's acceptable, even during the pandemic, for vaccinated Social Security employees who only work around other vaccinated employees to keep working from home 100% of the time is not something the public will tolerate.

     Let me be blunt. Andrew Saul was mean to Social Security employees. So what? He's gone. Social Security employees don't get special treatment in perpetuity as recompense for Saul's behavior. Social Security employees should receive the same sort of treatment that workers generally receive. To get personal, I'm back in my office. Why are Social Security employees so special that they can't be back in their offices? As I've asked before, does anyone really think that Social Security employees are cowering at home, never venturing out to socialize or eat in restaurants?

    The happy talk posted here, probably by union shills, that productivity has gone up during the pandemic might be true for a few individuals but overall it's an absurd claim. Service has declined dramatically during the pandemic. Lack of overtime can only explain some of this. If nothing else, we all know that many Social Security employees lack broadband internet access at home. Almost none of them have dual monitors. Who finds working on a laptop to be as convenient as working on a desktop? There's no way to avoid it. Service has declined broadly and work from home is a major reason. If anyone has proof that there's been any improvement in productivity at Social Security show us the numbers. Otherwise, I'm not buying it. I'm on the receiving end of Social Security's service. I know what's happened.

COLA Projection

     The Social Security cost of living adjustment announcement is coming up next month. Here’s a prediction that it will come in at 6% or 6.1%.