The President’s proposed budget proposes an appropriation for Social Security’s operating budget of $15.5 billion, an increase of nearly $1.4 billion, from the current Fiscal Year. This would be effective with the beginning of FY 2024 on October 1, 2023, if enacted, but Congressional Republicans say they favor massive spending cuts, even though they do not specify what they want cut.
Mar 10, 2023
Mar 9, 2023
Don’t Even Think About Doing This
From a press release:
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced Justin Skiff, age 36, of Castle Pines, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, social security fraud and money laundering.
According to the plea agreement, beginning around August 2019 and continuing through September 2021, Skiff used his position as a claims specialist with the Social Security Administration (SSA), to fraudulently obtain money from the SSA. Skiff used his knowledge and access to establish Social Security Numbers for ten fictitious children. He then established fictitious records of entitlements for surviving child benefits which he connected to the record of a real deceased individual whose children would receive benefits. These benefits were deposited into a bank account accessible to Skiff through debit cards he directed to be mailed to a P.O. Box to which he had access. Skiff withdrew money and made purchases from this account from October 2019 through September 2021 for a total amount of $324,201.44.
Judge Daniel D. Domenico presided over the change of plea hearing on March 8, 2023. Skiff will be sentenced on June 6, 2023. Wire fraud carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Social Security fraud carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Money laundering carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. Skiff must also forfeit any property derived from proceeds traceable to the scheme.
Mar 8, 2023
Mar 7, 2023
Turmoil In France Over Attempt To Raise Retirement Age
From CBC:
French unions stepped up their fight against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans on Tuesday as most trains came to a halt, fuel deliveries were disrupted and schools shut in a sixth day of nationwide strikes.
To increase pressure on lawmakers not to raise the pension age by two years to 64, unions said there would be rolling strikes this time, which could go on for days, including at oil refineries and railways.
Street protests are expected to take place in more than 300 towns and cities. ...
Garbage collectors and truck drivers joined the strike, in a sign the protests were spreading to more sectors. ...
Rallies are planned across France after more than 1.27 million people took part in previous protests on Jan. 31. ...
There were reports of students blocking schools while BFM-TV showed footage of workers abandoning cars on the side of the road near Amiens in northern France as others blocked access to an industrial zone. ...
Mar 5, 2023
Public Servants
While I was at a concert recently, I wasn’t trying to listen in but happened to overheard a snippet of the conversation of the people sitting next to me during the intermission. One of them referred to someone who “retired after a 36 year career as a public servant.” That struck me. That term “public servant” is one you don’t hear much these days. I think it was more used when government employees were held in higher esteem. Why are they held in lower esteem now? I’d say it mostly has to do with Republican attacks on government and government employees. These attacks are often direct and angry — as in claiming that government is always the source of problems rather than the solution to many problems or that there’s some “Deep State” that frustrates Republican presidents — but they’re also indirect. Underfunded government agencies render poor public service feeding public perceptions that government employees are to blame for frustrating interactions with public employees. It’s an anarchistic approach that claims, in essence, that government is so terrible that we would be better off with no government. If you can’t directly end government, make it function worse and worse to move the public in the direction of your view, mindless opposition to all government.
We need to honor public servants. They do a super job often under difficult circumstances.
Mar 4, 2023
I Demand You Reopen That Field Office
A New York Congressman demands that Social Security reopen a field office it has closed in his district. I wish they’d get as excited about the agency’s operating budget. That’s what determines how much service that Social Security can deliver.
Mar 3, 2023
A Big Batch Of "Proactive Disclosures"
Social Security FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] Reading Room routinely posts "Proactive Disclosures." Usually, it's just a couple of posts a month but they're starting off this month with a bang. Below is what they've posted so far. I guess this is based about recent FOIA requests they've replied to. It makes you wonder why some of these FOIA requests were made. By the way, this includes a list that purports to tell you the top 500 law firms receiving attorney fees in Social Security cases. I don't know about this list but in the past these numbers have been wildly inaccurate.
Mar 2, 2023
A "Bipartisan" Plan?
From Semafor:
A bipartisan group led by Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Bill Cassidy, R-La. is considering gradually raising the retirement age to about 70 as part of their legislation to overhaul Social Security, Semafor has learned from two people briefed on their efforts.
Other options on the table include changing the existing formula that calculates monthly benefits from one based on a worker’s average earnings over 35 years to a different formula that’s based instead on the number of years spent working and paying into Social Security.
The plan also includes a proposed sovereign wealth fund (as previously reported by Semafor) that could be seeded with $1.5 trillion or more in borrowed money to jumpstart stock investments, the people said. If it fails to generate an 8% return, both the maximum taxable income and the payroll tax rate would be increased to ensure Social Security stays on track to be solvent another 75 years. ...
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the group, previously said that raising the payroll tax cap was under discussion. Only the first $160,000 of employees' earnings are currently subject to payroll taxes, which help fund Social Security. If Congress fails to step in, retirement benefits will be cut roughly 20% for seniors starting in 2032, per the Congressional Budget Office.
Are there any real Democrats on this "bipartisan" group? I know that Angus King caucuses with Democrats but he's not a Democrat.
None of this has any hope of passage in this Congress.
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