Social Security Disability Fund will be DEPLETED in 4 years

[chanel]

DI costs have exceeded non-interest income since 2005, and the Trustees project trust fund exhaustion in 2016, two years earlier than projected last year. The DI program faces the most immediate financing shortfall of any of the separate trust funds; thus lawmakers need to act soon to avoid reduced payments to DI beneficiaries four years from now.

Trustees Report Summary

Currently, the SSA deems disabilities to be "total and complete" if applicants demonstrate that their impairments prevent them from earning at least $1,000 a month. But beginning in 1980 presumptions of disability began to be made based on age, education, work history and other mitigating factors. Four years later applicants were permitted to count the sum of multiple "nonsevere" impairments and count this as a "severe" disability.

As a result, workers who complain of "persistent anxiety" and "chronic fatigue" are now viewed by the government as being disabled.

Howard Rich: Defining Disability Down - WSJ.com

I have to stop reading the news.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

This is one of the reasons why Social Security has become unsustainable. When they started turning it into more than just a retirement safety net they drove a knife into the heart of the program. SS Disability is a heavily abused program. I have known several people on it who were more than capable of holding down a job. They need to do away with it altogether.

 

[chanel]

Same here. Lots of people in my town collecting "crazy checks". I think it's twice as much as welfare.

According to the article:

How much fraud is out there? It is hard to say as estimates vary, but according to the Government Accountability Office, $10.7 billion in overpayments were made by the SSA to disability recipients between 2004 and 2008. That's a sizable figure to be sure, but it's nothing compared with the costs associated with government's expanded "disability" definitions.

This shit has got to stop, but what politician is going to take on the "disabled"? It would be political suicide.

 

[Douger]

Most of the "disabled" are drunks and junkies.

 

[Wry Catcher]

My experience with Worker's Comp. was enough to make we want to puke. I had staff 'injured' on the job who were off regularly for soft tissue injuries diagnosed by chiropractors.

There needs to be accountability in all programs, don't eliminate programs which serves a necessary need, but make sure the need is real. White coats ought to be traded for orange jumpsuits when fraud is discovered, prosecuted and proved more often than it is.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Most of the "disabled" are drunks and junkies.

That's been my experience as well.

 

[chanel]

My experience with Worker's Comp. was enough to make we want to puke. I had staff 'injured' on the job who were off regularly for soft tissue injuries diagnosed by chiropractors.

There needs to be accountability in all programs, don't eliminate programs which serves a necessary need, but make sure the need is real. White coats ought to be traded for orange jumpsuits when fraud is discovered, prosecuted and proved more often than it is.

We've had many discussions on here about the over-medication of children. We are now seeing a new trend in our school where students suffering from depression and "anxiety" are getting doctor's notes to go on home instruction. It is costing the district a fortune, and I believe sleeping all day is unhealthy for a teenager. One of my students told me that his girlfriend "doesn't like school" and told her doctor she was being "bullied". These kids are pretty clever.

So far this year, nearly 1 million workers have applied to get on the disability program, according to the Social Security Administration. More than a third will eventually be enrolled.

Almost 90,000 workers enrolled in the program in April, pushing the total for new enrollees above 333,000 in the first four months of the year.

Add in spouses and dependents, and the number of beneficiaries added to the program so far this year climbs to 539,000.

As IBD reported recently, more than 5 million workers and their families have enrolled in the disability program since President Obama took office.

The Obama administration's economic advisers warned in a report last fall that the mass exodus of workers who can't find a job onto the disability rolls poses a long-term risk to the economy. Once enrolled, they almost never return to the active workforce

Labor Force Shrinks In April, Participation Rate At 31-Year Low; Disability Ranks Grow - Investors.com

Something tells me these teenagers will never join the "active workforce" either. Especially if they tell a judge they couldn't even attend school.

Scary shit.

 

[Ariux]

I've seen so many people who get SS disability but don't appear to have any significant disability. All you have to do is be able to stand to be a greeter at Walmart (I'm waiting for some fag to invoke Bush1's Americans with Disabilities Act so that Walmart will have to provide a chair to the standing-challenged). There are all sorts of jobs that don't require much mental or physical ability.

I look forward to SS, the Fed's huge "poor tax" on the middle-class, to run short. Because, then it will no longer be usable to subsidize low tax rates on the rich.

 

[TrinityPower]

Most of the "disabled" are drunks and junkies.

I agree I think many are as well. It makes me mad when the people who really are disabled have to justify themselves like myself. It also limits those who are disabled to find something they maybe can do to earning so little that finding something they can do very difficult. A friend of a neighbor of mine got on disability said he had arthritis. He was up helping repair their roof and having a beer at same time. Made me so mad. I have severe ra and was trying to pull weeds sitting in a chair with hands so bent I can't grab anything and this fool is on disability. Then he was practicing pulling back athrow string for bow hunting. I said I thought you said you have arthritis yet you can climb a ladder and do that?! He still maintained he has it. I can't even step off a curb without assistance and this idiot gets money...oh and he pays nothing to live anywhere either and hadn't for years...he goes from friend to friend squatting at their house or property til they throw him off. Skirted child support because he always works some under the table job too. He is just one case of this in a line of millions.

 

[rdean]

DI costs have exceeded non-interest income since 2005, and the Trustees project trust fund exhaustion in 2016, two years earlier than projected last year. The DI program faces the most immediate financing shortfall of any of the separate trust funds; thus lawmakers need to act soon to avoid reduced payments to DI beneficiaries four years from now.

Trustees Report Summary

Currently, the SSA deems disabilities to be "total and complete" if applicants demonstrate that their impairments prevent them from earning at least $1,000 a month. But beginning in 1980 presumptions of disability began to be made based on age, education, work history and other mitigating factors. Four years later applicants were permitted to count the sum of multiple "nonsevere" impairments and count this as a "severe" disability.

As a result, workers who complain of "persistent anxiety" and "chronic fatigue" are now viewed by the government as being disabled.

Howard Rich: Defining Disability Down - WSJ.com

I have to stop reading the news.

I read your link. I copied this from your link:

Since these redemptions will be less than interest earnings through 2020, nominal trust fund balances will continue to grow. The trust fund ratio, which indicates the number of years of program cost that could be financed solely with current trust fund reserves, peaked in 2008, declined through 2011, and is expected to decline further in future years. After 2020, Treasury will redeem trust fund assets in amounts that exceed interest earnings until exhaustion of trust fund reserves in 2033, three years earlier than projected last year. Thereafter, tax income would be sufficient to pay only about three-quarters of scheduled benefits through 2086.

What you are talking about is "disability". Now what's funny, is that a lack of education can be included in disability. Also, a lack of health care can lead to disability.

Republicans slash education in state after state and don't believe in healthcare thinking it's "socialistic".

Clearly, Republicans are a major part of the problem and have no solutions.

 

[chanel]

What's your solution deanie? Obviously both parties are to blame but who will have the fortitude to address it?

There are judges who approve nearly every claim. Guess whose team they play for?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

It was intended to encourage waste fraud and abuse. There's no accountability and Dems encourage people to use and abuse the system

 

[chanel]

Most of the "disabled" are drunks and junkies.

I agree I think many are as well. It makes me mad when the people who really are disabled have to justify themselves like myself. It also limits those who are disabled to find something they maybe can do to earning so little that finding something they can do very difficult. A friend of a neighbor of mine got on disability said he had arthritis. He was up helping repair their roof and having a beer at same time. Made me so mad. I have severe ra and was trying to pull weeds sitting in a chair with hands so bent I can't grab anything and this fool is on disability. Then he was practicing pulling back a now string for now hunting. I said I thought you said you have arthritis yet you can climb a ladder and do that?! He still maintained he has it. I can't even step off a curb without assistance and this idiot gets money...oh and he pays nothing to live anywhere either and hadn't for years...he goes from friend to friend squatting at their house or property til they throw him off. Skirted child support because he always works some under the table job too. He is just one case of this in a line of millions.

Well don't let the SSA know. They don't want to hear it.

The Social Security Administration last month told its disability-claims judges they are no longer to seek out information from websites when deciding cases — taking away a tool some of those judges say would help in uncovering fraud.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican and a top taxpayer watchdog, said avoiding the Internet means giving up a valuable anti-fraud weapon — one that he said even federal courts have relied upon in some disability cases.

“If an individual claims to be disabled, and then publicly posts a picture participating in a sport or physical activity on a social media website, such information should be used by [adjudicators] to determine if the claimant was truly disabled,” Mr. Coburn wrote in a letter last week to Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue.

Web put off-limits to Social Security claims judges - Washington Times

So a judge who is to make a million dollar decision, cannot look at the picture of the 30 year old with Epstein Barr bungy jumping on her taxpayer paid vacation?

This shit has got to stop.

Four years and it's gone.

 

[TrinityPower]

I've seen so many people who get SS disability but don't appear to have any significant disability. All you have to do is be able to stand to be a greeter at Walmart (I'm waiting for some fag to invoke Bush1's Americans with Disabilities Act so that Walmart will have to provide a chair to the standing-challenged). There are all sorts of jobs that don't require much mental or physical ability.

I look forward to SS, the Fed's huge "poor tax" on the middle-class, to run short. Because, then it will no longer be usable to subsidize low tax rates on the rich.

Not many people get disability on the first try. I happened to be one that did because I have clear physical evidence of a disease that has been diagnosed. I did work as long as I could before my body got so bent I could no longer perform my job but not many people do that. The money I get is not much really but it helped offset medical expenses and services I need to have and could not afford otherwise.

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

DI costs have exceeded non-interest income since 2005, and the Trustees project trust fund exhaustion in 2016, two years earlier than projected last year. The DI program faces the most immediate financing shortfall of any of the separate trust funds; thus lawmakers need to act soon to avoid reduced payments to DI beneficiaries four years from now.

Trustees Report Summary

Currently, the SSA deems disabilities to be "total and complete" if applicants demonstrate that their impairments prevent them from earning at least $1,000 a month. But beginning in 1980 presumptions of disability began to be made based on age, education, work history and other mitigating factors. Four years later applicants were permitted to count the sum of multiple "nonsevere" impairments and count this as a "severe" disability.

As a result, workers who complain of "persistent anxiety" and "chronic fatigue" are now viewed by the government as being disabled.

Howard Rich: Defining Disability Down - WSJ.com

I have to stop reading the news.

Haven't we all known about this for the last 15 years or so? .

Just sayin.......wtf is wrong with the people running this country? Oh that is right, they don't have the spine to do their job and address this problem so now the end is nigh for the program.

 

[chanel]

My husband and I have disability insurance policies. It is actually quite affordable. I would suggest anyone with assets to get one because they will be the first to be disqualified when the fund goes empty. Hopefully none of us will need it but don't depend on anything from the govt.

 

[Too Tall]

I've seen so many people who get SS disability but don't appear to have any significant disability. All you have to do is be able to stand to be a greeter at Walmart (I'm waiting for some fag to invoke Bush1's Americans with Disabilities Act so that Walmart will have to provide a chair to the standing-challenged). There are all sorts of jobs that don't require much mental or physical ability.

I look forward to SS, the Fed's huge "poor tax" on the middle-class, to run short. Because, then it will no longer be usable to subsidize low tax rates on the rich.

Not many people get disability on the first try. I happened to be one that did because I have clear physical evidence of a disease that has been diagnosed. I did work as long as I could before my body got so bent I could no longer perform my job but not many people do that. The money I get is not much really but it helped offset medical expenses and services I need to have and could not afford otherwise.

I have not commented on this topic until I read your post. I know I don't and certainly hope that no one really wants the truly disabled to be denied SSDI. It is the scammers and cheaters that will ruin it for those that are truly in need of help.

 

[SniperFire]

Same here. Lots of people in my town collecting "crazy checks". I think it's twice as much as welfare.

According to the article:

How much fraud is out there? It is hard to say as estimates vary, but according to the Government Accountability Office, $10.7 billion in overpayments were made by the SSA to disability recipients between 2004 and 2008. That's a sizable figure to be sure, but it's nothing compared with the costs associated with government's expanded "disability" definitions.

This shit has got to stop, but what politician is going to take on the "disabled"? It would be political suicide.

We are Greece.

 

[Lovebears65]

I probably could qualify for this. I have 3 ruptured disc and a tear in the muscle . But did I try to get it .NO because hubby makes enough. I have 2 brothers and a sister who gets it. Only one is getting it because he really needs it and got it through his work the other two have lived off the government most of their adult life and feel things are owed to them. Hard to believe we came from the same parents.. I have a so called friend ( She thinks we are friends I think we are not LOL) I call her druggie Mary because she is addicted to pain killers. She is on disability for her addiction . CRAzy

 

[TrinityPower]

I've seen so many people who get SS disability but don't appear to have any significant disability. All you have to do is be able to stand to be a greeter at Walmart (I'm waiting for some fag to invoke Bush1's Americans with Disabilities Act so that Walmart will have to provide a chair to the standing-challenged). There are all sorts of jobs that don't require much mental or physical ability.

I look forward to SS, the Fed's huge "poor tax" on the middle-class, to run short. Because, then it will no longer be usable to subsidize low tax rates on the rich.

Not many people get disability on the first try. I happened to be one that did because I have clear physical evidence of a disease that has been diagnosed. I did work as long as I could before my body got so bent I could no longer perform my job but not many people do that. The money I get is not much really but it helped offset medical expenses and services I need to have and could not afford otherwise.

I have not commented on this topic until I read your post. I know I don't and certainly hope that no one really wants the truly disabled to be denied SSDI. It is the scammers and cheaters that will ruin it for those that are truly in need of help.

I agree. There are many who ruin it for the lot. It burns me up hen morbidly obese people get disability too...who kpt feeding your face and made yourself that way and now use a motorized cart because you are too lazy to walk? I don't even do that! My feet are pretty messed up but I will try until I just can't walk anymore to stay as mobile as I can. I have never been able to play tag with my child ride a bike with her push her on a swing throw a ball etc I can't ride rides with her at a carnival or fair and yet people who say they are disabled can do this and much more yet trot around in a motorized chair. I am not speaking about those who are really disabled but those that are truly not give the rest a bad rap.