Tipping Point? Social Security Disability Program on Verge of Insolvency
- Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:10am by
Billy Hallowell
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Laid-off workers and aging baby boomers are flooding Social Security’s disability program with benefit claims, pushing the financially strapped system toward the brink of insolvency.
Applications are up nearly 50 percent over a decade ago as people with disabilities lose their jobs and can’t find new ones in an economy that has shed nearly 7 million jobs. MSNBC has more:
The stampede for benefits is adding to a growing backlog of applicants – many wait two years or more before their cases are resolved – and worsening the financial problems of a program that’s been running in the red for years.
New congressional estimates say the trust fund that supports Social Security disability will run out of money by 2017, leaving the program unable to pay full benefits, unless Congress acts. About two decades later, Social Security’s much larger retirement fund is projected to run dry as well.
Much of the focus in Washington has been on fixing Social Security’s retirement system. Proposals range from raising the retirement age to means-testing benefits for wealthy retirees. But the disability system is in much worse shape and its problems defy easy solutions.
The trustees who oversee Social Security are urging Congress to shore up the disability system by reallocating money from the retirement program, just as lawmakers did in 1994. That would provide only short-term relief at the expense of weakening the retirement program.
Claims for disability benefits typically increase in a bad economy because many disabled people get laid off and can’t find a new job. This year, about 3.3 million people are expected to apply for federal disability benefits. That’s 700,000 more than in 2008 and 1 million more than a decade ago.
Below, watch a June 2011 assessment from Social Security and Medicare Trustees Robert Reischauer and Charles Blahous about the state of America’s largest entitlement programs:
“It’s primarily economic desperation,” Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said in an interview. “People on the margins who get bad news in terms of a layoff and have no other place to go and they take a shot at disability,”
The disability program is also being hit by an aging population – disability rates rise as people get older – as well as a system that encourages people to apply for more generous disability benefits rather than waiting until they qualify for retirement.
Retirees can get full Social Security benefits at age 66, a threshold gradually rising to 67. Early retirees can get reduced benefits at 62. However, if you qualify for disability, you can get full benefits, based on your work history, even before 62.
Also, people who qualify for Social Security disability automatically get Medicare after two years, even if they are younger than 65, the age when other retirees qualify for the government-run health insurance program.
Congress tried to rein in the disability program in the late 1970s by making it tougher to qualify. The number of people receiving benefits declined for a few years, even during a recession in the early 1980s. Congress, however, reversed course and loosened the criteria, and the rolls were growing again by 1984.
The disability program “got into trouble first because of liberalization of eligibility standards in the 1980s,” said Charles Blahous, one of the public trustees who oversee Social Security. “Then it got another shove into bigger trouble during the recent recession.”
Today, about 13.6 million people receive disability benefits through Social Security or Supplemental Security Income. Social Security is for people with substantial work histories, and monthly disability payments average $927. Supplemental Security Income does not require a work history but it has strict limits on income and assets. Monthly SSI payments average $500.
As policymakers work to improve the disability system, they are faced with two major issues: Legitimate applicants often have to wait years to get benefits while many others get payments they don’t deserve.
Last year, Social Security detected $1.4 billion in overpayments to disability beneficiaries, mostly to people who got jobs and no longer qualified, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
Congress is targeting overpayments.
The deficit reduction package enacted this month would allow Congress to boost Social Security’s budget by about $4 billion over the next decade to invest in programs that identify people who no longer qualify for disability benefits. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that increased enforcement would save nearly $12 billion over the next decade.
At the same time, the application process can be a nightmare for legitimate applicants. About two-thirds of initial applications are rejected. Most of these people drop their claims, but for those willing go through an appeals process that can take two years or more, chances are good they eventually will get benefits.
Astrue has pledged to reduce processing times for applicants’ appeals, and he has had some success, even as the number of claims skyrockets. The number of people waiting for decisions has increased, but their wait times are going down.
“It’s ludicrous to say that the backlog problem is getting worse,” Astrue said. “The backlog problem has gotten dramatically better.”
Patricia L. Foster said she was working as a nurse in a hospital in Columbia, S.C., in 2005 when she was attacked by a patient who was suffering from a mental illness. Foster, 64, said she injured her neck so bad she had a plate inserted. She said she also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Foster was turned down twice for Social Security disability benefits before finally getting them in 2009, after hiring an Illinois-based company, Allsup, to represent her. She said she was awarded retroactive benefits, though the process was demeaning.
“I have to tell you, when you’re told you cannot return to nursing because of your disability, you don’t know how long I cried about that,” Foster said. “And then Social Security says, `Oh no, you don’t qualify.‘ You don’t know what that does to you emotionally. You have no idea.”
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Comments (109)
StopGovtBondage
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:51amThe corruption and gaming the system is staggering.
I happen to know a certain large union (in a huge – well known beer company) – whose members feel they have paid too much over the years in social security – so they have a doctor who specializes in getting them disability social security…..it’s done for a fee upfront, and then all the faux medical tests to qualify – these otherwise “able” people for disability….THEY FEEL IT IS THEIR “RIGHT”…..
Wish someone would do an investigation and bust these A holes.
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 10:40amI know four people who are on it and none of the four were actually disabled. The screening process is a joke.
Report Post »psst
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 11:06am@Sregn.
Report Post »I also know quite a few. they have been on SSI for years.
They are in better health than I am. And much younger also. I have always been a workaholic. I’m semi retired. I enjoy working 3 days a week.
These people gets shyster lawyers (aren’t they all) to write letters for them. The lawyers gets paid of course.
The fraud in this program is overwhelming. Like in all government run programs.
Tusker
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 11:17amSREGN, You are correct. I worked for SSA for 12+ years and it is a joke, sad thing is there are so many false claims allowed and the legitimate folks that are truly disabled suffer the consequences. It’s really a pathetic system.
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 12:11pmI have quite a few family members on SSI, one of them is my sister in law, who gets it because she spent her whole doing drugs, so she never bothered to learn to read or write, now she gets it, because she’s mentally handicapped. Thank God her brother (my husband) didn’t go down the same road she did!
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 1:11pmSocial Security is a Progressive PONZI scheme designed by Socialists !!! It was created for a number of reasons. First and foremost, to make money for the global elite. It was under the guise of “protecting you” for retirement or “dis-ability”. It was made to render you, now a number, and not an individual, in the Governments eyes. When it was Implemented in the 1940′s, the average lifespan of a man was 58, eligible to collect at 65. If SS were created today, you would be able to collect at 87 YEARS OLD !!!!! S.S is gambling, and the HOUSE always WINS !!!! Also, a lot of these “disabled” are NOT disabled. They are bilking the system. If you are confined to living in a wheelchair, YOU CAN STILL WORK !!!!!
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 3:27pmLabor produces wealth. 40-50million authorized abortions fails to contribute into Social Security program.
Report Post »bruce_baker
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 3:44pmWish in one hand and sh*t in the other, and see which fills up first.
Publish the NAME of the company and the union if you really want someone else to do your homework for you. Otherwise, do it yourself. Legs broken or something?
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 3:57pmThe only time Democrats talk about social security is either to brag about inventing it or use it to frighten the hell out of old folks with tales of how Republicans are going to break into their homes and steal their checks. On how to fix the monster, they are silent.
Lots of silent Democrats on the Hill today.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on August 23, 2011 at 6:36amThere has never been any change in the way the Social Security program is financed or the way that Social Security payroll taxes are used by the federal government. The Social Security Trust Fund was created in 1939 as part of the Amendments enacted in that year. From its inception, the Trust Fund has always worked the same way. The Social Security Trust Fund has never been “put into the general fund of the government.”
Most likely this question comes from a confusion between the financing of the Social Security program and the way the Social Security Trust Fund is treated in federal budget accounting. Starting in 1969 (due to action by the Johnson Administration in 1968) the transactions to the Trust Fund were included in what is known as the “unified budget.” This means that every function of the federal government is included in a single budget. This is sometimes described by saying that the Social Security Trust Funds are “on-budget.“ This budget treatment of the Social Security Trust Fund continued until 1990 when the Trust Funds were again taken ”off-budget.” This means only that they are shown as a separate account in the federal budget. But whether the Trust Funds are “on-budget“ or ”off-budget” is primarily a question of accounting practices–it has no effect on the actual operations of the Trust Fund itself.
Report Post »http://www.dailypaul.com/153791/so-just-how-does-one-live-without-social-security
http://www.healthfreedom.info/Federal_Reserve_Fraud.htm
Dustyluv
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:35amTell me how STEALING from me to give to someone disabled is right…It’s STEALING!!
Producers pay beause of the fear of the IRS.
If I want to help the disabled I will…by the way I do. If I could keep my tax money I would do more!
It is time to go Gault and let the teat suckers find out what it’s like to work.
Report Post »mikem1969
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 10:01amI feel your pain, but the biggest problem with the ss system, and the disability system is the fact that soooooo many ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE GIVEN OUR BENEFITS AND NEVER PAY A DIME INTO IT. Stop paying ILLEGALS our AMERICAN benefits, that would save billions a year and help the program last a little longer. Then, make congress and the white house pay back every single dime they ever stole from the ss system out of their own pockets with 100% of their salary until every dime is paid back. That would put bilions back into the system over time, and make the program last a little longer.
Report Post »JLGunner
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 10:36am@ mike You’re right. There was a coworker of mine that studied immigration law so he could get his inlaws in the country and on social securtiy, then he approached other employees and would charge them a fee to do the same for their family members. I loved the look on his face when I told him that I expected a thank you card from every last one of them seeing as they are stealing my money and “benifits”.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:34amFor the young people paying into ss,you know it won‘t be there when you need it so you don’t have to pay into it,just claim you’re Amish,that’s right the federal government exempted the Amish from paying into ss in 1965.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 10:43amIt’s already not there for my wife of 62 years old…there are plenty of people who will not get it…not just the youth. Some military people will have REDUCED SS…GPO WEP blah blah blah…and when i die, my wife will be in poverty….
You guys really don’t know much about what has been going on, the changes of the 70‘s and 80’s stripped millions of their SS rights in order to (yes) BALANCE the BUDGET.
Better keep you jobs…and I’m talking to the older people…at one point you will not get your annuity check from SS.
Report Post »TheOracleOfTruth
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:25amWe ALL know the system is in trouble, we ALL know who liberalized the rules, and we ALL know it is just a matter of time before we sink into absolute hell because of the liberalization that has taken place here! Vote all progressives OUT in 2012 – get your country back and restore free markets – we don’t need more taxes – we need more tax payers – get the freeloaders back to work, or let them starve!
Report Post »Mike Benton
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:02amAround here we talk about the “Happy Check”; it is for those who can convince a shrink that you are bi-polar.By here I mean north east Ohio, a semi rural area. I met a 22 year old who gets one and I know of a guy who is working on getting his soon.
We need an IRS-like group to review these claims every year, just as they monitor or tax status.
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:30amNo…We need to cut off all the teat suckers. We don’t need more Government!
Report Post »PApeacemaker
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 11:35amI know what you mean MIKE… I had a kid in my senior class who got an SSI check the day he turned 18 because his mom hired a lawyer when he was 16 or 17 & had his doctor claim he was bi-polar & sure enough he got that check for about $800 a month. I got in a bad car wreck when I was 20 & blew out 2 discs in my neck & 1 in my mid back had surgery & was told by 3 doctors your done working. Applied to SSI & was denied 3 times in 4 years & the “specialist” said I could get a job where I sat down 8 hours a day & didnt have to lift anything heavy. Its a freakin joke that someone who claims to be bi-polar can even qualify for SSI but someone who is prescribed heavy narcotics (pain killers) has to work. I said to hell with SSI 2 years ago & I know manage a video game store. So I guess it did work out for me in the end. But still SSI is bull crap.
Report Post »weeblewacker1
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 10:12pmhmmm looks like a lot of people are here are full of B.S.! i have no doubt there is some people that did or will try to game the system, it is still not a very easy thing to get S.S.disability benefits,and it is also illegal to try and get them dishonestly.just because your doctor says your disabled,does not by any means mean that you will get them.if your doc says “you need to hang it up” work wise, you go apply for s.s.d.,then you have to go to a social security doctor for there take on things,and they are not on your side by any means.then,most likely (more than 60%) get denied.then you have to appeal your case,go before a s.s.judge,who along with a work specialist will review your medical evidence,and it better be damn good too,to see if you can get your benefits,and by the way,if you haven’t worked enough years or put in to s.s. enough money,you will NOT qualify for them any way.by the way people talk on here,you would think all ya gotta do is find a dumb doc who will lie for you,an welll-laa! instant monthly check! i have personally seen more than one person get turned down for s.s.d.because there docs said they wasn’t sick enough,actually die before they could collect one cent from s.s.because of the appeals process.so i have to call B.S. to most of the people on here.and one more thing,it is a on going process the whole time you collect s.s.d.you get reviewed,and you have to provide medical evidence that confirms your condition is getting worse or is no improvemen
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:02amI am curious as to how a retirement program like Social Security got into the business of providing disability payments? I can understand that if someone has been paying into it for years and their money is supposed to be in a fund, they be allowed to access it. But how is it that there are people who have never paid a dime into it who are able to take money out of the Social Security fund? If the government wanted to start an entitlement program for the disabled shouldn’t they have started a new program that is funded from regular taxes instead of using money people are putting aside to help supplement their retirement? Is it any wonder that Social Security is going broke? Isn’t this throwing grandma off the cliff to cover the costs of SSI?
Report Post »scruffycat
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 10:00amSSDI = you have to work and pay into for many many years before any disability can be claimed
SSI = just have to be poor and disabled and maybe never ever have worked to file claim
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 1:40pmHave to try another arrow – still not completely correct.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:58amWe are on the edge of the complete collapse of the system and the economy, exactly as Obama and the socialist-progressives have wanted for such a long time. Social Security will most likely go belly up within a couple of years instead of the couple of decades they are saying about…and the SSI disability program sooner…a year or so.
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 1:26pmThey better give me my 16 thousand dollars they have taken from me. I can barely pay my rent and am broke. I don’t take s#it from those criminals (Government) and I never will. I need that 16 grand for survival gear and ammo.
Report Post »stumblemouth
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 4:01pmAren’t you on SS disability, Snow? What comments do you have for those who think that disability payments are a sham, that even if you’re in a wheelchair you can work, as Prob said in an earlier post?
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 4:14pmHmm. Author, journalist, telemarketer, accountant, attorney, business owner, marketing consultant, scientist, IRS agent, Dispatcher, etc. etc. etc. I could fill out this 1500 character Box with lucrative and respectable jobs that a person in a wheelchair could do !!!! So you Idiots that prejudge me as heartless or cold, should have just got a reality check !!!! Don’t feel bad. I educate ignorant people all the time here at the BLAZE !!! I really enjoy discrediting the Enemies !!!
Report Post »TRILO
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:57amWhile there are people who should receive the benefits the abuse of this system is staggering. I work with people who have children in the fostercare system and I see people who are on SSI disability who are very capable of working. If all else fails the other government agencies, such as Children’s Services, Juvenile authorities, non-profits, etc encourage these people to apply for disability.There is an entire legal system that works to get these people the $$ if they are turned down. If you want to see the abuse of the system just take a visit to your local welfare office and look at all of the able bodied people standing in line waiting for their new found handout.
As far as SSI I am sick of hearing people who are near or currently retired say that they paid for it and refuse to allow any adjustments such as increased retirement ages to the system. I have been paying into it for 30+ years and will not see a dime at the pace we are going. The system was never intended to pay benefits for 15-20+ years to people.
Sourced Info from http://www.justfacts.com/socialsecurity.asp
” Between 1965 and 2009, the U.S. population grew by 54%. During the same period, the number of people receiving disability benefits increased by 458%”
In 1955 there were approximately 8.5 workers paying into SSI for every beneficiary. In 2010 there were approximately 3.
Can’t wait for the Healtcare mess that is coming our way.
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:54amI don’t believe that anyone is complaining about people with legitimate disabilities and who have paid into the program getting benefits. To me the ones who upset me are those who have faked their disabilities or have never paid into the program. I remember watching a news show years ago that reported all of the children being diagnosed with A.D.D. and going onto SSI. The accusations were that parents were telling their children to misbehave and act uncontrollable so that they would be diagnosed with A.D.D. and then the parents would receive disability payments for each child that was diagnosed with the problem. There were classrooms in the area the news show was investigating where over 1/2 the kids were on SSI. How did a program that started as a retirement fund get into providing disability payments in the first place?
Report Post »Ironeagle
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:49amMany think the economic/debt brink for the US is a long way off–they keep talking about our children and grand children getting screwed. Not so! It is upon this generation and we will bear it. Paul Ryan mentioned the issue of all the baby boomer retirements flooding the country–many policy makers and their budget bean counters have chosen to ignore this fact and its impact on their calculations. Glenn is right.
Report Post »willnotbackdown
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:47amgoverments been stealing the funds years, now they do not have it to replace it, thier solution, raise taxes and steal so more.
Report Post »Morris
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 11:02amHow about the Goverment replacing the 2.6 Trillion Dollars ,That the Gov. owes to the Social Security
fund???????
Put that 2.6 TRILLION DOLLARS BACK IN THE FUND,“AND PUT IT IN A LOCK BOX”,AND THAT
MONEY ONLY BE USED FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE!
ALSO ALL NEW MONEY BEING PAID INTO THE SSI FUND EVERY WEEK,GOES INTO THE
‘LOCK BOX”.
If the states need money,“START LOOKING AT THE ”WELFARE SYSTEM”!!??????
Report Post »GET SOME OF THESE “CAREER” WELFARE PEOPLE OFF THE BUS,THE “FREE” RIDE IS OVER,
“GET TO WORK” !
ALSO START “DRUG” TESTING THE PEOPLE ON “WELFARE”,FOUND TO BE ON DRUGS,
“NO CHECKS”!!!!!
SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE ON THE WELFARE SYSTEM,GENERATION AFTER GENERATION,BUT I WILL SAY THEY SURE HAVE NO PROBLEMS MAKING BABIES,
MORE BABIES MORE MONEY IN THEIR “WELFARE” CHECKS!!!
SO GIRLS IF YOU AND A GUY LAY DOWN AND MAKE A BABY,WELL GIRLS YOU HAD BETTER REMEMBER WHO THE FATHER IS,BECAUSE IT IS UP TO YOU AND THE FATHER OF THAT CHILD TO SUPPORT THAT CHILD!!!!!
SO GET OFF THE BUS,THE “FREE” RIDE IS OVER,“GET A JOB” AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR
OWN MISTAKES,THE WORKING TAX PAYERS OF AMERICA ARE NOT GOING TO SUPPORT
YOU ANYMORE,GET A JOB,WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF KEEPING YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN!!!!
One Man Progressive Wrecking Crew
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:27amOne thing people gloss over is the people collecting worked, you can’t get disability if you never worked, so most are disabled. But some crafty people getting close to retirement in their 50‘s can manipulate some doctors now and then to cash in early because most people never make it to collect in their late 60’s.
Only a few in my family have, they worked themselves to death before they collected any of their SSA they put in, all except for my father alive now at 64 and my maternal grandfather who died at 72 didn’t live long enough but worked their entire lives.
Report Post »weeblewacker1
Posted on August 23, 2011 at 11:46amvery good! too bad about some of your family members, i seen that happen in my family too. one thing i would like to add, if their is one thing that people on S.S.D. hate more than anything,it is some one collecting s.s.d. fraudulently. it only makes it harder for the people that really need it to get it,and the other thing is, having to have to get a lawyer to get what you paid into for 30-40 years,and having to pay them 1/3 of your back benefits.like they really need the money.
Report Post »Indymaverick
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:17amNo surpise. I seen this coming about 16 years ago.By the time I retire there will be no SS left.
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:17amI see absolutely no problem with helping the old or disabled through social security – the problem is it is being robbed blind by the giving of its funds to non- citizens and the thieves in its system.
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:23amSome of the article is not correct – but that must be because that is the way they do things up North.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 12:00pmI completely agree with you. We need to get rid of the fraud and stop giving benefits to illegals, immigrants who have never paid in and chronic welfare abusers.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:12amHmmm…older laid off worker with, 30+ years of work history, trying for disability because there’s no where else to go is bad,… but a 24 year old mother of 3 with no work history except for gappin’ her thighs, is fine with society. Yup..that’s logical.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:01amTrust fund???
Report Post »first you have to have some money in the account.
smithclar3nc3
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:19amSocial security was removed from it’s trust fund into a general fund under Reagan. This move allowed Congress to barrow money from American social security on the grounds that it would be replaced at a later date. WELL CONGRESS THAT LATER DATE HAS ARRIVED AND THE ACCOUNT IS MISSING 9,000,000,000,000 THAT’S 9 TRILLION STOLEN DOLLARS. Money taken by Congress to put shrimps on tread mills and study the drinking habits of chinese prostitutes. Our private retirement coffers have been raided to fund wealth redistributions projects,affirmative action projects and a host of other projects it wasn’t imtented to fund. WASHINGTON STOLE OUR MONEY
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 2:33pmAbsolutely !!! The tax-payers have been bilked for decades by the progressive Criminals. It continues on but now is coming to a head. They have all their pieces in place to make a Global currency and the ability to bilk the world, in addition to total tyrannical control. WAKE UP !!!
Report Post »Credit Score = Ability to deal with, and be robbed by Loan sharks
Banks = Loan sharks financed by the criminals that have stolen your money by other means, also.
Mortgage = PAWN. You judge a man that pawns his TV, but you PAWNED your HOME !!!
Stock Market = Gambling.
Electric – Water – Cable and Cell phone Monopolies = Slavery. You WILL work a designated amount of hours per month FOR that company.
Home Owner = Renter. You pay a property tax. YOU OWN NOTHING !!!!
Insurance = Gambling. the house always wins !!
Permit = Permission
Sustainability = AGENDA 21 = NWO
Social Security = Ponzi Scam
CIA = crooks in action
Diversity = Successful formula that has worked for America; Come here and live the American Culture.
Multiculturalism = Progressive / Socialist / NWO formula to destroy our sovereignty and divide us as a Nation; come here to live and denounce America and it’s culture !!!
Neo-Con = a conservative that believes in spreading democracy around the world using military force. It has NOTHING to do with being JEWISH !!!!
Military / Industrial Complex = illuminati / NWO / global elite. They own nearly 95% of the DEMOCRATIC and REPUBLICAN “Politicians” in D.C. !!!!
WAKE UP !!!!!
GMI
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:00amMy friend sent me an email showing a SS office in Texas waiting room. Standing room only, but not a gray hair not to be seen. No seniors in that crowd. SSI is the new welfare. Just look around at all the “disabled people” walking the streets. These are not seniors who’ve worked all their lives, these leeches are part of the new entitlement generation, something for nothing. They come in all colors, the only thing they have it common is the desire to take what you have worked for.
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:56amHell no wonder they give it out to just about any who suigns up for it, its become the welfare
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:28amUnfortunately for some, disability, like welfare, is a career/life choice. I know many that brag that they never had so much money in their lives while on the way to play the lottery or head for the casinos. It really makes me sick how some folks game the “entitlement” system.
Report Post »chazman
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:57amThe gov can do very little correctly. They have truly become the enemy of the American people.
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:02amWyatt’s…. With regards to wasteful spending
Report Post »We have a good friend who was ‘let go’ (along with several others) by a long-time employer.
She was 65 at the time she was let go, received a pension from her late husband, had her home paid for, received SS, I believe, from her husband (I might be wrong on that but she does have another income besides his pension). Now…she has been receiving unemployment for two years with the last extension. All she has to do is ‘go to school’ to continue to qualify.
She has just filed for SS benefits. Did I mention she took a 10-day trip to Ireland recently?
emertz8413
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:26amOK, now I’m confused. If SS is such a mess, then why is this administration in favor of the tax deduction that funds SS? (see GOP story on Blaze) Just playing politics, so you can say I‘m for tax cuts and the R’s want taxes?? Man, this government is a mess!!
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:37amYou got it! It is so they can tout Obama’s tax cuts.
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 3:01pmYou said – “Man, this government is a mess!”
To you it is a mess. You are a probably a Patriotic, common-sense American that works for a living and understands the basics of economics!
To the global elite, It is not a mess and is going just as planned. Social and economic chaos !
Why have people not caught on to this yet?
They “OWN” democratic and republican D.C. politicians !!! Quit looking to one or the other for “Change”.
Hasn’t anyone noticed, nothing ever changes when one party controls the house, senate or oval office ??? HELLO ?????
Report Post »rodamaa
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:26amAnother chip falls in the big government mind set. It does not work. It could have not ever work because these schemes are never meant to work. FDR, a big liberal, call social security a Ponzi scheme. The idea has merit but it should not be in the hands of crooks in Washington.
Report Post »Steel Awesome
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:24amAnother story which is a hoax. We’ve been told by the Democrats for years that Social Security and every other government give-away program is solvent for decades, so the Republicans should quit trying to drum up a crisis where none exists.
Report Post »Mike Benton
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:07amAnd you believed the Democrats…or are you just being satirical? (funny)
Report Post »Darla_K
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 9:23amFace it, we are broke. The sad part is the people that were elected and looking out for the peoples best interest are asleep at the wheel or just don’t give a damn. They are only a hand full while we are millions. We need to flush the toliet, ridding ourselves of these wanna be politicans and put employees in there that work for the employers and get things under control. For some reason once they get elected they think they are untouchable and something special. We need to boot their osses out and get on with our business, starting with correcting the spending we are doing.
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:22amI sure hope Obama pivots to this before he pivots back to jobs…
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:20amIt is funny how this story and the one right before it, in the income tax extension, hit the AP well over 18 hours ago! The Blaze is just getting around to printing yesterday’s news.
Think I will go check Yahoo to see what articles the blaze will be running tomorrow…
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:30amMSNBC called. They wondered why you weren’t watching them.
Report Post »notreally
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:35amWow, what a crusher! The Blaze was late on a story!
Such this up, liberal:
-5/05 University of Connecticut’s Department of Public Policy survey of journalists, nationwide: 52% supported Kerry, versus 19% for Bush.
Report Post »-11/21/08 Zogby poll: The web is the most trusted news medium (over TV and print combined), and Fox News is the most trusted TV news source with approval rating of 39%; CNN=16%; MSNBC=15%. Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Stephen Colbert and Chris Matthews were the least trusted, all with scoring under 2%. More people in this poll identified themselves as Democrats than Republicans. A majority think the media is biased.
-2008 Pew poll: Fox viewers least politically skewed: Republicans 39%, Democrats 33%; CNN had R 18%, D 51%
—————–
Polls of Americans about how they saw Big Media during the ’08 election:
-Rasmussen: 69% pro-Obama, 6% pro-McCain
-Pew Research: 67% pro-Obama, 11% pro-McCain; also, from 1992-2004 the media is pro-Democrats over Republicans
-Sacred Heart University: 68% pro Obama, 9% pro McCain
-Fox News/Opinion Dynamics: 67% pro-Obama, 11% pro-McCain
—————–
2/4/10 Gallup poll: 53% of democrats have positive view of socialism versus 17% Republicans; liberals have a 61% positive view.
trolltrainer
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:39amnotreally,
You can tell my political persuasion from my above post which only criticized The Blaze for being slow? I am now a liberal?
I think this shows how brainless you are for making that stretch.
Report Post »notreally
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:40amYet another reason to shut it down, which is what liberal fascists seek to do — silence all dissenting opinions:
-11/18/10 Fox News: Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller urges FCC to shut down Fox News.
Report Post »-3/22/11, The Blaze: “They [the Tea Partyers) don’t deserve the freedoms that are in the Constitution, but we’ll give them to them anyway”? Democrat Senator Lautenberg.
-1/7/11 CBS News: President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans.
trolltrainer
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:43amBTW, and this is more directed at Wyatt, if The Blaze runs the exact same AP article, without any edits even, as Yahoo, or MSNBC for that matter, then what difference does it make WHERE I read the article WHEN I can read it 18 HOURS earlier?
That was my point. I am not a liberal and I am not trolling. I am making a factual observation. If you want to run a news site then you should at least be somewhat timely on the news.
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 8:28amWith all due respect, last time I checked this was a website, not a news network. It is a clearinghouse for stories of particular interest. It was the weekend, some folks may have been off or maybe focused towards that giant deal in Israel! I just give them the benefit of the doubt. There are too many people on here that act like the muppets in the balcony complaining about every little detail, time lag or story. All I am saying is if you don’t like it, go spend your dollar elsewhere…oh, right…its free!
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:15amAnd I know a woman who gets disability and all 4 of her kids have Blackberry’s. She works real hard for the church, but can’t keep a job. They need to reassess who qualifies for disability. If there are disabled workers, they were working at one time, why would they claim disability? Disability is for those disabled to the point that they can’t work. I’ve been told with epilepsy, I could claim disability, but I wouldn’t feel right doing it.
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 7:46amLORIANN….
Report Post »It is true that many obtain benefits from false claims. There should be a tightening of requirements to be able to qualify, no doubt.
I’ll relay my situation just to show that there are some legitimate claims:
I had open heart surgery in ‘04. Two months later, I had a full-blown seizure. Within 6 days I went back to work, taking seizure meds after having tests from which the neurologist could not determine why I had seized (the cause of 70% of seizures are not found). I continued having occasional dizzy spells until I had two ‘bad ones’ within 10 days. It had simply become too scary to drive 45 miles to where I worked. Actually, the ‘spells’ could come at any time, even to this day.
So, there really are some legitimate disability claims. In my case, I had worked since I was a small boy, paid into SS for 44 years and, unfortunately, had to quit work. I tried for 2 years/7 months after my seizure to continue, but finally decided that seeing my family was more important than dying on the roadway and possibly killing some innocent persom.
Hope this helps to put disability in perspective for those who think all the claims are phoney.
JLGunner
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 11:11amI have several things wrong with me and I also could make a claim. I won’t be a part of the system. I will stand on my own two feet thank you.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on August 22, 2011 at 11:58amLoriann12. I too am a working disabled person. I own my own company. They need to tighten the restrictions on this so these typical mooches will get off of the system. between my husband and myself we have paid in a total of 295,000$ into social security. Hopefully things turn for the worse in my health I will not ever need to take the disability moiney I paid into but chances of me ever seeing that money are slim to none. God bless your journey with epilepsy, I empathize with your situation and wish you the best.
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