The Social Security Administration, suffering for many years from an inability to catch up with its workload of new filings for disability benefits, has announced that things are now worse than ever. Not only are the backlogged stacks of claim forms getting higher and higher due to the recession's pressure on workers, but the increase in new cases is surpassing even the Administration's predictions. As if that's not enough, many states are furloughing the very employees whose job it is to process these initial claims.
Reporter Sam Hananel from the Associated Press states that hundreds of thousands more people are waiting in vain for their disability claims to be processed. Officials explain that an aging work force that is more apt to suffer injury together with the recession has caused them to ratchet up their original estimate of 3 million new disability claim filings over the next year to 3.3 million. The number of persons waiting for claim processing has increased 30% over the past eight months. Michael Astrue, Social Security Commissioner, admits that the situation is not apt to improve; additionally, several states have forced workers who process these initial claims to take furloughs, even though these employees are on the federal, not state, payroll.
Can you see a few planning issues here? I can, and I don't even work for the government. Since the agency has had a backlog of cases for years AND they actually predicted an uptick in claims during the next several months, I can't figure out why they didn't increase the staff needed to process the claims. I understand that this would cost money, but, really--do they want to fail? Is that the plan? Could a few cocktail parties have been canceled, or work suspended on the anti-immigrant wall being built in Texas in order to make up the shortfall? I know that economic recovery is a top priority for the Obama administration, but forcing desperate people to go for several months with no income is not helping. Not just a few people, either--the numbers are over .75 million.
In closing, I also wonder: Is there any reason that the Commissioner can't send a letter to the states furloughing federally-subsidized employees telling them to cut it out? If furloughs aren't saving money plus they're adding to an existent problem, well then--I think it should be halted sooner rather than later. He is technically the boss, right? He might want to check out where the money is going that the agency sends to the states to cover these employees' paychecks. Probably into the cocktail party fund.
Reporter Sam Hananel from the Associated Press states that hundreds of thousands more people are waiting in vain for their disability claims to be processed. Officials explain that an aging work force that is more apt to suffer injury together with the recession has caused them to ratchet up their original estimate of 3 million new disability claim filings over the next year to 3.3 million. The number of persons waiting for claim processing has increased 30% over the past eight months. Michael Astrue, Social Security Commissioner, admits that the situation is not apt to improve; additionally, several states have forced workers who process these initial claims to take furloughs, even though these employees are on the federal, not state, payroll.
Can you see a few planning issues here? I can, and I don't even work for the government. Since the agency has had a backlog of cases for years AND they actually predicted an uptick in claims during the next several months, I can't figure out why they didn't increase the staff needed to process the claims. I understand that this would cost money, but, really--do they want to fail? Is that the plan? Could a few cocktail parties have been canceled, or work suspended on the anti-immigrant wall being built in Texas in order to make up the shortfall? I know that economic recovery is a top priority for the Obama administration, but forcing desperate people to go for several months with no income is not helping. Not just a few people, either--the numbers are over .75 million.
In closing, I also wonder: Is there any reason that the Commissioner can't send a letter to the states furloughing federally-subsidized employees telling them to cut it out? If furloughs aren't saving money plus they're adding to an existent problem, well then--I think it should be halted sooner rather than later. He is technically the boss, right? He might want to check out where the money is going that the agency sends to the states to cover these employees' paychecks. Probably into the cocktail party fund.
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