Sen. Tom Coburn worries disability program being used for unemployment benefits

Everyday there seems to be another scam that comes out that people are getting money from the Government when they don't deserve it.  Now it is the disability program replacing unemployment benefits when they run out.  The disability program of social security is about to go broke because of all the people claiming a disability who don't have one.

Reminds us of some of the civil service at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, trying to get a disability before the changes to Civil Service took place.  Have to admit that the doctors at the clinic that they had to clear before getting a disability came up with some novel ideas.  My favorite for bad backs that kept them from working was to throw $100 bill on the floor before they walked in the room.  Except for one legitimate case, the rest bent over to pick up the $100 bill and all their claims were rejected plus they had to give back the $100.  When the head civilian doctor told my boss what was happening, all he could do was laugh but after he left he called the Commander of the Medical Center to tell him they needed to do similar things.  There were officers getting out of the service on a disability for tennis elbows before their rules changed for a disability.  In both areas, civilian and military, they were not disabled.

Don't you think that social security might want to look twice when someone claims a disability if they have been unemployed and do not have a workman's comp claim.  The first question should be 'why not?' Seems like a simple question that if you are under Workman's Comp benefits, there is a track record of injury.  If not, there is probably a good chance you are scamming the system because the unemployment benefits finally ran out.

Sen. Tom Coburn worries disability program being used for unemployment benefits 

Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund is expected to go broke within seven years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Sen. Tom Coburn said it could go broke before that because of “horrendous growth” in the program. 

BY CHRIS CASTEEL ccasteel@opubco.comMay 30, 2011

The number of people collecting Social Security disability insurance payments has risen steadily in recent years. According to agency statistics, disabled workers accounted for 17 percent of all Social Security recipients in Oklahoma in 2009, up from 13 percent in 2003.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the disability insurance trust fund paying the benefits will be exhausted in seven years.

Coburn, R-Muskogee, said in an interview the fund may go broke before that because “growth in this program has been horrendous.”

Clearing blockages

While the Social Security Administration's focus has primarily been on clearing backlogs of appeals that stretch more than a year for people first denied benefits, the agency should be working just as hard to ensure that able-bodied people aren't collecting the payments, Coburn said. 

Coburn said he has some personal experience: A man he hired in Muskogee to do some yard work told him that he was collecting Social Security disability payments. Coburn said Social Security workers from around the country have contacted him to tell of abuses in the program. 

The Social Security Administration is supposed to do regular reviews to ensure those collecting the payments still deserve them. But the agency's inspector general estimated that the backlog of Continuing Disability Reviews would reach 1.5 million this year and that more than $1 billion may be paid out to people who don't deserve the benefits. 

Coburn and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, sent a letter to the inspector general of the Social Security Administration saying they were concerned that some judges were approving appeals at unrealistic rates. 

“Given the looming collapse of (the Social Security Disability Income program), it is imperative that disability claims are properly examined to ensure that only those who are lawfully entitled to benefits receive them,” the senators wrote.

“Individuals cannot be allowed to exploit SSDI, transforming it into a supplemental source of unemployment income with enormous and crippling costs to taxpayers.” 

The senators' request followed a story in The Wall Street Journal about a judge in West Virginia who approves nearly every one of the appeals he hears from people who were first denied disability benefits. 

Applications increase

The Congressional Budget Office said disability insurance applications rose during the previous two recessions. 

“Moreover, the number of beneficiaries tends to increase even after the economy begins to recover from downturns,” the nonpartisan agency said in a report. “Many people who have been out of the labor force for extended periods find it difficult to return to work, and new beneficiaries rarely leave the DI program to return to work simply because the economy has improved. 

“CBO projects that as a result of the most recent recession, the number of DI beneficiaries will continue to rise over the next few years by more than otherwise would have occurred, contributing to the long-term trend of rising enrollment already under way.” 

Source: The Oklahoman

Now we know this is a pattern during a downturn in the economy.  What is shocking is that they rarely go back to work once on disability which means the American taxpayers are stuck no matter their age.  Yet there are people who want to work who are disabled -- something is wrong with this picture.

Just one more program of the federal government that people are finding ways to get taxpayer dollars when they don't deserve them.   This is not the fault of social security but the fault of the people scamming the system who have overloaded social security with disability claims. 

Labor Dept. Estimates $7.1 Billion in Overpayments to Unemployed

In 2009, there were $7.1 Billion made in over payments to the unemployed which was almost a $3B rise from 2008? Are we supposed to believe that no one is tracking the unemployment benefit payments? The fact of the matter is that is exactly what is happening.

When a person becomes unemployed, they have to go to the local unemployment office where they are given the necessary paperwork to start their search for a job along with a log sheet of the two jobs they are to look for each week. You read that right -- two (2) jobs a week. After that, the unemployed can file weekly on line. When the first round of benefits run out, they file a form on line to qualify for more without ever seeing a live person. Then they can do it again for additional benefits. Does anyone check the two places they are supposed to go each week looking for a job? In over a year an individual we know was never questioned about where he was looking for work. They kept a log but how would unemployment know that? They never checked or asked to see the log. Yet almost every week his pay was in the bank.

To pay out over $7.1B of our tax dollars and not seeming to be concerned is flat out wrong. In 2008 the fact they paid out over $4.2B in over payments should have set off all kinds of red flags. Believe we have some of the most incompetent federal agencies ever in this Country that now waste billions not millions of dollars.

If you have ever tried to call an agency in Washington, you will know what is meant by the runaround as you are passed from one person to another. My recent experience was with the Census Bureau. All I wanted to know is why when I filled out the long form for the census did I get a short form to fill out as well? Seemed like a simple question but was I wrong. Received some of the dumbest answers until I finally was put in touch with a young man who explained the long form was now sent out every year as a survey to help local communities get their necessary funds but the short form was the one required by law every ten years.

One young man out of nine before him was able to answer my question and from the sound of his voice he was probably 20-30 years younger than the people I was talking with who didn't have a clue. He was also articulate which could not be said for several of those who answered the phone.
The more affirmative action has taken over various agencies of the Federal Government where people are rewarded based on the color of their skin or gender not on their qualifications, it has made an inefficient system a lot worse. How do you pay $7.1B in over payments if you have qualified people working in the system? You don't which is why the overpayment.

A lot of federal workers don't care if they do the job or not as long as pay and benefits come in every two weeks. A lot of them also belong to the Federal Unions to make sure no one gets on them for not doing their job. Vicious cycle that has gotten worse over the years.

Who is the one organization still hiring? It is the Federal Government which should be under a hiring freeze as they have way too many people as it is to do an efficient job.

The cost cutters may want to put the Labor Department on this list as the first agency to look at for costing cutting. We would like to recommend that $7.1B could be saved with an efficient system.

Labor Dept. Estimates $7.1 Billion in Overpayments to Unemployed

Overpayment Figure Increases From $4.2 Billion the Previous Year

By ALICE GOMSTYN ABC NEWS Business Unit
July 9, 2010

While many Americans are feeling the pain of expired unemployment benefits, some have gotten a good chunk more than they were legally eligible for.

Congress will not extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

{reliminary estimates released by the U.S. Department of Labor find that, in 2009, states made more than $7.1 billion in overpayments in unemployment insurance, up from $4.2 billion the year before. The total amount of unemployment benefits paid in 2009 was $76.8 billion, compared to $41.6 billion in 2008.

Fraud accounted for $1.55 billion in estimated overpayments last year, while errors by state agencies were blamed for $2.27 billion, according to the Labor Department. The department's final report will be released next month.

Some of the overpayments likely can be traced back to the overwhelming workloads facing state employment agencies during the recession, said George Wentworth, a policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project.

"You've got a system that's been under siege like the unemployment insurance system has been for the last two years," Wentworth said. "You've got a lot of new staff coming into the system, there's been a lot of federal extensions [to unemployment insurance benefits] that have had to be programmed in and so on. There's just been a lot of change that states have had to handle. ... I just think the volume and the new staff have made the systems more susceptible to error."

The newly-unemployed, meanwhile, have found themselves frustrated when trying to reach out to state officials for help in properly filling out their claims.
"In 2009, it was a fairly regularly event to see different states' call centers basically reaching maximum capacity where people would not be able to get through for hours or days at a time," Wentworth said.

Read More at ABC Business

Cafe Hayek: The Free Lunch

Not sure who is running the Democrat Party but their math skills are not the best -- in fact if they were in math class they would be getting an "F" for this exercise. Amazing when a person can get $1.00 in unemployment benefits and it puts $1.50 into the economy.

What's wrong with the Congress finding the money to fund the benefits instead of just adding to the deficit? Revenue is going to be down this year with a lot less people earning money so it is way past time for the Congress to start cutting the budget.

Unemployment is so easy to get that you shake your head when you think about it. First you go visit an unemployment office once to file, then file on line or by phone every week (talking to no one), and checks keep coming in week after week with no one checking to see if you really are looking for a job. Take a list of names, send our your resume to two people each week, and your check comes in. You run out of the first 26 weeks so you reapply for 13 more weeks, still don't talk to a person. Same thing happens for the next 13 weeks. Finally after over a year you talk to a live person who asks you if you are still unemployed and if you are contacting two people a week and then approve you for more unemployment. j

That doesn't mean that everyone scams the system, but it would be interesting to see how many take this time as a paid vacation. Maybe the Democrats next move is going to be universal job benefits just like healthcare so the Government can take care of all. (sarcasm)

The free free lunch
by Russ Roberts on April 13, 2010
in Stimulus

The Democratic Party put me on their mailing list and they sent me this clip today (among others). I think it’s supposed to make me feel good about expanding unemployment benefits. According to my Senator, Senator Cardin, every dollar of spending on unemployment benefits adds $1.50 to the economy. Magic. It’s clear what we should be doing. We need to extend unemployment benefits to the employed. I know. That’s the whole idea of stimulus…

See video of Cardin at Cafe Hayek