The nation's most recent ill wind comes from the depths of the deepest, darkest pit of doom -- which is to say, the Trump administration.
In a heartless, blatant attempt to snatch money from desperate people, the administration is trying to exclude older, newly disabled adults from getting Social Security benefits.
So says David Weaver, an economist who studies such things, in a recent piece in The Hill.
The gist is that the SSA wants to strip away age as a consideration for whether to grant disability benefits. The existing formula says that age, education and work experience are all considered in determining whether someone is permanently disabled and has a right to disability benefits.
The new proposal presumes, under the flag of "modernization," that disabled older workers no longer face more difficulty than disabled younger workers in getting jobs.
The SSA didn't come up with any new data, and the data on available jobs that they used was ludicrously outdated. For instance, the 70s-era Dictionary of Occupation Titles (DOT) from the Department of Labor estimates that there are 200,000 people employed full time as "Addressers" -- people who address envelopes by hand or typewriter.
In fact, the Department of Labor answered the call to update the DOT only a few years ago. But in 2018, the SSA said it wouldn't use the new data until after it gets its "modernization" policy approved.
Not only that, but they're hoping to slide the policy through a slipshod version of regulatory approval before the Trumpies leave office.
How do you like that for a return to Dust Bowl prosperity?
Do you think, as we do, that it's a disgrace? Why would the SSA even try to push through such an ugly new policy? Is there any point in forcing a disabled adult into waiting an additional 10-15 years to get Social Security benefits?
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