Posted on 11/21/2011 1:28:24 PM PST by Starman417
We have all heard lately about the "supercommittee," its charge, and, if it isn't successful, pulling the spending "trigger." Defense has the most to lose from triggered cuts, as this source illustrates. Leon Panetta, head of the Department of Defense (DOD) and no bastion of conservatism, called the trigger "draconian" and "devastating" and said that it will "hollow out" the military. The worst thing, Panetta said, is that the cuts "invite aggression."
But supercommittee cuts exempt Social Security, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' benefits, civilian and military retirement programs, and other programs serving low-income families. Cuts to hospitals, physicians and other Medicare providers are limited to 2 percent.
So let's examine SSI, a part of Social Security, and exempt from supercommittee cuts. Why SSI? It has become the newest welfare scam. In 1988, there were 4.46 million SSI recipients. In 2011, there are 8 million. The SSI program for children was created mainly for those with severe physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and blindness. But benefits now go primarily to indigent children with behavioral, learning and mental conditions. "This [SSI] has become the new welfare," said MIT economics professor David Autor.
What is SSI? The SSI program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources. It also pays benefits to people 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial limits. SSI is a federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues, not Social Security taxes. It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income, and it provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
That sounds pretty good. The original intent of SSI was well intended. But, as with all federal assistance programs, scam artists horned in, particularly in the "disabled" child area. SSI is known as "crazy money" since one must "act crazy" to receive it. Oftentimes several people in the same household, adults and children, collect SSI checks. Easy-to-fake learning, behavioral, and mental disorders are the most common "disabilities," especially among children, who comprise 55 percent of all cases. More than half who go on SSI as a child, requalify as adults. SSI recipients are not required to get treatment for their or their children's disabilities. No requalification can be good since it can be harmful for kids to take drugs for fake or exaggerated symptoms. The SSI program for children is rapidly expanding, with the biggest increase among kids with mental, behavioral and learning disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), speech delays, autism and bipolar disorder. (Personal note: With kids, how can an adult know if he/she has a "disability?" In my day [I'm 62 years old] we were told to sit down and shut up, otherwise we would get a spanking. Today, rather than administer corporal punishment, it's easier to drug kids.) "Accurately diagnosing some types of mental impairments is a complex and often subjective process for [the Social Security Administration], which can sometimes be vulnerable to fraud and abuse," Daniel Bertoni, from the Government Accountability Office, said.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
A cut is when something actually DECREASES, not slows down it's rate of increase.
Stop buying the Orwellian doublespeak.
Please can we just have one Peter Finch character’s commentary on all this crap coming out of DC: I am mad as hell and I am not going to take in any longer.
Or you can have your parents immigrate here from the old country and SSI becomes their retirement program
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) For Noncitizens
SSA Publication No. 05-11051
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11051.html
SSI is the dem secret weapon... when Dems rob Peter to pay Paul - they count on Paul's support...
I had no idea it went that far...
they luvs them some “crazy checks”.
Both of them are collecting - he wants to be a baby ( sexual game ) and she want to be a “mommy” . We’re paying for both of them to stay home all day ... and play... and play.. and play....
... and despite the fact that you had to sign an Affidavit of Support to sponsor your elderly immigrant parents into the country in the first place, promising that they would not become a public charge. The government simply fails to enforce the affidavit and they go on SSI. We pay. Retirement system for the Third World, courtesy of Uncle Sam. A majority of these elderly, whose children are doing very well, are from China and Russia.
And people wonder why we're broke?
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