Posted on 08/31/2012 9:02:36 AM PDT by listenhillary
As many as 117,000 Americans simultaneously collect unemployment benefits and federal disability each year, a form of double-dipping that investigators say costs taxpayers $850 million annually and should be ended.
The reason for the double-spending, investigators at the Government Accountability Office reported this week, is good old-fashioned lack of communication.
Put simply, the Labor Department that funds unemployment benefits and the Social Security Administration that funds disability payments don't compare notes, leavings tens of thousands of Americans each month to collect two checks from a stretched-thin government treasury.
"The government is replacing a portion of their lost earnings not once, but twice. Reducing or eliminating this overlap and potential improper payments could offer substantial savings," GAO warned.
Those who take advantage can make out quite well. One double-dipper identified by the GAO, for instance, wracked up a handsome $62,000 in 2010 by tapping both programs simultaneously, even though it appears the person also held a job, investigators found. Another received $107,000 in overlapping payments between 2008 and 2011, despite working for construction companies, auditors found.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonguardian.com ...
FTA
While some instances of double-dipping are allowed by current law, GAO recommends all forms of it should be ended to save money for a government chronically adding $1 trillion or more a year to its national debt. And the urgency for change is growing since both programs are running out of money.
This is the problem with big government. It tries to do everything, and ends up doing nothing well.
A government 1/10 the present size would cause 1/10 the problems.
This failure to cooperate goes back as far as the Carter administration who refused to do any data matching programs under the erroneous conclusion they violated people’s privacy!
Frankly someone at the then HEW relayed a comment from NYC which said they would not furnish any files for computer matching because they were fearful anyone caught would have to go on full City welfare rather than just a partial welfare payment as they would lose a federal benefit.
They’re the same crowd that wants to administer my health care!!
The corruption in America is deep and wide..
America may not have their NOSE full of Barry Half-White YET... Washington D.C. is full of Hood-Rats.. of every kind and shape.. and color..
This is deliberate. Govt thinks it’s job is to expand the welfare roles and the money handed out. More clients..more govt jobs and more budget. More votes purchased. It is the same with the Earned Income Tax credit and the dependents..more money..more govt jobs..more votes.
Unless we stop these activities we will loose the whole country to votes by people who have no interest in reducing their benefits..
117,000? Have these 117,000 been rounded up and arrested yet?
Chirp....chirp.....chirp.....crickets......nothing else.
‘A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.’ .......Author unknown
Seen it attributed to Jefferson. And Franklin.
Obama bucks!
...and Alexander Tytler, but no evidence that anybody of note in particular ever actually said or wrote it. That does not mean that it isn’t true, so it must become an ‘aphorism ad prophecy’........
Mr. Cloward, meet Mrs. Piven.
62 thousand!! Nice, now we are talking public sector retirement wages.
I can testify there is a strange loop hole in the system. When I was fired from my part time job I was encouraged to apply for unemployment. Never thought I would actually get it because I was only part time working under the SSA guidelines for people who are disabled. I won! Why? The administrative judge said the disability pay was to compensate for being unable to work a full time job and I had a record of working part time for 8 years and he found that I had been unjustly fired and ruled in my favor. I’m sure the company was shocked, 90% of the staffing is part time, for obvious cost savings benefits and I’m sure I’m the only one who ever collected unemployment from the funeral home company.
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