Trump Budget Proposes Cutting Social Security Disability Benefits!

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Trump’s Budget Cuts Deeply Into Medicaid and Anti-Poverty Efforts
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/us/politics/trump-budget-cuts.html
May 22, 2017

Correction: May 24, 2017

An article on Tuesday about President Trump’s budget proposals, using information from Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director, misstated a proposal to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving certain tax credits. A Social Security number is already required to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit. The proposal would impose this requirement for the Child Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Credit is not affected.

The article also referred incorrectly to one effect on Social Security. The budget proposes cutting Social Security disability benefits, not reducing retirement benefits.
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Their thinking was that people don't consider SSDI to be the same as Social Security benefits and that "999 in 1000" people will not equate the two, nor will they mind having SSDI benefits cut so long as they aren't on SSDI (if you're under age 65, you are at risk of losing both your Social Security and your Medicare based upon disability).


A Budget That Promises Little but Pain
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/opinion/trump-federal-budget.html
5/23/17
The budget also calls for slashing food stamps ($192 billion over 10 years) and disability benefits ($72 billion over 10 years), including a big chunk from the Social Security disability insurance program. The rationale is that the cuts would force Americans back to work. But some 60 percent of food stamp recipients already work and an estimated 15 percent more work most of the time, availing themselves of food stamps only when they are between jobs or when their hours are reduced. The remainder are disabled and elderly. They will not go back to work if their food stamps are reduced. They will go hungry.
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This could easily cost may people their access to health care as well as the little they have to live upon!
 
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taniaaust1

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how does America rate with disability pension then say another country such as Australia? (Ive often assumed its less over there then here esp since you hear of the disabled living on the streets).
 
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It depends upon the system you qualify for as well as your earnings history. Medicaid provides the least care and financial support. You don't have to meet any work requirements prior to having become ill. Medicare provides more assistance that Medicaid but requires a minimum number of fully employed "quarters" prior to beginning SSDI.For SSDI, you also have to be "totally disabled." Once you qualify (can take years and you have to be quite sick), Medicare and Social Security disability acts a lot like social security retirement but the monthly amount to live on is likely quite a bit less because it is based upon what you contributed to the system when you were able to work.
 
heapsreal

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Countries are running out of money and spending more then they make. Greece is just a sped up version of socialism gone wild.

Many countries i think need to pull out of the UN who just want tax payers money from every country. Even overseas aid should be scrutinized heavily, im sure africa has been given so much money in aid yet their people dont see a dime of it. Im sure someone is pocketing it but it aint being shared around or put into important infrastructure.
 
alex3619

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This kind of proposal will NOT save money. It will cost money. A lot of money. The reason is it will result in social unrest, and rising crime, which will increase judicial and police costs, as well as secondary burdens on society including medical needs on free clinics, and so on.

Some years back there was a small trial run in Melbourne, Australia, of the exact opposite. They gave the homeless food, shelter, medical care, counselling etc., and paid for it all. The result was a net profit because the secondary costs, which are usually ignored, went down. Many of the homeless would have been disabled.

When the DWP began this kind of thing in the UK the death rate for disabled on benefits doubled, based on government figures obtained under freedom of information. So they then stopped monitoring the numbers. I regard it as genocide by stealth. I suspect around 30,000 extra a year were dying. Translated to the US, the equivalent would be something like 150,000 extra deaths per year. That is one way to decrease budget costs I guess.

So far as I am aware there is no good evidence of such measures increasing work participation, unless its the black economy which is not measured. You cannot put people into work when there is no work anyway.

Super generous disability benefits are not a good idea. Very low or zero benefits are also not a good idea. The debate should really be about the ranges in between.

So I hope this is misreporting, or is a political stunt, in that governments often float these ideas, gauge public response, and then actually propose something less drastic. Failing that I hope Congress and the Senate reject it.

This could potentially have bad consequences for many PWME, though this would depend on specifics of the budget proposal, which we do not have.
 
alex3619

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heapsreal said:
Even overseas aid should be scrutinized heavily, im sure africa has been given so much money in aid yet their people dont see a dime of it.
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When there is a history of misallocation of funds I think aid should no longer be provided to governments. Instead we could fund direct food and medical programs, and only to countries that permit this to be monitored.
 
caledonia

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alex3619 said:
My best guess is that by mid century things are going to become critical.
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Things are already critical. People work very long hours, many have 2 or even 3 jobs, making minimum wage, which far from a living wage. Half the people can't come up with $500 to cover an emergency.

That's why they voted for Trump, because he promised to fix their situation, while other politicians didn't address their issues. However, he has already reneged on many campaign promises, including "not touching Social Security".
 
caledonia

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If you're worried about the proposed cuts to SSDI and Medicaid, contact your representatives and tell them that you reject this budget, that cutting SSDI and Medicaid is cutting Social Security. And that if they vote for this budget, you'll remember that in future elections.

Call 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121

Here's an article from Social Security Works.org that probably explains it better than I can:
https://www.socialsecurityworks.org...on-lying-budget-proposal-cut-social-security/
 
alex3619

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caledonia said:
Things are already critical. People work very long hours, many have 2 or even 3 jobs, making minimum wage, which far from a living wage. Half the people can't come up with $500 to cover an emergency.

That's why they voted for Trump, because he promised to fix their situation, while other politicians didn't address their issues. However, he has already reneged on many campaign promises, including "not touching Social Security".
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No, that is not nearly as bad as its going to get. We are only in the early stages of these issues. I am talking an inter-generational Great Depression or even much worse. I would also like to again emphasize this is a global issue. It does however take a lot of time, and a lot of failures, for things to get that wrong, time in which the world can take action ... if there is political will to do so.
 
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heapsreal said:
Countries are running out of money and spending more then they make. Greece is just a sped up version of socialism gone wild.

...
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Nothing could be further from the truth with this proposal. It's not socialism but the safety net that is under attack. The proposed cuts are made to accommodate a reduction in the tax rate for corporations from 35 percent to 15 percent, and to decrease the top income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 35 percent.

The Unworkable Math of Trumps Budget
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/05/trumps-budget-dynamic-scoring/527901/

Classic "Trickle down economics" on the backs of the poor. It didn't work when Regan tried it and it has failed miserably when it was tried in Kansas.
Modern day conservatives doesn't believe in government. "Shrink it to the point where you can drown it in the bath tub."
Government at it's best is called community. I paid Social Security taxes for decades. Part of that deal was that SSDI would be there if I needed it. It's not much but it's critical (especially the access to health care coverage).

Kansas Republicans Sour on Their Tax-Cut Experiment
https://www.theatlantic.com/politic...blowback-against-sam-brownback-kansas/517641/
The state legislature nearly reversed Governor Sam Brownback’s signature policy after a voter rebellion. His economic legacy, one GOP lawmaker says, “is going down in flames.”

This is going back on a decades old promise. I agree strongly with @caledonia - Call your Congressional representatives (they have to approve the budget)!

Call 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121
 
caledonia

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alex3619 said:
No, that is not nearly as bad as its going to get. We are only in the early stages of these issues. I am talking an inter-generational Great Depression or even much worse. I would also like to again emphasize this is a global issue. It does however take a lot of time, and a lot of failures, for things to get that wrong, time in which the world can take action ... if there is political will to do so.
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I agree that it can get much worse. It just depends on if certain factors are taken care of soon, or if trends continue as they are now.

I've seen some hopeful signs that change is in the works on a mass scale, so maybe it won't come to that. But we're not out of the woods by any means.
 
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