Social Security targeted, again

Bill Knight column for 1-9, 10 or 11, 2020

There’s a lot of bull out now, from bull-in-the-china-shop foreign relations to the bullfighting approach to domestic policies, as the “Matador in Chief” waves a cape of war before us as he spears us in the back on Social Security.

January 31 is the deadline for public comment on a mostly overlooked Trump proposal that could kill disability benefits for thousands of American by complicating how the Social Security Administration (SSA) decides folks’ eligibility. The rule change was published as required in a November Federal Register.

The change – foreshadowed this summer, when House Republicans introduced H.R. 3566, titled the “Social Security Disability Insurance Return to Work Act” – would add an extra step to an already-complex process.

People getting disability help currently have ongoing reviews to see if they’re still eligible for help by classifying them as “improvement not expected,” “improvement expected,” or “improvement possible.” The Trump administration and some Republicans want to add “improvement likely.”

That could threaten assistance to 4.4 million citizens, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Social Security advocates say the move is intended to cut people’s benefits.

“Donald Trump and his advisers know that this will kill people, and they do not care,” said Alex Lawson, director of Social Security Works organization, which wants to protect the program. “Every current and future Social Security beneficiary must band together to defeat this horrific proposal, or else all of our earned benefits will be next.

“When Ronald Reagan implemented a similar benefit cut, it ripped away the earned benefits of 200,000 people,” Lawson added. “Ultimately, Reagan was forced to reverse his attack on Social Security after massive public outcry – but not before people suffered and died.”

Social Security is popular, according to Pew Research, which shows 74% saying SS benefits shouldn’t be reduced in any way.

In Illinois in 2017, the Census says Social Security provided benefits to 2.2 million residents, who received $34.9 billion in benefits, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported; the average SS benefit here was $15,719, the SSA said; and the program helped lift 729,670 Illinois residents out of poverty, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

The percentage of people in Illinois’ Congressional Districts receiving Social Security benefits ranges from 11% to 22.9%, with the highest percentages downstate. Districts 15, 16, 17 and 18 all have more than 21.7% of their constituents getting benefits, SSA said in May.

Trump in 2016 campaigned on protecting Social Security, but its budget is down 9% in the last eight years, and the SSA has 1,200 fewer employees despite increased workloads.

Separate from the federal budget, Social Security itself isn’t funded by Congress (and therefore doesn’t add to the nation’s budget deficits nor long-term debt), but Capitol Hill can limit its administrative spending.

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) this summer told the New York Times that the GOP has discussed cutting Social Security, and Trump said he was open to the idea.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called for reductions to Social Security and Medicare after passing the 2017 tax-cut fiasco; U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in August suggested lawmakers make cuts behind closed doors, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette; and Trump’s 2020 budget proposal asks for a $870 billion decrease in Social Security and Medicare.

Illinois Congressman Danny Davis and five other House Democrats asked to extend the proposal’s comment period  to March 16, criticizing the change as “incredibly complex, potentially harmful,” costing $1.8 billion in the coming decade, and adding to disability reviews’ “long and troubled history.”

Another SS advocacy group, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, issued a statement saying, “The Trump/GOP tax cuts for the wealthy will add over $1.5 trillion in debt.  Now we know how they’ll pay for those tax cuts: by cutting Social Security and Medicare.”