Lying about Social Security isn’t the answer
As an attorney, I have direct experience and the unique point of view that comes from working with the Social Security Administration daily and remain in awe at its ability to serve millions of Americans with a wide array of needs.
What is deeply troubling to me is to see local offices like Franklin be threatened with closure knowing how many rural Western North Carolinians depend on being able to visit or call its staff. The day the news broke it was closing, I was leaving the Franklin field office after a hearing and their parking lot was full of everyday citizens who need their assistance that are unable to use online services — these folks will now have to drive 3 hours round trip to access services when they need them most.
If cuts to Social Security occur, prepare to see immediate and drastic changes in our community. Nearly half of American children are dependent on Medicaid services, as are one-fifth of our overall population. Prepare for waiting times to increase and claims for services such as disability to grow from two years to four years as Social Security is currently operating with the smallest staff in over 50 years.
It’s troubling to hear misinformation spread, for example that it’s a Ponzi scheme or that the trustees at SSA did not plan for this. SSA planned for the increase in demand on the system with there being more boomers and a lower birth rate resulting in fewer young people paying in. What they did not account for was the tremendous redistribution of wealth to a growing billionaire class and away from the middle class. Individuals stop paying Social Security taxes when their income reaches roughly $174,000, so the precipitous drop in middle class workers paying in coupled with the current cap on the wealthiest earners has strained the fund, and even a modest increase in that cap could make SSA solvent for generations to come. I suspect a lot of readers would be surprised to learn the wealthiest in our country pay the same amount of Social Security tax they do.
Critics will point to fraud. There are fraud cases in our government and Social Security is no exception. SSA has a fraud investigation unit that addresses these issues, and considering the magnitude of the Administration, the cases are negligible. Under the guise of fraud, a policy was changed that now requires people to appear in person at the local office to prove their identity if they are unable to do so online, the very local office being threatened with closure. So many people in our community either have no reliable internet service or are not comfortable getting online to create an account with SSA and a separate virtual ID. In the thousands of cases I have worked on I have never seen fraud occur — the prior process to prove one’s identity requires knowing your Social Security number, date of birth, city of birth, mother’s maiden name and father’s first name.
Pause and think about life before Social Security, and the financial and health care we have provided to our citizens to live a more dignified life, whether young, old, disabled, or widowed. Consider those around you who depend on retirement benefits, and the difference that makes. Consider the elderly who receive skilled long-term care funded by Medicaid, and how few could afford their end-of-life care without it. Let’s have an ongoing discussion about improving Social Security, yes, but if we are going to be critical of what are seen as social welfare programs, let’s be critical of corporate welfare programs as well. It’s ironic to me that some elites are attacking the programs that benefit the vast majority of Americans considering they pay little to no more in Social Security taxes than those who depend on these services.
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I’ve had a front row seat watching everyday people go through the worst times in their life, losing their jobs and having limited access to healthcare and desperate for help which most ultimately receive from their government. I have experienced clients die as they wait for their case to be reached, as the system is stretched thin — this has improved with the recent Medicaid expansion in North Carolina resulting in an increase in access to medical care, but we are in the infant stages of seeing those benefits and a disruption in services will cost lives.
Any additional closings or layoffs will be detrimental to someone close to you, and my understanding of the proposed budget in Congress seeks to cut over $880 billion in Medicaid services while extending even further tax cuts for the wealthiest. Social Security is something to be proud of as an American. I ask you to use your own eyes, judgment and experience in assessing Social Security during these changing times.
(Scott Taylor is an attorney from Waynesville. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
