Invisible Social Security Cuts: Now You See Them, Now You Don’t

[eridani]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/invisible-social-security_b_5115505.html

It’s a simple game. Slash funding for well-run government programs, then use the resulting chaos as “evidence” that “government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.” It’s simple – and relentlessly cynical.


In an excellent report for Reuters, Mark Miller surveyed the damage this strategy has caused: “… sharp reductions in SSA staff and field service offices. Nationwide, staff is down to 62,000 from a peak of 70,000 in the 1990s. Since fiscal 2010, the agency has consolidated 92 field offices into 46 offices and has closed 521 contact stations (mobile floating service facilities that set up shop in other government offices).”

Busy signals on the SSA’s phone lines doubled last year.

The rationale most frequently given for these cuts is that people can now access these services online. But seniors are far less likely to use the Internet than other Americans. Only 57 percent of people over 65 are online, according to the latest Pew study, as opposed to 87 percent overall. Minorities and lower-income households are also far less likely to use the Internet, adding a discriminatory element to these decisions.

What’s more, there is some evidence that suggests that elderly Americans are especially reluctant to provide or receive personal information through the Internet. (There is also some evidence that their concerns are justified.)

Here’s how cynical this game gets: The very same Republicans who are using healthcare.gov’s problems as proof that “government doesn’t work” are driving an ever-increasing share of Social Security’s administration onto the Internet – and then underfunding that effort.

[Hissyspit]

1. Shock Doctrine