Solutions to Balancing the Federal Budget 10 a) What is required to balance the budget, view of disability
Our current annual budget deficit stands at just under $ ½ trillion and while it is declining the prospect for a balanced budget any time soon is not good. Keep in mind that the deficit is only declining as a result of projected increases in revenue (more tax collected). At the same time government spending continues to increase, albeit at a slower pace. (While I was writing this the trend actually changed and the annual deficit for 2015 reversed and is now increasing again.)
What could our representatives do to change this?
Following are few ideas (nothing new here, just requires a bit of leadership):
- Quit making disability payments blindly. I am not opposed to assisting disabled persons, especially those that have been injured in service to their country. What we all know is that many folks who receive this payment are still able to perform productive tasks. Let’s require all, but the severely disabled, to perform some productive task either in service to the country or, in certain cases to industry (where they would actually make the payment), to qualify to receive these payments. Using this method we could probably save 1/3 or more of this cost.
- Source for below: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2013/03/25/govt-spends-more-on-disability-than-food-stamps-and-welfare-combined/
- “The federal government spends more money each year on cash payments for disabled former workers than it does on food stamps and welfare combined; America’s two largest disability programs, including health care for disabled workers, costs taxpayers $260 billion a year
- In some parts of the country, such as Hale County, Alabama, one out of every four working-age adults collects a disability check
- As of 2011, 33.8% of newly diagnosed disabled workers cited “back pain and other musculoskeletal problems” as their reason for being unable to work. In 1961, the top reason for being disabled was “heart disease, stroke”
- Disabled workers do not get counted in the unemployment figures. If they did, the numbers would be far higher
- Less than 1% of people who went on disability at the beginning of 2011 have returned to the workforce
- The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program–which covers kids and adults–has exploded. SSI is now seven times larger than it was 30 years ago.” Assuming we could convert 1/3 of this program into production it would save in excess of $85 billion annually.
stay tuned for more on this subject