Can ANYONE Shoot Straight???

 

 

 

 

"I know it is hard, but can everyone be this inept?"

Oh boy, here we go again. Just when you think you have seen it all, something else comes up and knocks your socks off. I know it is a often used cliché, but is there anyone who works on the Potomac who knows what they are doing? That knows how to shoot straight? As an American, this is embarrassing. In fact, it is disgusting.

The latest revelation came out yesterday. It was not new information, however, this time it got some hard hitting press. It seems that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) headed up a panel to investigate cheating, graft and misuse of our Social Security Disability (SSI) fund. The abuse of this fund has been known for some time - many have written about it. I have written about it a couple of times.

To qualify for SSI was like winning the lotto. All you need to is get on, an you are home free. Work? That is for chumps. With SSI, you get Social Security type benefits until you are planted. It is a hot deal for sure. The problem is, the participation in this fund has been growing like a weed. Way, way, way too fast. The plan administrators didn't seem to notice or care. Heck - it is not their money. Punch in, pay the bennies, punch out, go home.

One of the canaries in the coal mine has been the workplace participation number. It is at record lows for a variety of reasons. This is one of them. The urban legend, which now seems to not be so much legend, is the formula on how to get on. It is called the "three strikes" system. The first time most people apply, they get turned down. The second time, it will take a bit longer, but they get turned down again. The third time is the charm - most get accepted.

Last April, Forbes did an article about the misuse of this annual $200B program;

In a 43-page paper on the topic, Mark Duggan and Scott Imberman found that only 13 percent of the growth in the receipt of disability benefits in men was due to aging of the population; for women, it was 4 percent. But the biggest driver of all, was relaxation of the medical eligibility criteria, which accounted for 45 percent of growth for men, and 36 percent for women. The second biggest driver was the economic value of the disability  payments, which has grown over time, due to quirks in the formula used to generate them.

I have read studies which show the cost of fraud and inefficiency in government programs runs about 20%. I have also read other studies which show that number to be higher. Lets assume the correct number is 20%. If we need to borrow 33% over what we take in from revenue to run our country, then we truly only have a 13% issue to work on. That by itself would put a big hole in our growing debt.

Unlike industry, we never "take the temperature" on programs once they are up and running. There is no score card. Once started, government programs develop a life of their own and seem to live on into perpetuity.

There are many more examples I could point out, but it would violate my self imposed rule on brevity. This October, besides being resolute on fixing our debt issues, let us also take the gang out to the range so they can learn how to shoot straight so they can run this beast the right way.