How Social Security Picks Your Pocket: A Story of Waste, Fraud, and Inequities

Author’s Preface......Page 18
Risky behavior......Page 20
Millions of Americans lose out......Page 21
Carlo “Charles” Ponzi......Page 24
Are old folks the problem?......Page 25
Worse than the Titanic......Page 26
Nine Specific Design And Management Problems......Page 27
The Wheel of Waste......Page 32
One Underlying Problem......Page 34
The mythical trust......Page 35
What was the alternative?......Page 36
Mr. Senator, you’re under arrest!......Page 37
An “average” worker doesn’t get an “average” benefit......Page 40
Who pays for the transfers?......Page 41
Half truths, right from the start......Page 42
Rationalizations......Page 43
Four transfer mechanisms......Page 44
1. Transfers made via a 3-rate benefit formula......Page 45
Mr. Madonna......Page 46
Should some get more, for staying at home?......Page 47
Punishing women who work......Page 48
Flowers for your casket......Page 49
4. Transfers made by ignoring wages after 35 years......Page 50
What portion of the transfers constitutes waste?......Page 51
How were these estimates made?......Page 52
An unexpected finding......Page 53
Retirees with other types of income......Page 54
A problem of gross proportions......Page 55
The impact of other sources of retirement income......Page 56
Those deemed to be poorest are the wealthiest!......Page 57
A reality check......Page 58
An award......Page 59
What we must do......Page 60
Playing it both ways......Page 62
Retirement apartheid in America......Page 63
Hypocrisy 24/7......Page 64
Important differences......Page 65
5 million white settlers......Page 66
Social Security transfers are unique......Page 67
Financial Impact on Social Security......Page 70
Forked-tongue scoundrels......Page 72
What we must do......Page 73
Trading rulers for mops......Page 74
A loophole for “jani-teachers”......Page 75
Team work......Page 76
They ought to be sued......Page 79
Did the GAO and the SSA connect the dots?......Page 80
The importance of remuneration......Page 81
These people were married - or were they?......Page 82
Texas teachers strike out, even on a technical basis......Page 83
What “employment” isn’t......Page 84
The section 418 agreement of the Coleman ISD......Page 85
Were Coleman jani-teachers entitled to any Social Security?......Page 86
Coleman’s not the only one with a problem......Page 87
What is the SSA doing about this?......Page 88
A Texas school district stands tall......Page 90
The bottom line......Page 91
It depends on what the meaning of “tax” is......Page 92
A “ticking time bomb”......Page 93
Income taxed twice - and not at all......Page 94
“Mean” testing......Page 95
And now, the amazing 115% tax rate!......Page 96
What we must do......Page 97
The Supremes create Crazy Checks......Page 98
Now, back to Crazy Checks......Page 99
It takes a village (to top this family)......Page 100
New challenges......Page 101
The legal standards......Page 103
You too can qualify!......Page 105
At the doctor’s office......Page 106
The perfect disability gives rise to Lazy Checks......Page 107
SSA - the tough guys?......Page 108
Flunking Claims Management 101......Page 110
The peeved Wendy’s worker......Page 111
Chaos within the SSA......Page 112
The truly disabled get lousy service......Page 113
A fish rots from the head down......Page 114
What we must do......Page 115
Only one in five hundred returns to work......Page 116
SGA: The Silly Government Approach......Page 117
Disability pays more than work?......Page 118
No treatment, no rehab: just take the money......Page 119
We’re not making progress!......Page 121
The $1 for $2 offset proposal......Page 122
What we must do......Page 123
The dream of every man and woman......Page 126
More evidence of an economic impact on disability rates......Page 127
SSA disability trends don’t reflect real health trends......Page 128
Is this a graph of disability rates or the Himalayan Mountains?......Page 129
What are the real disability rates?......Page 130
Living longer does not mean living sicker......Page 131
Just use your head!......Page 132
More evidence......Page 133
Two conflicting trends. Why?......Page 134
125 percent more mental illness in just 4 years?......Page 136
The fiscal implications......Page 137
What we must do......Page 138
Mummy Dearest......Page 140
“20 years of Inattention”......Page 141
Payments based on “allegations?”......Page 142
“Only a few months of concealed work activity”......Page 143
The “universe of fraud”......Page 144
Estimation efforts in the United Kingdom......Page 146
The SSA could make an Enron auditor blush......Page 147
Decisional accuracy......Page 148
101-year-old dad is in “top secret” experimental facility......Page 149
2. Stealing or fabricating identities......Page 150
3. Collecting SSI while in prison or on the lam......Page 152
SSI welfare checks lead to accused rapist......Page 153
SSA staff comments about residency fraud......Page 154
5. Faking ailments and collaborator fraud......Page 155
6. Faking finances......Page 157
Strange love triangle wrecks man’s disability scheme......Page 158
How much does it cost us?......Page 159
A word about collection rates......Page 160
What we must do......Page 161
Fall of a Princess......Page 164
Part one - secret relationships......Page 165
The Social Security implications of being “married”......Page 166
Hidden marriages......Page 167
Hidden parents......Page 168
Help Wanted: peeping Tom......Page 169
How often do you see $100 bills at the grocery store?......Page 170
The underground economy and lost net revenues......Page 171
The underground and overpayment of disability and SSI welfare......Page 172
The future - a high-tech underground?......Page 174
Can we reduce the underground economy?......Page 175
What we must do......Page 176
Political Payola......Page 178
Scaring Seniors is Sooo Much Fun......Page 179
Wisdom from Shecky Green......Page 180
But, is a risk-free portfolio a good thing?......Page 181
2. PRAs won’t help national productivity and savings.......Page 182
3. Administration costs would be too high?......Page 183
4. What about the transition costs?......Page 184
5. Social Security provides good monthly survivor benefits.......Page 185
We need the right to inheritance - not survivor benefits......Page 186
A truly progressive system......Page 187
Eight criticisms - all are leaking water......Page 188
Commission Proposal 1......Page 189
Would I support Proposal 1?......Page 190
Commission Proposal 2......Page 192
Commission Proposal 3......Page 194
What’s going on with regard to Proposals 2 and 3?......Page 195
The bottom line......Page 196
“A blessing from God”......Page 198
The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (Ohio PERS) vs. Social Security......Page 199
If it were a fight, they’d call it off......Page 200
What about married people?......Page 201
What do we do about that “low-income” couple?......Page 202
Disability and Survivor benefits......Page 203
Other Ohio PERS plan design features......Page 205
What a shame!......Page 208
Conclusion......Page 209
Wake up! Wake up!......Page 210
That’s my dream; here is how it would work......Page 211
Why would the Dream Trust be better than today’s Social Security?......Page 212
Offer a choice......Page 214
Why limit the trustees with regard to investment decisions?......Page 215
What about the insolvency problem?......Page 216
Alternatives to a tax hike......Page 217
Plan B......Page 218
Recommendations for the Disability Programs......Page 220
Plan B for disability......Page 221
Fraud......Page 222
Parting thoughts......Page 223
A-1 Calculation of Jill’s Ohio PERS benefits vs. Mary’s Social Security benefits......Page 226
A-2 The Social Security shortfall: explanation......Page 228
A-3 Calculating one universal replacement rate for all workers retiring at age 65 in 1999: explanation......Page 230
A-4 Annual amount of savings needed to keep Social Security solvent for 75 years......Page 231
A-5 Calculation of transferred spousal/survivor benefits......Page 232
A-6 The bottom line in the Gustman-Steinmeier study......Page 234
A-7 Calculation of extra benefits going to those with non-SS retirement incomes greater than 70% of retirees......Page 235
A-8 The Clinton double tax: explanation......Page 237
A-9 Age-adjusted disability rates: explanation of methods and sources......Page 238
A-10 SSI Age and population-adjusted disability rates: explanation of methods and sources......Page 239
A-11 Estimation of potential disability savings: explanation......Page 240
A-12 Failure to report a change in earnings. Is it a crime?......Page 241
A-13 Is Bush getting all of the facts?......Page 242
The rationale behind the adjustments......Page 243
Details of the methods used......Page 246
A-16 Estimation of required income tax increase, to eliminate long-term unfunded liability over a 100-year period......Page 248
Ask questions regarding the retirement program......Page 252
Ask questions regarding the disability programs......Page 254
Contact aids......Page 255
Index......Page 256
G......Page 257
P......Page 258
U......Page 259
Z......Page 260