6 Apr 2013 2:45 pm
One of the latest GOP Talking Points is that the number of people on Social Security disability has skyrocketed under Obama, the implication being that the standards to receive such benefits have been relaxed. More of that 'free stuff' that Obama is supposedly giving away in return for votes.The story even managed to bleed over from the right wing blogs to NPR, which provoked a sharp response from 8 former SSA commissioners who wrote an open letter to NPR, in which they pointed out that the growth that we’ve seen was predicted by actuaries as early as 1994 and is mostly the result of two factors: baby boomers entering their high disability years, and women entering the workforce in large numbers in the 1970s and 1980s so that more are now "insured" for DI based on their own prior contributions.They also pointed out that the statutory standard for approval is very strict, and has not changed.IOW Obama has not made it easier for people to collect disability payments.You can read the whole letter here.One of the signatories to the letter, Michael Astrue, who served as a SSA Commissioner under both Bush and Obama appeared on Chris Hayes' program last night.Watch the video.