“Let me ask you a question, do you really think that Social Security disability insurance is part of what people think of when they think of Social Security? I don’t think so,” he said, with a slight grin on his face. “It’s the fastest growing program. It was — it grew tremendously under President Obama. It’s a very wasteful program and we want to try and fix that.”
[God/dess but I want to wipe that smirk off this pond scums face. YouTube clip at article's link below]
-snip-

In 2015, the federal government spent $143 billion on SSDI, which is primarily financed by the Social Security payroll tax. This totals around 4 percent of the federal budget. The average monthly benefit for disabled workers in January 2017 was $1,171.25.

SSDI has its own trust fund that is separate from the Social Security program’s funds reserved for retirees and survivors. The National Academy of Social Insurance illustrates how disability insurance and funds for old age and survivors are financed the same way but administered by two different funds, both run by the Social Security Administration:


The program largely benefits older Americans who have worked decades and are near retirement age. The “I” in SSDI stands for insurance because workers pay into this program so it is there for them when they need it. The average SSDI recipient has worked 22 years, and 75 percent of those who benefit are 50 years old or older. Recall that 53 percent of voters ages 50 and over supported President Trump during the election in November.

It is hardly an easy program to enroll in — the Social Security Administration rejects a majority of those who apply for disability payments. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities notes that fewer than 400 of 1,000 initial applications for approval are accepted.

https://theintercept.com/2017/03/20/trump-budget-director-takes-aim-at-wasteful-social-security-program-that-helps-disabled-americans/

Taking aim at any benefits people who are disabled enough to get approved for, no less stay on, SSDI is just friggin SADISTIC and may karma bite anyone who does so in the ass HARD.

Is there "waste"? Quite possibly at least a bit since most government programs tend to be a bit bloated but those on SSDI *NEED* the little bit of $$ they get to SURVIVE. Working, even part-time, isn't an option for most and the vast majority that I've known over the years would highly prefer to be healthy and able to work for the satisfaction and, in many cases, higher incomes instead of struggling to get by, often needing to use some or all of the safety net that the GOP are working on tearing apart.

(I'm unfamiliar with this as a source but the YouTube video at the link agrees with what Mulvaney said AND the info about SSDI is very close if not 100% accurate according to my research and personal experience.)

This video using Chaplin's moving speech from, The Great Dictator, was created in 2016 and uses many fairly recent images. Sadly his words are very pertinent again.

According to Randy's Tweet about this, "I was asked by @nytimes what I thought of the new tolerance-promoting Beauty & the Beast. Don't worry - I told them" and he certainly did and in his own unique and awesome (IMO) way.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/opinion/randy-rainbow-the-terrifying-tolerance-promoting-beauty-and-the-beast.html?_r=0

I'm just hoping like heck the Senate stops this murderous crap cold and Republican buttwipes pulling this bs pay a huge price at the polls for decades to come.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trumpcare-raids-medicare-to-enrich-the-wealthy-and_us_58c994ace4b0537abd956d5f
*Snip*

While the media has highlighted the impact on Medicaid and on seniors not yet on Medicare, few have spotlighted the roadmap of destruction obviously in the works for Medicare itself. Trumpcare plants the bomb, where it will remain until the Republicans detonate it later this year and blow up Medicare.

The Republicans have certainly telegraphed their ultimate plans. Speaker Paul Ryan has been advocating the dismantling of Medicare for years. Consistent with that, as soon as the election ended, Ryan announced his intention to enact 2017 legislation ending Medicare. Ryan’s plan would force all seniors and people with disabilities onto the private market, arming them only with inadequate voucher coupons. So, that 64-year-old spending more than half her income on her premium will get no reprieve from her cat-food diet when she turns age 65.

Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Tom Price, has also been clear about the Republicans’ plans. Against all evidence, Price claims that “nothing has had a greater negative effect on the delivery of health care than the federal government’s intrusion into medicine through Medicare.” Of course, the exact opposite is true. Medicare saves lives. It allows seniors and people with disabilities, those with the greatest health needs, to obtain life-saving health care.

*Snip*

Now here’s the ticking time bomb: Trumpcare raids Medicare of $117 billion and puts it into the pockets of the rich. That raiding of Medicare, along with a provision that increases Medicare’s hospital payments by $43 billion, paves the way for further destructive action later in the year.

It literally brought tears to my eyes...