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Social Security reform has without a doubt become one of the major hot button issues of today’s political climate. Rumors of insolvency and dire predictions of benefits cuts abound.

Everyone has a stance and everyone has an idea when it comes to Social Security reform, but it seems that actually putting any of those ideas into action is becoming increasingly difficult as the ideological debate about the role of so-called “entitlement” programs in our society heats up.

Everyone understands the financial challenges that the Social Security Administration is currently facing. We keep hearing that the programs that are run by this Administration will do not have adequate funding to meet their financial responsibilities. We keep hearing rumors that Social Security Disability recipients may stop receiving their checks at some point in the future, and that if something is not done to change the system, the retirement benefits that so many rely on will soon be diminished or cut altogether.

It's no secret that funding is an issue for the Social Security Administration lately. You would think that in times such as these, the SSA would be keeping a watchful eye over its funds. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, not only is the SSA not doing everything possible to cut unnecessary costs, but it has also recently come to light that the SSA actually blew $8 billion in improper payments.

In most cases it will take a Social Security Disability applicant two years or more to receive an approval for Social Security Disability benefits. However, that was not the case for some of the Social Security Disability applicants who were dealing with Margarita Diaz, 40, a claims representative at the Social Security Administration office in Jersey City.

Prior to 2008, every Social Security Disability applicant had to go through the same disability claim process, regardless of how severe the disability may have been. Needless to say, there was public outcry for those individuals whose disability claims warranted immediate attention. After all, someone who may have only six months to live cannot possibly be expected to wait two years or more for the first disability payment. In response to this issue, the Social Security Administration rolled out the Compassionate Allowances program.

In our society, when a crime is committed, it is punishable by the law. Our same societal standards dictate that improper behavior is not to be rewarded and that there are consequences for illegal actions. Those who believe in these values are shocked to hear that Louis Jerome Smith may still receive his disability hearing, even after threatening to kill employees who work for the Social Security Administration.

Individuals who receive Social Security Disability benefits often worry that they will be unable to earn any type of income if they want those monthly payments from the Social Security Administration to continue. The fear of losing their Social Security Disability benefits makes them shy away from pursuing employment in any line of work.

In a perfect world, taxpayers would not have to pay for the greed of a few shameless individuals. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. The good news is that, many times, the individuals who are fraudulently taking money out of the pockets of taxpayers are caught, as was the case with Bradley Shane McCorkle, 41, of Moline, Illinois.

Many applicants used to wonder if getting approved for Social Security Disability benefits at the hearing stage of the appeal process depended on which Administrative Law Judge was hearing a particular disability case. Now that the Social Security Administration is publishing the decision records of all of its Administrative Law Judges, it will be clear whether or not some judges do indeed award more cases than others, and who has a better chance of receiving an award at the hearing stage of the appeal process.

It is no secret that there is a significant backlog of Social Security Disability claims in the Social Security system. Unfortunately, many of the people who are funneled into this backlog will wait months, if not years, before having their cases decided by an administrative law judge. To make matters worse, the wait for Social Security benefits seems to be increasing as the SSA struggles with ways to manage the massive backlog of cases that they are experiencing.