Rooting out disability fraud should be nonpartisan issue

Since there appears to be little agreement in our federal government these days, let's find one -- just one -- issue that is nonpartisan, out of control and in need of a major overhaul.

Let's start with what has been called the "secret welfare system" -- the Federal Disability Insurance Program.

The federal disability program started in the 1950s as a tiny program to help those unable to work because of an illness or injury.

Now nearly 12 million Americans are receiving some form of disability payments, and with a $135 billion budget, this federal fraud receives more of your tax dollars than Homeland Security, Justice and the Labor Department combined.

Combined!

Everyone agrees that the program is a prime example of fraud and waste. And yet since the inauguration of President Obama in 2008, the program has increased by 20 percent.

The disability law says basically that if there is any job that you can perform, you are not eligible for disability.

And yet don't we all know of at least one person who is receiving disability payments who shouldn't?

Study after study shows that perhaps as many as half of the 12 million disability recipients are ineligible for this taxpayer-funded program.

Hearings in the Senate began yesterday on this sticky subject but you'll not find much to read about the problem given the other issues facing the feds these days.

The subject of phony disability claims rightfully riles conservatives to their core. It should do the same for liberals. Yet many of those voices are strangely silent.

Do you suspect that many liberals remain silent on this costly program out of fear of angering their voters?

In 2009, the Social Security Administration conducted an analysis of disability recipients and found the following:

* Returning to work was not the goal of 71 percent of disability recipients.

* Over 75 percent of recipients said they do not plan on returning to work within five years.

* Of those few who did return to the workforce, 72 percent got cash under the table in order to keep their disability checks.

* 87 percent of recipients acknowledged they had no interest in seeking a job because they would lose their disability and Medicaid payments.

* 92 percent had not taken advantage of free job training programs that could help them find a job.

And a snapshot of those who receive SSI benefits -- those who have not worked and paid at least some into the system -- are typically overweight, uneducated and from broken homes.

When a government program -- any government program -- is plagued by fraud, abuse and waste, the issue is nonpartisan and should be addressed.

But gaming the system has become a lifestyle for many, and politicians remain silent.

I'm not sure who is worse -- the person gaming the system or the politician who allows that to happen.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Sikeston Standard Democrat.