Trump Removed Social Security Disability Cuts from Budget Plan

During the populist candidacy of Donald J. Trump, he promised to make a lot of cuts to so-called big government. At the same time, he promised to leave the Social Security system alone.  This includes both the Social Security disability benefits system and the Social Security Old Age and Retirement system.

The likely reason he made this promise is because many of those in his base survive solely off the Social Security disability benefits system and the Social Security retirement benefits system.  In fact, recent reports have shown that many who are unable able to find jobs in many areas that strongly voted for Mr. Trump have turned to the disability system to make ends meet.This is not say they are not truly disabled.  As our Boston Social Security disability benefits attorneys have seen in far too many cases, the Social Security Administration (SSA), routinely denies benefits to people who are clearly disabled. The reason these claimants were so resistant to getting benefits was out of sense of pride and a not wanting to live off what they believed to be entitlements.

However, as they eventually realized, there is no shame in applying for disability benefits, and it is not an entitlements program. In reality, with every paycheck you earn, you pay taxes into the Social Security disability benefits fund.  As you make payments into the system, you earn what are known as quarterly credits. If you have enough credits at the time you became disabled, then you should be entitled to disability benefits.  This is very much like a private disability insurance policy where you pay a premium.  Here, SSA says that a claimant has paid into the system.

While it seemed like President Trump would honor his promise made when he was a candidate, his budget blueprint, as he termed it, which largely came from the Heritage Foundation, called for major cuts to these benefits.  This would hit his main supporters very hard, according to a recent news article from The Hill.

This did not sit well with some of the GOP who had to answer at their respective town hall meetings why they were cutting these benefits when it was promised that he would not do so.  Now it seems that Mr. Trump has changed his mind once again and has removed his plans to cut the Social Security disability program funding.  This is welcomed news to his supports, Democrats, and moderate Republicans who must answer to voters in the 2018 midterm election and are worried about losing their jobs, especially after they were unable to repeal Obamacare.  On the other hand, some conservatives are upset the Social Security disability benefits program is not being cut more heavily.

Regardless of what anyone may think of the Social Security disability benefits program, there are 11 million Americans who depend on this program to make ends meet and take care of themselves and their families. Any cuts to this program would create an extreme hardship to those who need it most.  Hopefully, those who wish to cut the program will be too concerned about the midterm election to strip any funding in the near future.

If you or a loved one is seeking Social Security Disability Insurance in Boston, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:

Trump cut Social Security changes from budget proposal, April 14, 2017, By Sylvan Lane, The Hill

More Blog Entries:

SSDI Appeal Results in Affirmation of Denial, Feb. 15, 2017, Boston SSDI Attorney Blog