Flat Rate For Disability Recipients?

Rachel Greszler of the Heritage Foundation thinks she has a way to improve Social Security disability.  Her idea is to pay everyone who gets SSDI that same amount. This would be whatever it takes to keep such beneficiaries above the poverty line.  For 2015, that would amount to $981.00. Ms. Greszler sees several benefits to her proposal in addition to keeping the disabled out of poverty. She thinks her plan would eventually reduce and then eliminate the funding shortfall for the program.  Greszler goes so far as to posit that giving everyone the same benefit amount would allow Congress to reduce the amount of payroll taxes that fund SSDI.  She believes that this would make the deduction a flat tax because no matter how much you pay in payroll taxes, you would get the same benefit. Ms. Greszler thinks that people would take the extra money in their paychecks and buy private disability insurance.
I suspect that Ms. Greszler’s reasons for fixing the benefit amount have less to do with math than with social engineering. Ms. Greszler believes, for example, that if the benefit amount were fixed at the poverty line, fewer people would apply for benefits. Here we arrive at the core of the matter: keeping those damn moochers from getting more free stuff from the government. That is really what Ms. Greszler is getting at, regardless of what terms she couches the argument in.  But is her proposal fair?  Why should disabled people with high earnings be limited to a poverty-line benefits? Is she proposing to do the same with Social Security retirement benefits. If not, why not? Does she sincerely believe that people who can barely pay the rent are going to buy private disability insurance? Also, she must live in a different world than I do if she thinks Congress would reduce the payroll taxes for any reason. Keep in mind, the Federal government is spending every last dime of payroll withholding as it comes in. You really think Congress is going to reduce that amount? Note, also, that there is a disability program that pays the same rate to every beneficiary: SSI.  That is only paying $730 a month at present.  Is Ms. Greszler prepared to bump all the SSI recipients up to $981.00? Probably not.  I give her credit for pondering the state of SSDI. But, like too many of her ilk, the desire to punish the poor and disabled is the primary goal of her reforms.  When you start with that as a goal, it is unlikely you will arrive at anything workable, reasonable, or fair. 

Rachel Greszler Article.