Lots of people think that it’s wrong to cut social security. Yes, it’s wrong to cut benefits to those who paid into SSI, have retired and who rely on social security.

How to responsibly cut the federal deficit and encourage independence? Time to trim Social Security Disability benefits (SSI-D) to children and youth ages 3-21. Let’s reduce SSI-D payments to children and youth 1) assessed inaccurately or 2) who have “out grown” their diagnosis. Children change rapidly. Assessments should be accurate and up to date.

Another way to cut government deficits is to require proof of citizenship to obtain government funded services such as the regional center services. (The regional centers serve persons with low cognitive IQ abilities, requiring treatment similar to persons with low cognitive IQ, autism, seizures and cerebral palsy.)

Some people fly in from abroad or cross our border s so that their children can receive substantial government paid regional center benefits. No proof of citizenship is required to obtain regional center services which serves about 180,000 + persons in California. In the last 10 years the percentage of Hispanic clients has increased from 23 to 28 percent and whites have dropped from 51% to 42%. About 45% of those served are age 3-21.

There are too many children labeled mentally retarded by the public schools who are not slow and who can learn to read and write. The schools wrongfully label them and wrongfully keep them in more restricted placements than they need. These placements – Special Day Class (SDS) – are extremely expensive. In the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) roughly one third of the costs of special education go for SDS separate classes. Children can – and routinely are — labeled by the public schools with “mental retardation” without any assessment of their cognitive IQ and functional abilities. Their school records are reviewed by SSI-Disability and – lo and behold — children are put on SSI-Disability.

Just as unions representing government workers need to be re-certified yearly and workers given a choice whether to pay dues and/or be in a union, likewise children labeled “disabled” need to be routinely re-examined by independent assessors and parents given accurate information and more choice.

Most – but not all — parents want their children to grow up to be self sufficient individuals able to contribute to society. Unfortunately, there are some parents that prefer dependency for their child and themselves and happily seek checks in the mail.

That’s why those not on the government dole must do what we can to encourage independence and reward self sufficiency.

Take a look at the budget for your local school district. What percent goes for Special Day Class (SDC) placements? Who actually checks to see that children receiving special education services are actually re-assessed with standardized tests every three years?

Parents and taxpayers can and should require a random audit of special education records for their school district. What tests placed that child in special education and what tests show that those services need to continue? If no progress in academic skills, why not?

Why not tie teacher pay increases to showing reasonable progress in academic skills for all students — including special education students. What say you?

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Obama puzzle? Actions speak louder than words

Read the Wall Street Journal opinion page today: Obama raised the federal spending as a share of GDP from 20% to 25%. So now one quarter (1/4) of the private sector is under government control For 40 years the percent of government spending as a percent of GNP was roughly 20%. Now it is 25 percent. That is a huge increase.

With one fell swoop, Obama has increased the size of the federal government permanently to at least a quarter of the private economy. Did Obama make promises to increase the government size when he ran? No. But he certainly has increased the size of government.

And if he has his way, another 1/6th of the private economy — the health care industry — will also be under government (Obama) control.

As a psychologist, I say look at Obama’s actions. Obama’s actions speak louder than his words. written by Cameron Jackson DrCameronJackson@gmail.com