Sad, Maddening, And Possibly the Longest of Long Waiting Lines.

The Social Security Administration judges who hear appeals for disability benefit claims are a staggering 990,399 cases behind.

According to a recent Washington Post story, the Social Security Administration first fell behind during the administration of President Ford – almost 40 years ago! The primary factors identified in the story as contributing to the backlog: A system that is too big to fix, outdated rules and procedures, and the “Dictionary of Occupational Titles,” last updated in 1991. Included among its list of jobs performed by working Americans are “telegram messenger,” “calculating machine operator,” and “switchboard operator”. The Dictionary does not mention the Internet at all.

At this point, an average disability claim takes over a year before a decision on benefits is rendered by an administrative law judge, during which applicants often wait without any source of income. It’s a long article, but one worth reading.

See: Washington Post. The Biggest Backlog in the Federal Government, October 18, 2014