More Hurdles for our Families

I doubt I can keep up the pace of a post a day, but I just could not resist the front page story in the NY Times about "Disability Cases Last Longer as Backlog Rises," with reports of waits as long a three years (although 2/3 of those initially rejected win their cases, so persistence pays off more than not -- but you knew that already :-).
I hate to be cynical (but willing to do so for this cause), there's more incentive to reject as much as possible -- the articles cites some of the "incentives," like people do not persist past the first rejection, do not get help, lose resources like homes due to bankruptcy and other obstacles while waiting, or simply die in the queue -- plus, from what I can read, there are no penalties (i.e., "dis-incentives") for the SSA to face should they reject improperly. Surprise, the backlog, the frustration (but a more fiscally sound SSA that politicians can brag about).

Seems the only disincentive I can see is the political fallout from frustrated citizens without disability support who can still vote, and will certainly vote this issue as it impacts their lives directly. Not only would I vote this issue, but so would all of my daughter's family, friends, friends of friends, and citizens whom she has met at awareness and fund raiser functions.

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Also in the NY Times, an article that concluded with the following paragraph:

“I think there are a lot of parents of kids with these diagnoses who have at least a little bit of the traits their kids have,” Mr. Schwarz said. “But because of the stigma this society places on anything associated with disability, they’re inhibited from embracing that part of themselves and fully leveraging it to help their kids.”

Like the disability itself (or the administrative bureaucracy) isn't enough of a fight?