commondreams | For months there have been rumors that the Social Security
Administration has a “secret plan” to close all of its field offices. Is
it true? A little-known report commissioned by the SSA the request of
Congress seems to hold the answer. The summary document outlining the
plan, which is labeled “for internal use only,” is unavailable from the
SSA but can be found here.
Does the document, entitled “Long Term Strategic Vision and Vision
Elements,” really propose shuttering all field offices? The answer,
buried beneath a barrage of obfuscatory consultantese, clearly seems to
be “yes.” Worse, the report also suggests that many of the SSA’s
critical functions could soon be outsourced to private-sector partners
and contractors.
Here are five insights from this austerity-minded outline.
