Matthew Borus

Great new article on our report on barriers to access in Social Security disability programs.

Read all the way to the end. The closing quote from @ksavin.bsky.social is a banger.

Serling grew up in Binghamton, NY, and the tributes are a great combo of favorite-son celebration, and working class matter-of-factness.

There’s an annual Serling Fest film series, and his name is also on the plaque honoring WW2 veterans at the synagogue he belonged to.

Really important.

Thanks so much—for following the issue, for reading, and for your kind words! We really appreciate it and hope you’ll help us get the word out.

Thank you for boosting our report!

Thank you!!

Thanks—that may be it!

(I also realize that there may be multiple pieces like this, in which case I’d love to collect a reading list.)

In the past few months, I read something (an essay? An article?) about two definitions of community squared off in the Twin Cities: ICE's vision of white xenophobia, and a grassroots vision of multiracial solidarity.

Anyone have a link to this piece? I want my students to read it.

Congrats!

Been up for hours and my wrist is still sore for no clear reason other than apparently sleeping funny.

Bodies, y'know?

My students did an exercise today where they addressed letters to themselves (which I plan to send after they graduate).

And...ditto.

Accessing Social Security disability benefits became harder in 2025, researchers find Changes like the push to online servicing and introduction of AI on SSA phone lines made it difficult for certain recipients to access the agency.

Accessing disability benefits at the Social Security Administration has gotten more difficult since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to new qualitative research.

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

Screenshot of an email with the subject, “You're now using Gemini on your iOS device.” Under a Google G, it reads, “Get the most out of Gemini on iOS Welcome to Gemini, an Al assistant from Google that can help you supercharge your creativity and productivity. With Gemini on iOS, you can get help writing, creating, learning, and more. Learn more about what you can do with Gemini on iOS.”

I never asked for this, and the email doesn’t say how to turn it off. WTF?

I was thinking about a meme along these lines barely a minute ago. The internet provides.

Pen! Very soothing.

Listening in a quiet room as students do an in-class writing exercise…is this ASMR?

Great new article on our report on barriers to access in Social Security disability programs.

Read all the way to the end. The closing quote from @ksavin.bsky.social is a banger.

Currently, SSI households have a poverty rate of about 29.2%.

But if the SSI Restoration Act were passed, that would drop down about 60% to 11.8%.

That is roughly in line with the overall poverty rate for households in the United States. - Stephen Nuñez, @rooseveltinstitute.org

Even Greg Gianforte (that OTHER Montana politician who attacked someone in the past 10 years) was criminally charged.

It doesn't seem to have hurt his political career--he's governor now. But Sheehy's full de jure impunity seems even worse than de facto.

Wanna see an in-depth research report summarized in two dozen posts? It’s brand-new research on how Trump and DOGE have made it even harder to access Social Security’s disability benefit programs.

Check out the thread below. And if it piques your interest, click through to download the full report.

Because Social Security administers Medicare enrollment, these issues have affected Medicare beneficiaries too.

This. SSA is worried about the "how long does it take to answer the phone" metric, not the "how long does it take to actually accomplish something metric." Phones are redirected everywhere so they're answered faster, but you have to make four calls just to reach the person you actually need.

“In the last year, it’s gotten a lot worse” A Qualitative Investigation of Barriers to Disability Benefits in 2025 - DREDF This report is based on interviews with 52 benefits professionals serving over 8,000 disability claimants nationwide. The independent research finds that recent Social Security Administration administ...

So that's our report, summarized into a 24-post thread. I hope you'll check out the full report, especially to hear more from advocates who deal with these issues every day.

Please download, read, and share with anyone concerned with disability, Social Security, or the public sector. Thank you!!

The problems laid out in this report--the cuts to staff and regional offices, the inaccessible communication systems, the increases in application delays and denials--were not inevitable. They're all tied to policy choices.

And different choices can rebuild the Social Security Administration. 23/24

We call for clear stronger internal accountability structures, and improved accuracy in claims processing.

And we call for everyone's data privacy to be respected, including immigrant families. Social Security should operate as a trustworthy service provider, not an arm of ICE. 22/x

That is…wow.

What else?

We recommend restoring access to timely in-person and phone assistance from Social Security.

We recommends alternatives to online-only and AI-driven systems, to ensure access for disabled people and those limited technology access--some of the main people these programs are for. 21/x

Our first recommendation: Staff the agency at a level that can meet service needs.

Social Security lost over 10% of its staff in 2025. And it was arguably understaffed before that.

For the public sector to serve people, it needs an adequate labor force. That's a basic question of capacity. 20/x

So that's a grim picture. Amidst staff cutbacks and internal chaos, 2025 saw new barriers facing people seeking disability benefits from the Social Security Administration.

But there are also clear ways to make things better. Our report lays out 10 recommendations to repair the damage. 19/x

Ongoing thread.