Is this what America is about now?

Okay so I have to say that this video is very disturbing to me, but not for the reasons the slanted article portrayed. As an Arizonian how much money did the conference bring in taxes as people came here to spend money. News people don't you realize that when people are spending money our state benefits. 1. Room rates I run conferences and this is a dirt cheap rate compared to others in the valley. 2. The 20 minute Dancing you really have a problem with that? Did you see the fat people in the meeting it would help them to exercise. Exercising alone will help keep the cost of health care for these people down. Money that comes back to us because they aren't taking time off of work. 3. Motivation & Education you have a problem with this? People need to feel good when going to work and helping others. Heven forbid we teach people to be more productive. Did you ever think if people are educated they can spend less time on a case and get to the next one quicker saving money? 4. The Casino - again guess what this brought in revenue for the state, and people were on thier own. It's not like the SS office wrote them a check and said here gamble away. 5. Yes there was money spent but guess what Arizona the tax money stays here, and helped some people keep there jobs. Reporters please stop all of the slanting and look in the mirror and ask how much did you cost our state in future revenue. Did you help or hurt Arizona.

I have a good friend that had a softball size tumor grow in his chest and he was like a month from dieing because it was pressing on his heart. Finally the hospital to cut it out and his breast bone and replaced the section with some sort of cloth covered with his skin. It was hard to breath as taking in air was difficult to expand his chest cavity. SS denied him benefits as they possibly thought he could do some sort of work to live, greet at Walmart, answer a phone, a service, or anything that might be min. wage. Hey, they could be right in alot of cases. . He had a hard time staying awake for lack of breath and if he ever got hit in the chest he would have died for sure After 3 years of filing for benefits I guess SS broke down and gave him checks. S SO, keep at it as it seems they want to weed out the phonies as there are alot of people who can work and just give in to the system of getting a check for nothing. I see people on the dole all the time and they appear to be capable of some sort of work.

Dear Social Security - I would like to withdraw a small amount of the money I have paid in so that myself and my family can take a vacation like the one you attended.

I am trying to get on disabilty and this how ssa spends our tax money. Shame on them. I have not been able to work since Nov 08, lost my car and my 23 year old son who is disabled is paying the bills at our home. I know I am not the only person trying to get SSA and have been denied. Maybe someone can tell us why we are not getting our SSA benefits. Maybe because SSA had to teach their people more ways to deny people that are disabled. Ann Henderson

True change will only happen when "we" (the taxpayers) unite and "work" to change the system. There's a lot of complaining and very little action.

After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later. The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too.' And then the fight started....

Another thought: Now that this cat is out of the bag, watch what happens to your city's Crown Jewel of a resort -- conferences will be canceling left and right, people will be thrown out of work, and Pheonix's unemployment rate and crime rate will climb just a little higher... way to to, ABC 15! Very responsible journalism, from the "Gotcha" school of tabloidism.

Hmmm... I wonder why there isn't a follow-up report about how many people at that resort are still employed because the conference WAS held there... waiters and waitresses, housekeepers, bellmen and maintenance workers, all average working folk, still with a job because a group held a conference there. And did so for an unbelievably low room rate (only $85 a night? At a four-diamond resort? I call that incredibly good negotiating on the part of the SSA!). But hey, I'm sure that none of those "man on the street" people interviewed had kids or relatives who are fortunate enough to still have a job at the Biltmore because of this conference...

Check out the agenda Items....It was all about surviving and succeeding in the SSA. Where are the training classes for the people they serve ?

hi i think all goverment elected officals should be on social security just like the rest of us