Unfit For Work

[boomerang]

It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end. Let the good times roll! So much is unsustainable, time is short and too few want to face reality.

http://apps.npr.org/unfit-for-work/

In the past three decades, the number of Americans who are on disability has skyrocketed. The rise has come even as medical advances have allowed many more people to remain on the job, and new laws have banned workplace discrimination against the disabled. Every month, 14 million people now get a disability check from the government.

The federal government spends more money each year on cash payments for disabled former workers than it spends on food stamps and welfare combined. Yet people relying on disability payments are often overlooked in discussions of the social safety net. The vast majority of people on federal disability do not work.[1] Yet because they are not technically part of the labor force, they are not counted among the unemployed.

In other words, people on disability don't show up in any of the places we usually look to see how the economy is doing. But the story of these programs -- who goes on them, and why, and what happens after that -- is, to a large extent, the story of the U.S. economy. It's the story not only of an aging workforce, but also of a hidden, increasingly expensive safety net.

 

[umbrella39]

Are you surprised that there are more people on disability than who pull a welfare check and get food stamp benefits each month? Are you upset that they are not counted in the unemployment numbers? I know a few people on SSI disability and they are, pretty much, unable to ever work again, one guy I know could very easily do some sort of desk job but can never do anything that requires lifting, bending down, etc. So what's the point of this OP? That when people have been unemployed a long time and know they aren't going to back to work that some start the disability ball rolling? That some abuse the shit out of this? That this is blue/white collar welfare?

 

[nickbits]

I will most likely have to draw disability at some point. Going from a 100k+ job to disability is going to blow. Maybe I'll beat the odds who knows.

 

[cubby1223]

Are you surprised that there are more people on disability than who pull a welfare check and get food stamp benefits each month? Are you upset that they are not counted in the unemployment numbers? I know a few people on SSI disability and they are, pretty much, unable to ever work again, one guy I know could very easily do some sort of desk job but can never do anything that requires lifting, bending down, etc. So what's the point of this OP? That when people have been unemployed a long time and know they aren't going to back to work that some start the disability ball rolling? That some abuse the shit out of this? That this is blue/white collar welfare?

The number of people paying into the system, versus the number of people receiving out of the system, the numbers just don't work for long-term sustainability.

It absolutely sucks for the people who need it, when it's abused by people who don't.

 

[Annisman*]

There needs to come a point in time where we say enough is enough. People won't be dying on the streets if they don't get their disability check, even if they are the few who actually really need it.

When did government replace family, neighbors and charity for those in need ?

 

[Lanyap]

It's a telling story from the graph. The top two catagories make up over 50% of the total and they are the hardest to prove/disprove. People have been losing their work ethic and relying on the government over the past 20-30 years. This will get worse as the baby boomers retire from the work force and are no longer holding it up. With this and the other work issues that the US has we will be in the shitter in another 20-30 years.

 

[BoomerD]

I can relate...I blew out my knees working construction...kept working. Blew out my back at work (in part because of the FUBAR'd knees)...doctors took me off work...permanently.
I haven't worked since December 2003.
I finally filed for SSDI last year. Still waiting for the decision.

 

[glenn1]

It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end. Let the good times roll! So much is unsustainable, time is short and too few want to face reality.

http://apps.npr.org/unfit-for-work/

Congrats folks, enjoy your government cheese and lifetime of under-the-counter employment. Thankfully you tended to be the unproductive ones at work anyway, so no big loss to the rest of us.

 

[Lanyap]

I can relate...I blew out my knees working construction...kept working. Blew out my back at work (in part because of the FUBAR'd knees)...doctors took me off work...permanently.
I haven't worked since December 2003.
I finally filed for SSDI last year. Still waiting for the decision.

Aren't you a baby boomer who worked most of his life in construction?

It's the other 25% that's a concern.

 

[Zorkorist]

Folks like a garage guy I worked with. We built bikes, raced them, etc. I don't know the whole story but he DUI'd something, and has called himself disabled ever since. The happiness in his voice when he got SSI Disability...

He looks normal to me.

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

Happy Easter, all.

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

Other folks I know, that have been denied SSI disability, are plugging away today, and happy, with children, etc.

They wanted it... didn't get it...

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

They are still trying... mind you.

-John

 

[JEDIYoda]

There needs to come a point in time where we say enough is enough. People won't be dying on the streets if they don't get their disability check, even if they are the few who actually really need it.

When did government replace family, neighbors and charity for those in need ?

That`s easy to say.....

 

[Zorkorist]

The moment Government takes my money, via taxes, to "help," they become responsible.

They are stealing/stole, my money, and they are stealing/stole, my ability to help.

-John

 

[TallBill]

States hire companies that scan welfare rolls to get people on federal disability to save state money.

 

[CitizenKain]

When did government replace family, neighbors and charity for those in need ?

Because those aren't good enough.

 

[First]

lol gym owner.

 

[JEDIYoda]

States hire companies that scan welfare rolls to get people on federal disability to save state money.

you have no clue.....

 

[BoomerD]

Aren't you a baby boomer who worked most of his life in construction?

It's the other 25% that's a concern.

Yeah...about 30 years in the trades...good work, good money, but it can take a hell of a toll on the body.

 

[Doppel]

NPR covered last week. States push people to disability cause fed gov covers it. 2/3rd of people initially applying are rejected, but there is a massive industry of lawyers to appeal, and after an appeal around half of those who originally applied got it. One example they used of a person on disability was a butcher who's only disability was that he had trigger finger in one finger due to his job and could not work in that capacity now, so disability approved.

 

[Texashiker]

It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end. Let the good times roll! So much is unsustainable, time is short and too few want to face reality.

As long as the federal reserve can print money out of thin air, everything is going to be ok.

Why not apply for disability? Workers are underpaid, factories have moved to china and wages have been stagnated since the 1990s.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

As long as the federal reserve can print money out of thin air, everything is going to be ok.

Why not apply for disability? Workers are underpaid, factories have moved to china and wages have been stagnated since the 1990s.

Basically this.


We have a society that promotes people scamming the system... 47% of our voters are in some way directly benefiting from the way our 'system' works.

See my signature. People like that are proud of what they've "earned" from the government...



Back problems are nearly impossible to prove one way or the other. Also, many of the people scamming the disability system are also getting prescribed pain meds etc...... Now these people are popping out a couple of kids to get that check too.

Once you get that ball rolling it's not easy to stop it.

 

[soulcougher73]

There needs to come a point in time where we say enough is enough. People won't be dying on the streets if they don't get their disability check, even if they are the few who actually really need it.

When did government replace family, neighbors and charity for those in need ?

When their became to many needy and when people cared less for other humans.

People would never support this many people via charity. They would let most die id imagine. out of sight, out of mind.

 

[OutHouse]

How much does disability pay?

 

[peonyu]

Disability isnt a gravy train, you get a % of what you used to make. Sure its better than nothing but in most cases people on Disability truely are disabled, and if it turns out you are faking it and are caught then there is hefty jailtime for it.

Welfare from what ive seen is completely different. There you have people who are/were more than fit to work [ie-became fat FROM doing nothing and collecting free money and food] but found a way to game the system.