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| Economy |
| Unemployment Down, Disability Up |
| 2013-09-21 |
| The fast expansion of disability here is part of a national trend that has seen the number of former workers receiving benefits soar from just over 5 million to 8.8 million between 2000 and 2012. An additional 2.1 million dependent children and spouses also receive benefits. Yet my WASP brother, mostly unemployed for ten years and living with me for eight, did not qualify. But he was manic-depressive. Jus' sayin'. The growth of the disability rolls has accelerated since the recession hit in 2007. As the labor market tightened, workers with disabilities that employers previously accommodated on the job -- painful hips, mental disorders, weak hearts -- were often the first to go. Finding new work often proved difficult, causing many to turn to the disability rolls for support. But see, with Obamacare, those folks would all have insurance, so would be employable, right? Policymakers say the program's biggest vulnerability is the subjective criteria that create a large gray area for applicants. A worker with physical impairments that are difficult to document precisely, like a bad back, can tolerate the condition while on the job but claim it as a reason to go on disability if he falls out of work for a prolonged period. Many recipients first go on unemployment, which can last a few months or even more than year. Disability, by contrast, can pay out benefits for decades. The vast majority of recipients never return to work. I couldn't live like that. Neither could my brother, who is now teaching at a Christian school in Korea, and lovin' it. "The disability program is increasingly becoming a long-term unemployment program," said a Cornell University professor who co-wrote a book on disability policy and has testified before Congress about the program. "We see a lot of it now because of the effects of the recession." The program, which is mostly funded by the Social Security payroll tax, paid out $135 billion in 2012, and it has spent more money than it has collected in payroll taxes every year since 2009, according to the Congressional Budget Office. People on disability can receive Medicare after two years, regardless of age, which adds another $80 billion to the program's tab. How you gonna get 'em out on the farm, after they've seen disability? When President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Social Security disability program into law in 1956, it was envisioned as a safety net for people ages 50 to 64 who could not continue working because of long-term medical problems. But I bet it has expanded every year since then, like all government "good ideas". The age criterion has since been But many of the judgments are ultimately subjective: More than half of awards go to applicants who claim musculoskeletal disorders or mental impairments that are often hard to document conclusively. When in doubt, pay it out! After all, it "Somebody Else's Money"™ Sittin' an me fanny all day be hard! The nation's aging population explains part of the increase. As workers age, they are more likely to develop physical or mental impairments. Or just get tired of being among the minority working class and get drawn into the Gubbamint's web. The growth in the number of women in the workforce -- which expanded the number of people covered by the program -- is also seen as a factor in disability's expansion. Changes in program eligibility in 1984 made it easier to qualify for the program with maladies such as pain and depression. Lawmakers are concerned that some states have encouraged unemployed workers with disabilities to apply for the program, shifting the economic burden for the jobless to the federal government. Karma, Baby! What goes around, comes around! "The bad economy has coincided with baby boomers hitting the disability-prone years," said Daniel W. Emery, a disability lawyer in South Portland, Maine. "Most people want to work. But employers are less apt to make accommodations when the economy is down. One thing I always ask people is whether they liked their jobs. Often, people just tear up when you ask them that." Benefits are hardly generous. They average $1,130 a month, and recipients are eligible for Medicare after two years. But with workers without a high school diploma earning a median wage of $471 per week, disability benefits are increasingly attractive for the large share of American workers who have seen both their pay and job options constricted. I imagine they do not pay taxes on that pittance, either, being disabled and all. In 2004, nearly one in five male high school dropouts between ages 55 and 64 were in the disability program, according to a study. That rate was more than double that of high school graduates of the same age in the program and more than five times higher than the 3.7 percent of college graduates of that age who collect disability. I smell racism coming on! These days, LaPorte spends a lot of his free time riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle to bike rallies around New England. He enjoys the freedom, but he said he would prefer to be working than collecting a government check. "I wanted to go to work," he said. "I love making paper. Fifty-eight is a ridiculous age to retire." [wipes tear] yur breakin' my heart, Laddie! |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #6 #5 I have no grudge against the system Hummm.... I luv ya, but WTF not? ...Ship, it's hard to explain. Maybe the best way to put it is that I've worked with the Government in one way or another since I was 18. We did what we were supposed to do to make our case, and to the best of our ability to determine things, we were treated respectfully and fairly - we just didn't get the results we hoped for. In my life and my family, when this happens you suck it up and press on. :D Now, on the other hand - if somebody shows me proof that my wife lost while somebody else was unfairly awarded disability, then all bets are off. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2013-09-21 17:16 |
| #5 I have no grudge against the system Hummm.... I luv ya, but WTF not? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2013-09-21 15:41 |
| #4 I received an application from a tweeker which said she wanted to be paid in cash because she is on disability. There is the safety net, and then there is the hammock. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2013-09-21 13:32 |
| #3 ...My wife, who has an immensely painful skin condition as well as bipolar, was turned down for disability earlier this year. The judge (and I want to make it clear I have no grudge against her; she listened fairly and has a reputation as being extremely fair and evenhanded) felt that my wife may have been exaggerating her symptoms. Since this was the second denial, there's not much we can do now. What bothers me are the people I see who have never held a paying job - or tried to - in their entire lives. When I was working for a local I have no grudge against the system or the people we dealt with - We played by the rules, and I have no reason to believe we were treated anything other than fairly given our circumstances and my wife's claim. I cannot, however, help but think that if she had simply made the decision not to stay clean and sober and try to work, but instead just stay home stoned and drunk, she would have a check. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2013-09-21 11:08 |
| #2 OK, Ship. I feel for the unemployed, less for the unemployable and I blame DC. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2013-09-21 11:05 |
| #1 It's not racism Bobby, it's the lack of jobs for the marginally skilled, older workers. Coal miners in particular have hit the government for their check, the government having previously shut down their livelihood. I see some of the same thing in pulpwooding due to crazy safety rules. I can't find myself being too outraged when a 50 year old miner is out of work and needs cash and finds a sympathetic doctor (a local guy for sure). It a pisser, but I dunno, I just dunno. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2013-09-21 10:35 |