• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Number of people getting SS disability has doubled

Dittohead not!

master political analyst
DP Veteran
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
52,009
Reaction score
33,943
Location
The Golden State
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Independent
I just finished watching this video on 60 minutes.

It's all about how many people are now on disability, and the lawyers who enable them.

Outrageous.
The lawyers you see advertising on TV are making millions, while able bodied people wind up getting disability payments.

the welfare state is out of control.
 
I've been saying that **** for years, and the very mention of the idea gets poo-poo'd and shushed by a huge number of people who have no idea what is really going on in the world of government hand-outs. It's been out of control for years, and there is absolutely no will to reign it in, by anyone who has the actual power to do so.
 
I just finished watching this video on 60 minutes.

It's all about how many people are now on disability, and the lawyers who enable them.

Outrageous.
The lawyers you see advertising on TV are making millions, while able bodied people wind up getting disability payments.

the welfare state is out of control.

Well I'm glad to know that CBS is finally reporting on this situation. Too bad they didn't cover it before the last election because it was already a problem then.

But nevertheless better late than never.

The problem started when the Obama administration loosened the requirements to acquire disability. You see by doing so it artificially lowered the unemployment rates making Big O and the Democrat policies not look so devastating in terms of unemployment numbers.

With more people losing their jobs it became an easy way for folks to collect a check after unemployment ran out that would pay more than welfare. Most folks signing up tend to be in their 50's who have lost their jobs and find it difficult to compete with younger applicants for new jobs.

One of the real problems resulting from this other than the taxpayer getting screwed at the federal level of extra spending, but they are also getting screwed at the state level due to the increase in Medicaid that is busting states budgets.
 
Last edited:
The problem started when the Obama administration loosened the requirements to acquire disability.

Actually, no. It started (rather: got worse) with the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984, under the Reagan administration.

The very idea that a supposedly secure old-age-pension trust fund can be tapped to give money to younger people, regardless of their economic situation, solely on the basis of perceived inability to engage in "substantial gainful activity" - I don't know, it is just too weird. And yet it is an entrenched element of the system by now.
 
Oh brother ...not another thread about how those with no money .....no power .....and no influence..... is taking over the world. :roll:

Did anybody bother check on the Trillions a handful of bankers walk away with every year??

Good grief ....the ideology is buried so deep in your veins ...I think it's impossible to cure you people!
 
Actually, no. It started (rather: got worse) with the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984, under the Reagan administration.

The very idea that a supposedly secure old-age-pension trust fund can be tapped to give money to younger people, regardless of their economic situation, solely on the basis of perceived inability to engage in "substantial gainful activity" - I don't know, it is just too weird. And yet it is an entrenched element of the system by now.

You make a good point Cyrylek, but the amount of claims in the past couple of years after this administration made it even easier to get disability have sky rocketed. I'll see if I can find some solid numbers to back up my claim..... cheers!
 
Oh brother ...not another thread about how those with no money .....no power .....and no influence..... is taking over the world. :roll:

Did anybody bother check on the Trillions a handful of bankers walk away with every year??

Good grief ....the ideology is buried so deep in your veins ...I think it's impossible to cure you people!

How many "bankers" fit in that "handful" of yours? Because, you see, the entire US economy is something like $16T.

And no, this is not about "ideology": You can be a 100% socialist, and still very worried about our largest and most popular socialist program - the Social Security - being distorted and abused in such idiotic way. Especially if you are a 100% socialist, you should be.

We evil libertarians can at least find satisfaction in "I told you so".
 
I just finished watching this video on 60 minutes.

It's all about how many people are now on disability, and the lawyers who enable them.

Outrageous.
The lawyers you see advertising on TV are making millions, while able bodied people wind up getting disability payments.

the welfare state is out of control.

CATO did a great study - basically demonstrated that SSDI claims didn't rise and fall with actual shifting of the workforce into and out of physical occupations, but rather with unemployment.
 
Oh brother ...not another thread about how those with no money .....no power .....and no influence..... is taking over the world. :roll:

Did anybody bother check on the Trillions a handful of bankers walk away with every year??

Good grief ....the ideology is buried so deep in your veins ...I think it's impossible to cure you people!

It sounds like you're saying that you support the ridiculous amount of fraud in SSDI because of whatever it is you think bankers are doing to you.

And you think other people need "cured".

Unlike welfare, SSDI can be something you collect for life. It's the never-ending gravy train. I know people that have been on it for many years and they don't get rich but they don't have to worry about working for a living, either. Instead, they worry about their leisure activities and social clubs.
 
This is precisely why ALL social services should be returned back to the state. It is far too easy to get on disability and get lost in the federal system and debt. If people knew who was on SS and for what, it would make their heads pop.


Disability services are vital. Unfortunately we have far too many malingerers in the system that drain away those needed resources. "Help" agencies assist with getting people on disability because the more there are, the more money they get from the state and fed to pay for those services. It would be an education for people to pack a lunch and go spend a day outside a county contracted mental health facility.
 
You make a good point Cyrylek, but the amount of claims in the past couple of years after this administration made it even easier to get disability have sky rocketed. I'll see if I can find some solid numbers to back up my claim..... cheers!

How did this administration make it easier to get disability? I wasn't aware that the House passed any laws making disability easier.
 
Oh brother ...not another thread about how those with no money .....no power .....and no influence..... is taking over the world. :roll:

Did anybody bother check on the Trillions a handful of bankers walk away with every year??

Good grief ....the ideology is buried so deep in your veins ...I think it's impossible to cure you people!

Those bankers are irrelevant. We are talking about free-loaders.
 
Cyrylek, here's a link to a Forbes article with additional information linked within the article.

Is Disability the New Unemployment Insurance? - Forbes

The connection with unemployment makes sense. At times of very low unemployment rates you might be able to get a job just by having a pulse. At very high unemployment rates employers can be pickier. A minor disability might slightly reduce one's productivity but not enough to prevent them from receiving a job at very low unemployment rates. The same disability at very high unemployment rates might make finding a job difficult.
 
How did this administration make it easier to get disability? I wasn't aware that the House passed any laws making disability easier.

The 60 minutes segment said it did but didn't specifically say how and in a cursory search, I couldn't find the legislation it was pointing to, but I think it had something to do with the eligibility requirements about the type of work you can or can't do.
 
You make a good point Cyrylek, but the amount of claims in the past couple of years after this administration made it even easier to get disability have sky rocketed. I'll see if I can find some solid numbers to back up my claim..... cheers!

As the point was made on the 60 Minutes piece last night, this current activity is largely the result of the real unemployment situation, the actual number of people with no job and no hope of a job.

Sad, but true. The unemployment numbers reported by the government and the mainstream media are grossly unreal.
 
How did this administration make it easier to get disability? I wasn't aware that the House passed any laws making disability easier.
Congress and the S.S.A. loosened the disability requirements, especially for children and people suffering from mental disorders. This occurred in the 2010 budget that was passed by a Democrat Congress October, 2009. Much of the increase in disability is not physical but massive claims over mental illness. They have been coined "crazy checks".
 
CATO did a great study - basically demonstrated that SSDI claims didn't rise and fall with actual shifting of the workforce into and out of physical occupations, but rather with unemployment.

and that is the crux of the matter, isn't it? It's not that people in their 40s and 50s want to just sit on their butts and collect a basic living allowance from the rest of us, but that they can't find jobs that pay any more than that, maybe no jobs at all.
 
This is precisely why ALL social services should be returned back to the state. It is far too easy to get on disability and get lost in the federal system and debt. If people knew who was on SS and for what, it would make their heads pop.


Disability services are vital. Unfortunately we have far too many malingerers in the system that drain away those needed resources. "Help" agencies assist with getting people on disability because the more there are, the more money they get from the state and fed to pay for those services. It would be an education for people to pack a lunch and go spend a day outside a county contracted mental health facility.

I agree, if each state was to manage their own funds, the money would be targeted precisely where it was needed and fraud/waste would be greatly eliminated.
 
I just finished watching this video on 60 minutes.

It's all about how many people are now on disability, and the lawyers who enable them.

Outrageous.
The lawyers you see advertising on TV are making millions, while able bodied people wind up getting disability payments.

the welfare state is out of control.

The commercials are on constantly. Whether it be locally here in Milwaukee or on Fox or ESPN even. A sane country would investigate and indict some of these lawyers.
 
Congress and the S.S.A. loosened the disability requirements, especially for children and people suffering from mental disorders. This occurred in the 2010 budget that was passed by a Democrat Congress October, 2009. Much of the increase in disability is not physical but massive claims over mental illness. They have been coined "crazy checks".
Can you please source this? I have researched this many times before, and have not seen any loosening of restrictions since the 80s. It was tightened in the 90s under Clinton, but I have never seen anything passed under Obama.

Not saying it's not true, I would just like a source.
 
Well I'm glad to know that CBS is finally reporting on this situation. Too bad they didn't cover it before the last election because it was already a problem then.

But nevertheless better late than never.

The problem started when the Obama administration loosened the requirements to acquire disability. You see by doing so it artificially lowered the unemployment rates making Big O and the Democrat policies not look so devastating in terms of unemployment numbers.

With more people losing their jobs it became an easy way for folks to collect a check after unemployment ran out that would pay more than welfare. Most folks signing up tend to be in their 50's who have lost their jobs and find it difficult to compete with younger applicants for new jobs.

One of the real problems resulting from this other than the taxpayer getting screwed at the federal level of extra spending, but they are also getting screwed at the state level due to the increase in Medicaid that is busting states budgets.
The problem didnt start with Obama. It really doesnt reside with any one person or administration. Point of fact...the people most responsible are those that exploit it and those that ignore it.
 
Can you please source this? I have researched this many times before, and have not seen any loosening of restrictions since the 80s. It was tightened in the 90s under Clinton, but I have never seen anything passed under Obama.

Not saying it's not true, I would just like a source.
Slyfox, I read about it in a study by one of the major think tanks maybe Cato not sure. It all boils down to how the definition of "disabled" is being interpreted under this administration. Most of the increases in claims are coming from mental illness and pain with no physical condition to relate to the pain making them subjective. It also delved into the amount of fraud of people who did receive disability and have since returned to work and are still cashing the checks. It was very informative. If I can relocate the study, I'll be more than glad to send the link your way.
 
I find it hard to believe that almost 10% of the total workforce would be disabled enough to receive payments for it.
 
The commercials are on constantly. Whether it be locally here in Milwaukee or on Fox or ESPN even. A sane country would investigate and indict some of these lawyers.

Yes, no doubt a nation with a functional government would do the same.
 
Back
Top Bottom