Well, guilty as charged your honors. Of course, it took two strokes and congestive heart failure to “become” disabled, but I am one of the statistics. Minding my own business, went back to school for my teaching certificate and the next thing I know I wake up in the hospital.
I felt bad applying, too, let me tell you. Until I went to the local Social Security office to do so. Not meaning to stereotype but I thought I was on the wrong side of town and at the welfare office. Thought maybe some of them were there to get a replacement card until you hear them ask for disability paperwork.
This one girl with no visible disability and only 20 told the SS worker that she’d never worked a day in her life and that she couldn’t work ever. Funny but it hadn’t prevented her from procreating as she had two toddlers in tow.
I’m going to give many of these people the benefit of the doubt. During good economic times truly disabled people are able to work because the labor market is easy to get a job and many times employers must overlook disabilities in order to fill the job openings.
Now in this market employers, if they have job openings, can be extremely picky. A disabled person isn’t going to be hired even if they do want to work. Often times disabled people are less productive (no fault of their own) and so are also the first to be let go.
Millions of people are giving up on the economy and retiring earlier, taking the disability when they never did before etc...
The underlying question is: “does a good economy create jobs?” or “do companies hiring create a good economy?”.
If there was no social security nor disability or anything else these people have to take jobs to feed themselves. This would depress wages for generations to come. Why would your company keep you one if they could replace you with an equally qualified person willing to work at 1/5 of your salary?
Yep, seen 3 young men running around town as if they had no care in the world, enjoying all of life’s freebies thanks to more Government handouts, I assume they were recovering alcoholics or drug addicts, and I do have some sympathy, but it wouldn’t be a life times’ worth, and it ends after too many “slips”.