<p>Apparently. And get the kids on it too.</p>
<p><a href=“Unfit for Work: The startling rise of disability in America | Planet Money”>Unfit for Work: The startling rise of disability in America | Planet Money;
<p>It’s a problem, and certainly an issue worth discussing. It gets worse when people can’t find jobs and start to seek survival alternatives. But it is not “new”.</p>
<p>I caught this segment on NPR today and was quite surprised. My mother was a disability examiner for the state of Texas in the early 80’s and it was darn near impossible to get disability. She had many applicants die before being approved.</p>
<p>I met a woman not too long ago who was on disability because the fumes from her job at a beauty salon made her feel sick. All I could think was really?</p>
<p>I guess I don’t understand how this works. Benefits that preclude someone from working at any kind of job makes sense to me. Benefits to someone who is otherwise able-bodied but can’t work in their chosen field seems ridiculous. Short-term benefits while someone is making a career transition is one thing but making it a long-term thing is a different issue.</p>
<p>I see women come in to our shelter all the frigging time with SSI. It’s more rare that they or their children are NOT on SSI. It drives me CRAZY. We have a woman who shelter hops has only worked four years of her adult life, and gets SSI because she doesn’t want to work. OTOH, my dad who actually IS disabled has to fight tooth and nail to get SSI. He worked full time from the age of 17 at multiple jobs and would give everything just to be able to physically hold down a full time job. </p>
<p>SSI reform needs to happen desperately. It’s absolutely ludicrous.</p>
<p>Also, FWIW, you can work up to a certain amount and still get SSI (SSDI?).</p>
<p>If you read the article you will read that people who receive ssi are going to be poor.</p>
<p>It is very difficult to receive ssi where I live.</p>
<p>No doubt, dstark. Personally, it makes me angry that they’re doing this to their children. That’s what angers me in the shelter.</p>
<p>That and these women are creating an environment for their children where they’re taught from a young age to be dependent rather than self-reliant and my tolerance for it has gone down the tubes.</p>
<p>One day out of curiosity I asked my doctor if she would fill out the paperwork so I could apply for disability. She admitted that physically I would more than qualify and that I have all the MRI’s, etc needed to qualify (neck, back, heart complications from surgery) But she said she was refusing my request because if I seriously wanted a job then I need to be creative about finding one that would work with my ailments. </p>
<p>While I believe there are some people who truly need disability, this has gotten out of hand. I think they need to put my doctor in charge of the program!</p>
<p>My mom gets SSI and is mentally disabled. She doesn’t work so yeah that SSI does replace work.</p>
<p>I have been working out at a gym. I was talking to another guy who was working out. He said to me it is surprising how many people here are mentally disabled. </p>
<p>I think there are a lot of disabled people that don’t look disabled. I worked out next to a guy when jeopardy was on tv. The guy knew 90 percent of the questions. He was great. He told me he tried to get on Jeopardy. After talking to him for awhile I can see why. He started talking to himself. I think he was hearing voices. </p>
<p>Another guy I worked out next to was as strong as a bull. Incredibly strong. His problem was he was in a car accident and has brain damage.
He seems like a nice guy who can go off at any time and kill somebody. If you saw him, you would ask, “that strong guy can’t move furniture?”</p>
<p>The guy has been looking for a job for years.</p>
<p>That guy scares me. I wouldn’t want him in my house.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that people think there is a problem with those who are mentally disabled getting SSI, lilmelonred (unless of course, the dsability is “unwillingness to work” disease). A serious mental disability seems like that’s what SSI would be for.</p>
<p>Romanigyysies, people do the best they can…
Sometimes the best they can do isn’t much.</p>
<p>My sister is disabled. She can’t work. She has nerve damage in her face because a dentist botched the procedure. She is always in pain. No she couldn’t sue either. No dentist wanted to testify.</p>
<p>I have a RN friend whose job it is to track folks on work comp disability and do whatever she can to get them back into the workforce. She says studies show that someone unemployed 6+ months rarely transitions back to work. Too many changes occur in their brain and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Can understand that folks who heavy labor jobs and who don’t qualify for jobs where they could sit could be disabled because their bodies wear out, especially if the job also involves heavy lifting. </p>
<p>Because I have a health condition that is bad enough, technically I could try to get disability, but the consensus among my MDs is that I’m the least disabled person they know.</p>
<p>There is a whole industry devoted to both SSI fraud and disability pension fraud. Lots of people legitimately need and deserve the help, but anywhere there is big money there are scam artists. And disability involves big money.</p>
<p>dstark, I understand SOME people do the best they can. Not everyone does. Not even close. I absolutely understand that some people need the help. My dad is one of them after a drunk driver took his ability to work. </p>
<p>There are others, like my ex’s dad, who spend more time trying to scam the system than they would actually put in working. Unfortunately THESE people are far too numerous and drain vital resources from those who actually need help.</p>
<p>There is also, in the current economy, a population of people who have maxed out their unemployment benefits without finding employment and have either suffered such stress related symptoms or have found sympathetic doctors and so have moved from unemployment to SSI.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for other places but I volunteer with people with special needs. They are on ssi. It is so hard to get ssi here it is ridiculous. These people want to work. Many go to day programs and make quilts and scarves and napkins and…</p>
<p>Others want to work but it is hard to get the hours. They can’t make the money to support themselves. Luckily there are some programs set up both private and public to help them. </p>
<p>I know people look at programs and say, “Hey this program doesn’t work. People are taking advantage of this program.” I look at a program and think, “This program is helping millions of people”.</p>
<p>If somebody wants to go through the trouble of scamming ssi so they can make 6,000 a year…I would like to stop this, but if scammers fall through the cracks…</p>
<p>There were cars that cost $20,000 that were shipped to Iraq. The companies leased those cars to the US government for $20,000 a year because the cars were in a war zone. Lol.</p>
<p>There are always scammers…</p>
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<p>I get this. You can’t just look at someone and determine whether they are ‘fit’ to work, just as you can’t look at someone’s weight and determine their health status.</p>
<p>I had major surgery last year and was out of work for 6 weeks. For the first few weeks I was back at work, I was still in pain. Pain will wear you down. No doubt about it. But I wasn’t going out and doing anything substantial during that period. I might work for 1/2 day and then go home to rest. I might go to the grocery store and then go home to rest. I basically spend most of my time sleeping and resting. A trip to the couch was an ordeal some days. I won’t wish this on my worst enemy.</p>
<p>OTOH, the woman who couldn’t work because the fumes bothered her…I met her in the bar on a very expensive cruise in the Baltic Sea. She was having a good old time. The irony was she was there with a uber conservative group and she was standing around blasting people on welfare!</p>
<p>The NPR show talked about how there is an industry of lawyers who solicit people who are trying to get disability. They said that people who have been denied benefits, hire these attorneys who take their ‘case’ in front of a judge and in 2/3 of the cases the decision is reversed. </p>
<p>It doesn’t bother me that people get welfare and SSI. Many people just aren’t capable of holding down steady employment. And if they’re happy living on pittances, then more power to them. I don’t envy them. Won’t trade places for them for anything. I guess, though, it bothers me because it feels like it is sometimes it’s more of a fraudulent thing. People playing up a disability so they don’t have to work, vs. just being uneducated or coming from a background where they weren’t taught to work for what they needed. Or people who are really, truly in need. I know that’s splitting hairs and probably doesn’t make sense.</p>
<p>Years ago my wife was on ss disability. She looks perfectly healthy but none of you would ever want to walk in her shoes. In NJ almost every initial applicant is denied and you need to hire an attorney to fight it. Most disabled people struggle to get through the day so fighting the system is not easy. You do not qualify for ss disability based on pain because pain can not be measured. Back in the period my wife collected ss disability her income was around $35,000 she received $600 a month. She would have traded places with anyone who thought she was trying to get over.</p>
<p>Tom1944, how is your wife today? Are her issues permanent?</p>