How to Fix Poverty: Write Every Family a Basic Income Check

[Janelle2002 3,865]

More people born with disabilities? I think the correlation you're looking for is an increase in law firms making a living off of getting people SSDI payments. Must be a promising business since seemingly every other commercial on TV and radio encourages people to call the lawyer to get their SSDI benefits approved.

Where are you getting this from?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Where are you getting this from?

Watching TV every now and then. Can't help but notice those commercials. Disability claims seem to be the new ambulance chasing.

[decocker 7,198]

Watching TV every now and then. Can't help but notice those commercials. Disability claims seem to be the new ambulance chasing.

those things have been around forever.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Watching TV every now and then. Can't help but notice those commercials. Disability claims seem to be the new ambulance chasing.

hahahaha TV. Best way to get your news. I have a question. Are these the "late night" commercials you are watching?

come and get your disability now. 1800 you claimme

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

those things have been around forever.

Yes they have. But they seem to have multiplied.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

hahahaha TV. Best way to get your news. I have a question. Are these the "late night" commercials you are watching?

come and get your disability now. 1800 you claimme

It's not news, Janelle. It's just an observation. And no, these are not late night paid programming type commercials. These are your prime time local TV station commercials that interrupt whatever crappy programming is on. Same law firms usually that chase after ambulances.

[decocker 7,198]

Yes they have. But they seem to have multiplied.

well yeah, i bet the botttom feeder world population has tripled since the seventies. easy.

[Lee&Ana 88]

Interesting thread

[Janelle2002 3,865]

It's not news, Janelle. It's just an observation. And no, these are not late night paid programming type commercials. These are your prime time local TV station commercials that interrupt whatever crappy programming is on. Same law firms usually that chase after ambulances.

Lawyers desperations doesn't mean people are actually taking the bait. Show me where they are taking the bait and you got me. A commercial on tv means nothing.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

well yeah, i bet the botttom feeder world population has tripled since the seventies. easy.

My point exactly.

Lawyers desperations doesn't mean people are actually taking the bait. Show me where they are taking the bait and you got me. A commercial on tv means nothing.

And yet the claim numbers as a percentage of the population increases. The commercial on TV is just a symptom of the underlying disease.

[decocker 7,198]

My point exactly.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-slayton/disability-fraud_b_2966494.html

.. the article makes it sound like getting disability is the easiest thing. Just fill out a form and you're on the dole. Who wouldn't do something that easy?

That's inaccurate. This is a long and arduous process involving quite a few steps, hearings, and substantial screening. It is neither easy nor pleasant, nor is it brief. The appeals process is distorting this, but no one should think it is falling off a log. One recent report referred to it as a "a byzantine, punitive, painful process".

Then there is a far larger problem. The NPR reporter told of an older mill worker who had a stroke. By the time he was ready to go back to work -- and wanted to -- the mill had closed. Quietly, they told him to go on disability.

This points to a larger problem. The grim reality is that while there are non-arduous service jobs, a frightening number of Americans have no access to them, or can't fill them. Remenber that doctor who blithely signed off on patients who seemed like they were able to work? He practices in Hale County, Alabama. One of the first things he asks patients is how much education they have. Because without a college degree all those other jobs are closed to them.

In one story, a woman working in a local fish plant developed back pains from her strenuous job. One of my students worked in this industry, and described how rough it could be. No problem; a job sitting down in a chair with a good back would work fine.

Except there aren't any. A quick examination of the "Help Wanted" ads revealed the following list: Occupational Therapist (college degree required), McDonald's, McDonald's, Truck Driver (heavy lifting), KFC, Registered Nurse, McDonald's. The woman explained that her dream job -- her fantasy in other words -- was working in the Social Security office weeding out cheaters. This was the only job she had ever seen where the person worked sitting down.

So behind some of these figures is a terrible new American reality. My wife, who used to run federal job training programs, explained to me, there's a terrible, incredible mismatch between available jobs and the skills of people looking for work. Yes, there are jobs. But not necessarily the kind that can be taken by folks in any given area. Disability applies if the only jobs available to you involve a physical condition.

Yes, some of these people shouldn't be on disability, but should they be on anything at all? There is another giant moral issue, lurking out there since the dawn of state programs to help the disadvantaged, and never resolved. I am serious about this question.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-slayton/disability-fraud_b_2966494.html

It isn't easy. I have a cousin who has been trying for 10 years. She has all kinds of arthritis, bone diseases, can barely write, they will not give her disability benefits. She can't even drive anymore.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

It isn't easy. I have a cousin who has been trying for 10 years. She has all kinds of arthritis, bone diseases, can barely write, they will not give her disability benefits. She can't even drive anymore.

Curious, what is the disability process in the USA? I know that in Canada you had to have for a filled by a doctor/psychiatrist depending on the reasons for it. However my impression was once you're on it you're golden.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-slayton/disability-fraud_b_2966494.html

Yes, interesting this part, too.

Everybody is talking about the recent NPR segment of This American Life on disabilities, "Unfit for Work." The findings are startling: the number of people on disability is skyrocketing, even as work becomes increasingly less physical, and sit-down tasks dominate, either in the intellectual domains or in the vastly expanding service sector. Yet despite that reality, there are 14 million people getting monthly checks from the federal government; this program now costs national taxpayers as much as welfare and food stamps combined. Are there that many sick people in America? The reality is, disability is now replacing welfare as the universal entitlement program.

There are several culprits here, some in government. The states love this idea. It moves needy individuals off of welfare rolls (paid by the state), to a new service paid for by Washington. The local budget gets downplayed, and the devil takes the hindmost.

The feds don't mind either, because they get something luscious out of this deal too. Many of these folks are transferring from the unemployment rolls. Since they now have a medical reason for not working, they are no longer unemployed, those numbers drop, the country seems to be improving, and the national administration gets the credit.

Then there are practitioners. Doctors sign off on disability when folks have high blood pressure and diabetes. Just for the record, I have had the former for more than a decade, the latter for a year. I've managed to teach my classes and write some books. Lots of other people manage jobs -- high pressure careers in many cases -- with these conditions as well.

Then there are the lawyers. Disability hearings are setup to be non-adversarial. While the defendant can bring a lawyer, the government has no one; the judge is supposed to sit as impartial arbiter and represent the state. Guess what happens when there is an appeal, in a situation like that? One law firm that specializes in this practice made $68.7 million last year. That's just in fees, and doesn't approach the amount the won.

This sounds like the mother of all frauds. Disability insurance is being used casually, for folks who don't really need it, or deserve it. And if this becomes the source of scandal, it could endanger funding for people with serious disabilities, who really must have this assistance to survive.

I'm not here suggesting that people should be left in free fall. There ought to be a safety net that nobody is allowed to fall through. That safety net ought to provide shelter, food and clothing for the impacted. If SSDI is that safety net, fine. But then we need to talk about consolidating programs into this one and put it on solid funding. Just because you can't find a job that fits where you live does not justfy, in my opinion, to go on SSDI. I've had that happen to me more than once over the last decade and a half. Surprisingly, I am not on SSDI. I moved to where there was a job that fit. Believe that's the proper course of action.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Curious, what is the disability process in the USA? I know that in Canada you had to have for a filled by a doctor/psychiatrist depending on the reasons for it. However my impression was once you're on it you're golden.

I'm not sure but whatever the requirements were she didn't meet them. Including letters from the doctors, exams, and letters from the doctor telling them she can't drive.

Here is a little information on it. http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/dqualify5.htm#a0=2