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I can only comment on my experiences. SSDI is very difficult to qualify for. In my experience---you have to be totally disabled, period, you can not be employable. You have to prove it and you have to prove it overtime, for most. What other States are doing when dealing with those American workers who are disabled and seeking SSDI is something I do not know much about, but, having a spouse who is very ill and all the battles we went through it is one experience I never ever want to repeat again or wish on my enemies.
One reason why SSDI is up might be because of an aging population. And for those who confuse SSI with SSDI, SSDI is part of a working person's social security. SSI is welfare.
Something about the last four years disables people!
SSDI rolls continue to climb as more and more Americans are, ostensibly, unable to work due to disability.
During President Barack Obama’s first term, the number of Americans collecting federal disability insurance increased by 1,385,418 to a record 8,827,795.
As a result, there is now one person collecting disability in this county for every 13 people working full-time. Forty-two years ago, in December 1968, there were 51 people working full-time in this country for each person collecting disability.
Some sort of plague is disabling Americans at a rate never before seen and no one seems to care.
Does anyone have any idea what it could be?
As one who works for Social Security disability, in an ODAR office, I will say one big factor is: age. The Baby Boomers are not only aging, they, including me, are getting old.
The number of disability cases I am seeing (both for Title II and Title XVI) involving people in their 50s is a much higher percentage than when I started back in 1988; back then, it seems that the most common 'age' was in the 30s.
Of course, I am seeing a lot of cases where older people (50+) had lost their job, could not obtain another, and so file for disability alleging 'bipolar disorder' (the 'disease of the decade', as I call it; previous diseases included chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia) or some other problem that seems to rely on the credibility of the claimant. At least in my office, most of these type cases are denied.
Once a person aged 50 or more gets on the disability roles, they do not leave. We simply do not have the resources to both handle new disability claims and review those who are on the roles. Cessation cases mainly center on younger people.
I will add: nothing has changed in the disability rules and regulations since President Obama took office. We operate under the sames rules and guidelines that have prevailed for two decades (the last major change was how we evaluate childhood disability, I believe in the 1990s; and Congress passed a law years ago stating that if alcoholism or drug abuse is material to the disability, the person does not get disability). There have not been any 'orders' or such from the White House to start paying people filing for disability.
Oh dear failed gop economic policy? If only they were the only ones in charge of policy the last 12 years you might have a point
The phrase "its the government, stupid" comes to mind.
Let's review, briefly...
GOP held the congress from 1995 - 2007 and has had the house since 2011.
GOP held the White House from 2001 - 2009.
In those overlapping intervals, GOP economic policy held sway. It took awhile, but it eventually resulted in the 2008 crash.
Deregulation/tax cuts/trickle-down... Somewhat akin to years of GOP policy and unregulated markets bringing down the economy in 1929.
I work with a lot of folks who have been awarded some type of SSDI as well. Far too many list depression and anxiety as reasons they can't work.
While I realize that, at times, these can be crippling diseases . . . I just think SSDI is too easily awarded. If these folks weren't getting a monthly sum - would they have continued working despite their disease in order to feed their families?
And there are too many doctors who are willing to qualify someone as disabled . . . it's just a vicious cycle.
Massive unemployment resulting from failed GOP economic policy.
People backed into a finacial corner will seek whatever path they can find to get out.
So why did people reelect Obama, if after giving him complete democratic party control for two years, and control of the senate for four years, and he still can't get anything done? Obviously Obama was able to enact his economic policies.
It's the same dichotomy, Obama is either a worthless incompetent who cannot accomplish anything at all, or every he believes is flawed, and whenever he successfully enacts policy it only makes thing even worse. Either Obama is a total incompetent, idiotic, boob, who cannot enact his own economic policies even with full control of the legislative and executive branches. Or, he did implement his fundamentally flawed economic policies and they have only exacerbated the situation.
I work with a lot of folks who have been awarded some type of SSDI as well. Far too many list depression and anxiety as reasons they can't work.
While I realize that, at times, these can be crippling diseases . . . I just think SSDI is too easily awarded. If these folks weren't getting a monthly sum - would they have continued working despite their disease in order to feed their families?
And there are too many doctors who are willing to qualify someone as disabled . . . it's just a vicious cycle.
Then why did they work before, and are not working now? Because they lost their jobs, and could not find another one, and then applied for disability. They didn't quit their jobs just to apply for disability.
Then why did they work before, and are not working now? Because they lost their jobs, and could not find another one, and then applied for disability. They didn't quit their jobs just to apply for disability.
Some did. Who know why. Maybe the job got too hard or things weren't going well - but there are people who leave jobs to apply for disability.
I won't argue that the numbers are inflated due to the poor job market and the fact that some probably did lose their jobs.
I work with a lot of folks who have been awarded some type of SSDI as well. Far too many list depression and anxiety as reasons they can't work.
While I realize that, at times, these can be crippling diseases . . . I just think SSDI is too easily awarded. If these folks weren't getting a monthly sum - would they have continued working despite their disease in order to feed their families?
And there are too many doctors who are willing to qualify someone as disabled . . . it's just a vicious cycle.
In my wife's case no and didn't work for 3 years until she was awarded her benefit. She worked for 4 years with her disease before she couldn't any longer. But depression was not her issue, although losing the ability to function normally will make you very depressed. And again it was not easy what so ever to receive. For some it is easy because they are terminal with a SS listed disease that can be expedited. For some who receive SSDI for simple depression, it disturbs me for sure.
I can only comment on my experiences. SSDI is very difficult to qualify for. In my experience---you have to be totally disabled, period, you can not be employable. You have to prove it and you have to prove it overtime, for most. What other States are doing when dealing with those American workers who are disabled and seeking SSDI is something I do not know much about, but, having a spouse who is very ill and all the battles we went through it is one experience I never ever want to repeat again or wish on my enemies.
One reason why SSDI is up might be because of an aging population. And for those who confuse SSI with SSDI, SSDI is part of a working person's social security. SSI is welfare.
I am going through the application right now and can also confirm there really is a vigorous vetting process. It can take literally two years to get approved. My first application was denied because my social security paperwork listed the city but not the state I was born in, even though my birth certificate did list the state. I had to get a new social security card and redo my disability application from scratch. That's pretty tight controls to me.
I can't speak to whether or not the judges ruling on appeals are overturning legitimate denials, but I can say the initial process is pretty rigorous. I had to provide full contact information for every doctor and hospital stay I've been through in years.
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