Why are so many Americans on disability?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

Let’s get those Veterans who lost their ability to walk and multiple body parts job applications and back on payroll, guys.

They are so damn lazy, they just sit around all day in their wheelchairs enjoying life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

You talking about the vets?

When it comes to the Department of Veterans Affairs, these two instincts may be in tension. The department’s budget has surged over the past two decades, rising from $86bn in today’s dollars (then equivalent to 2.6% of the federal budget) in 2000 to $336bn (5% of today’s budget) this year. It now receives almost three times as much as the Department of Transportation. Remarkably, this boom has occurred despite a nearly one-third decline in the veteran population, which has fallen from 26m to 18m. Annual spending per veteran, as a consequence, has risen six-fold.
includes programmes such as the department’s medical services. But the main driver of its spending surge is mandatory outlays for disability compensation. Between 2000 and 2024, such payments ballooned from $26bn, in today’s prices, to $159bn. Last year alone saw a 17% jump. And the department’s latest budget request forecasts that compensation will soar to $185bn over the next two years.

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/11/28/american-veterans-now-receive-absurdly-generous-benefits

Two twenty-year wars will get you a helluva lot of disabled vets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

You talking about the vets?

When it comes to the Department of Veterans Affairs, these two instincts may be in tension. The department’s budget has surged over the past two decades, rising from $86bn in today’s dollars (then equivalent to 2.6% of the federal budget) in 2000 to $336bn (5% of today’s budget) this year. It now receives almost three times as much as the Department of Transportation. Remarkably, this boom has occurred despite a nearly one-third decline in the veteran population, which has fallen from 26m to 18m. Annual spending per veteran, as a consequence, has risen six-fold.
includes programmes such as the department’s medical services. But the main driver of its spending surge is mandatory outlays for disability compensation. Between 2000 and 2024, such payments ballooned from $26bn, in today’s prices, to $159bn. Last year alone saw a 17% jump. And the department’s latest budget request forecasts that compensation will soar to $185bn over the next two years.

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/11/28/american-veterans-now-receive-absurdly-generous-benefits

Two twenty-year wars will get you a helluva lot of disabled vets.

+1

Two decades of war and people are questioning why so many Vets need the VA and why is the VA budget so expensive and why does it cost so much to care for people who are mentally and physically disabled?

However could this have happened? Anyone got any information on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

Oh? Do tell...

I'm gonna laugh SO hard when you get into a car accident, or some other statistically-probable but "unforeseen" trouble, and need disability. People who mouth off this way need to learn from experience, the hard way.

As for the rest of us, some of it's congenital defects that have made typical work impossible. Some of it is battle damage, as has been thoroughly described upthread. And while you're not likely to want to hear it, a lot of those "even disabled people could do this" jobs you think exist unfilled (surprise: they're not as plentiful as you seem to believe) are being deleted entirely because people decided AI is better than employing humans. And then, of course, there's the limited/temporary disability that you're one oopsie away from understanding a LOT better, you compassionless ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right, the DC people don't see the pain, they just want to drag us into more wars and then complain Americans aren't good little worker bees when the come back from the war trauma

The "DC people" - the ones who live here, not the political types, absolutely see the pain. Please distinguish between the two. It is the GOP who cut VA benefits that don't see the pain.

And we need to get ultra processed foods out of our food chain, because so many have diabetes and other maladies from drinking tons of soda, consuming aspertaime and eating candy bars and chips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right, the DC people don't see the pain, they just want to drag us into more wars and then complain Americans aren't good little worker bees when the come back from the war trauma

The "DC people" - the ones who live here, not the political types, absolutely see the pain. Please distinguish between the two. It is the GOP who cut VA benefits that don't see the pain.

And we need to get ultra processed foods out of our food chain, because so many have diabetes and other maladies from drinking tons of soda, consuming aspertaime and eating candy bars and chips.

Sorry. I am referring to the perpetual political class. The people in other threads clamoring for yet another war.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right, the DC people don't see the pain, they just want to drag us into more wars and then complain Americans aren't good little worker bees when the come back from the war trauma

The "DC people" - the ones who live here, not the political types, absolutely see the pain. Please distinguish between the two. It is the GOP who cut VA benefits that don't see the pain.

And we need to get ultra processed foods out of our food chain, because so many have diabetes and other maladies from drinking tons of soda, consuming aspertaime and eating candy bars and chips.

Of course, all of these conditions are from Doritos and Coke! Lol. Are people really this simple?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

Because Democrats have so bastardized the disability requirements that merely being a cross-dressing male makes a person eligible for disability. You'd be shocked by the utterly frivolous lifestyle choices that make a person eligible for disability as Democrats have expanded the criteria over and over again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

Where are you getting this? You didn't cite any stats, so I asked Grok.

*About 8.7 million Americans receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, with around 7.5 million on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), though some receive both.

*These are the conditions most people have that qualify them for benefits:

Musculoskeletal Disorders: About 30.7% of SSDI recipients, or roughly 2.6 million people, are disabled due to conditions like arthritis, back disorders, or other joint and muscle issues. These are the leading causes due to their prevalence and impact on physical work capacity.

Mental Disorders: Approximately 28.2% (around 2.4 million) have mental health conditions, including mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder), anxiety, schizophrenia, and intellectual disabilities. This category has grown significantly over time.

Nervous System and Sense Organ Disorders: Around 9.5% (about 800,000) are disabled due to conditions like epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, or vision/hearing loss.

Circulatory System Disorders: Roughly 8.2% (around 700,000) have heart disease, hypertension, or other cardiovascular issues.

Neoplasms (Cancers): About 5.3% (approximately 450,000) are disabled due to various forms of cancer.

Injuries: Around 4.1% (about 350,000) have disabilities from traumatic injuries, such as those from accidents or workplace incidents.

Respiratory Disorders: Approximately 3.8% (around 320,000) have conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma.

Other Conditions: The remaining 10.2% (about 860,000) include endocrine disorders (e.g., diabetes), digestive system issues, genitourinary disorders, and congenital anomalies, among others.

For SSI recipients, mental disorders are even more prevalent, with 36.3% of adults disabled due to conditions like intellectual disabilities or psychotic disorders, followed by musculoskeletal issues at 21.2%. Children on SSI often qualify due to developmental disorders (e.g., autism) or intellectual disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

Most of the people I know at work who are severely disabled also have massive resources that allow them to work — i.e., caregivers who come to work with them, fully-outfitted vans, excellent health insurance, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

You talking about the vets?

When it comes to the Department of Veterans Affairs, these two instincts may be in tension. The department’s budget has surged over the past two decades, rising from $86bn in today’s dollars (then equivalent to 2.6% of the federal budget) in 2000 to $336bn (5% of today’s budget) this year. It now receives almost three times as much as the Department of Transportation. Remarkably, this boom has occurred despite a nearly one-third decline in the veteran population, which has fallen from 26m to 18m. Annual spending per veteran, as a consequence, has risen six-fold.
includes programmes such as the department’s medical services. But the main driver of its spending surge is mandatory outlays for disability compensation. Between 2000 and 2024, such payments ballooned from $26bn, in today’s prices, to $159bn. Last year alone saw a 17% jump. And the department’s latest budget request forecasts that compensation will soar to $185bn over the next two years.

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/11/28/american-veterans-now-receive-absurdly-generous-benefits

Two twenty-year wars will get you a helluva lot of disabled vets.

+1 get a clue, OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

Most of the people I know at work who are severely disabled also have massive resources that allow them to work — i.e., caregivers who come to work with them, fully-outfitted vans, excellent health insurance, etc.

+1
I can’t believe we’re at a point in our country where we’re turning on the disabled community. My former nonprofit job focused on the disability community and it was eliminated because this administration determined the goals were no longer aligned with this administration’s. All of a sudden it’s DEIA. When did people with disabilities become your enemy?

The same people who say “just get a job” are the same ones cheering on the cancellation of funding of programs that were designed to assist in employing people with disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?

Most of the people I know at work who are severely disabled also have massive resources that allow them to work — i.e., caregivers who come to work with them, fully-outfitted vans, excellent health insurance, etc.

+1

It probably costs more for severely disabled people to work than for them
to stay home.

The social aspect of working is what helps them, which is good. They deserve to be a functional member of society if they want to be.

Op is a very ignorant individual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re my BIL, because it’s a far better grift than working a real job.

And you can do a little work on the side for cash.

[Anonymous]

I know someone that has a full time job making $200,000, gets full veteran disability benefits of around $4,500 a month, and pays no state property tax because they’re ex military. They use the handicap parking spaces too even though it’s a psychological injury, which is odd because I’ve always thought those spaces were for people in wheelchairs and physically limiting disabilities.

Politicians don’t want to address this because it’s political suicide but we are all getting ripped off.