Americans Joining Disability Is Now Outpacing Americans Finding Jobs: Is This a Sign of a Coming Depression?

by Heisenberg Posted 2012/07/18 16:00:00

Related Topics: 2012 Election, Security, Opinion, Unemployment, Employment, Election, Depression, American, 2012, Economy, Online, News, Disability, Americans, Sign, Image

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	Yes	154 votes	76%
	No	48 votes	24%

WEEKLYSTANDARD.COM reports:
As the chart shows, between April-June 2012, an estimated 246,000 Americans were added to Social Security's disability insurance program. In that same time period, only 225,000 American jobs were created.

employment jobs social security unemployment weekly standard read magazine online

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Don Leuty 2012/07/18 06:30:43

Yes

+11
When users outnumber producers, we become just like the Soviet Union. Uniformly poor with no incentive to improve our lot.
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More polls by Heisenberg

Franklin to Obama Y... 2012/07/19 14:34:02

+2
well to bad ! You will pay and pay and pay AGAIN for paid public workers to spend all day everyday on this net promoting all things socialist ! fact is most of the net is run by and for liberals and unless you quit and join them you WILL PAY ! LOL@ working , its so outdated -

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Obama Y... to Franklin 2012/07/19 15:04:56

+1
Yeah, I don't like paying you to stay home.

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Franklin to Obama Y... 2012/07/20 04:21:19

Me ? well thats not a problem as i am not on the dole ....but I am thinking about getting on it as its the "in thing" why should I work and make money for the economy when no one else is doing it

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Obama Y... to Franklin 2012/07/20 06:40:13

Yeah.. Looks like you're here all day. I'm so glad I don't do that.

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Franklin to Obama Y... 2012/07/22 15:17:10

they have this new thing ...its called wireless internet . If you ever get a JOB you might want to think about getting a laptop so you don't have to sit at home in your moms basement on that old PC dad was going to throw out just to go on a blog.....

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MW121 2012/07/19 11:02:35

No

+1
Its more like our government telling people to file for disability after they've run out of unemployment checks now they can get disability... for what.. disability because they can't find a job.. That's not a disability, that's a handout..

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Franklin to MW121 2012/07/19 14:34:44

+2
but its "good" becase it helps keep Obama's job loss numbers down ....LOL

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Lisa 2012/07/19 05:33:32

Yes

+2
I always thought it was hard to get on disability. Maybe the doctors are getting desperate too because they know if they put someone on disability that person will have to come back to them for check ups more often! I also read that once a Person gets on disability it is almost impossible to get them off! So all the unemployed who can't find jobs are going to their. Doctors and complaining of stress related mental disorders and stress related back neck problems and the doctors are giving them the ok to be disabled!
This is just unbelievable but for those people in addition to taking away their ability to earn money, they are given a way to continue benefits forever!

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SA to Lisa 2012/07/19 13:47:45

+2
These people also make it look bad for those of us who are truly "disabled" unfortunately.

I have Cerebral Palsy on my left side, Arthritis in my right knee and Epilepsy. I worked WITH these disabilities until my Arthritis became so bad it was painful to walk, stand for long periods of time, kneel or climb up and down stairs.

I live on the 3rd floor and can count the numbers of times I have left my apartment in the last year.

I HATE having to depend on these checks to survive on. I hate the idea so many look down on many for what some to.

I was a Case Worker in a non profit organization for many years. I know about scammers. I just never thought I would be in the same category as the scammers because I am in need

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Lisa to SA 2012/07/22 15:01:11

Hello and let me say I am sorry for your disabilities. You are the very type of person who deserves help , I don't begrudge you one bit. I say if a person is truly disabled and doesn't have family to help , then the programs are there. Trouble is people now are taking it after their unemployment runs out. The longer one is out of work the harder it is to get back to work. God Bless you my fiend and keep your spirits high, you deserve it!

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SA to Lisa 2012/07/22 15:04:41

Thank you.

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Franklin to Lisa 2012/07/19 14:40:28

+1
its a lot easier than you would ever dream of to get on disability - back in 04 I helped a woman get on it (two bad surgeries and MB+ wheelchair bound for 20 years before she went on disability !) when we where signing her up the worker informed me that all the healthy people in the office where there for "depression" the one that stands out in my mind was 18 year old Hispanic boy who was going to get a full disability check for "depression" ...the worker said there is nothing she can do about it / he had a note from a Dr so he would get approved and would start getting paid 24 months from the date on the Dr script .....and for the rest of his life!

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SA to Franklin 2012/07/19 14:57:17

+2
I have Cerebral Palsy with a noticable limp, yet I had to go to one of "their" doctors to "
prove" I still had CP. I had to walk with a cane over half a mile(seriously) to catch the bus to the Drs. office.

By the time I came back home I was barely able to make it. Then I went into seizures. I am frustrated to no end by having people who don't know me ASSUME I am like the scammers.

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Sport_G... to SA 2012/07/19 15:21:49

+3
I was born with CP and about 6 other things I can't pronounce. By the time I was 16 I had 39 scars on my legs and feet where the Shrine Hospital did wonderful things to help me. I went to work standing on concrete for 8 - 12 hours a day as a machinist. When I couldnt do that any longer I moved into mid level management and over the past 10 years have developed degenerative arthritis of my neck which is causing it to fuse together. I rarely sleep more than 4 or 5 hours at night suffering either neck pain or leg and foot pain. After paying into the system for 35 + years I attempted to file a disability claim. I was shot down immediately because I havent just given up, gotten on welfare and food stamps, and lost my home. Social Security says that if you can make a thousand dollars a month thats enough to live. They wouldnt even look at my medical records and basically stopped my claim in the initial application.

Guess instead of being born handicapped I should have sat on my ass watching The Price Is Right, stuffing my face with junk food, and made myself to obese to work or function all my life. That seems to be a legitimate reason unlike having been born handicapped and having done the best I could living and working through the pain for 35 years.

Do not lump yourself in ...

I was born with CP and about 6 other things I can't pronounce. By the time I was 16 I had 39 scars on my legs and feet where the Shrine Hospital did wonderful things to help me. I went to work standing on concrete for 8 - 12 hours a day as a machinist. When I couldnt do that any longer I moved into mid level management and over the past 10 years have developed degenerative arthritis of my neck which is causing it to fuse together. I rarely sleep more than 4 or 5 hours at night suffering either neck pain or leg and foot pain. After paying into the system for 35 + years I attempted to file a disability claim. I was shot down immediately because I havent just given up, gotten on welfare and food stamps, and lost my home. Social Security says that if you can make a thousand dollars a month thats enough to live. They wouldnt even look at my medical records and basically stopped my claim in the initial application.

Guess instead of being born handicapped I should have sat on my ass watching The Price Is Right, stuffing my face with junk food, and made myself to obese to work or function all my life. That seems to be a legitimate reason unlike having been born handicapped and having done the best I could living and working through the pain for 35 years.

Do not lump yourself in with the scammers and dregs. My CP probably isnt as severe as yours as I can walk without a cane but I know the pain that foot and leg problems create not only with your feet and legs but your back. I wore braces for a long time as a kid and probably should be wearing some now to help support my ankles and knees. You worked, you paid in, and you have a genuine need......your anything but a scammer.
(more)

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SA to Sport_G... 2012/07/19 15:34:58

+2
Thank you for your words. They truly made my day.
My disabilities weren't this bad until I started to age.I have no cartlidge left in my right knee since I fell so much in previous years. I just can't leave my place much since I have to use stairs.
Have a great day. Thank you once again.

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Franklin to Sport_G... 2012/07/20 04:38:47

+1
hang in there brother - we feel foolish for having tried when so many others do not but there is something to be said about honest work and you know who you are and why you worked , i fear this whole generation just does not understand the honer that can only be found in honest work ....Gail worked from a wheel chair for 21 years before her MD forced her to go to the SSI disability office and she cried when she had to go ! she cried ,,,when healthy people stood in line in front of us.....what a world (sorry I am crying now thinking about Gail and how unfair the world can be to honest good people )

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Sport_G... to Franklin 2012/07/20 12:09:20

+1
Your so right about honest work and knowing that I (you and Gail) have done the best we can. GOD always has and always will provide for me and has given me the strength to get through the days when I just didnt know if I would. Luckily, I still have good days and then some bad days. My ex-wife has had over 20 hip surgeries and at least 8 artificial hips since 1987. When the doctor made her quite working in 95 (after the third artificial hip placement) it took two years for her to get her disability and we had to sell any asset's we had such as a camper. Back then you had to explain every dime you did or didnt have and then use up all of your savings before they would give you disability. Now it seems that "some" can stump their toe on Monday and be approved by Friday.

I am getting along so far and am helping keep some people employed in the pharmaceutical industry for over the counter pain relievers (I don't like taking Rx drugs constantly and would rather just use OTC drugs). It's a shame however that the dregs and scammers are bankrupting the system which will end up hurting honest people like Gail because they finally suck the government teat dry.

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Franklin to Sport_G... 2012/07/22 16:56:16

thanks ...its good to share with people who know what I am talking about . Most people now days spend their whole life making excuses instead of making progress ...so its only natural that they will just up and quit if they are given that option / to bad that leaves little to no money for those who really need it ...O well I am to old to change I will just go on as I always have making my own money and being happy with what I have + blaming myself when I don't have more.

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Franklin to SA 2012/07/20 04:33:01

+1
LOL- sorry I don't mean to laugh but I adopted a young man with CP (full quad drives a power chair I built with his head and uses hand signals for yes and no -full care ) just had to have his annual evaluation last month ...you know to see if 24 was the "magic " age when he suddenly was able to walk and talk and all that ....my father and mother adopted my "son" / i came home to help when dad got ill so when he passed I took on my "brother- son" ...until he was 21 he was covered by my fathers private health insurance from Lidgerwood manufacturing ....I had to use Medicare after that when me and mom ran threw 200K between us (all of our savings from both of us ) and just could not go on ...I still feel bad having him on SSI disability+ medicare but to put him in a home would cost the state 400K a year at his level of care and with me caring for him the cost last year was 65K total ...the prices for everything are CRAZY ! But Medicaid sets the price for everything and we have no choice but to pay what they say
hell i have needed a new left knee for almost 4 years now but can't take the time off to get the surgery ...and yes its humiliating for people who will never "heal" to have to prove their disability every year just to go on ...cost care boards under Obamacare are only going to make it worse - we already have illegals who get Medicaid getting full FREE dental while citizens do not get dental at all in my state !

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SA to Franklin 2012/07/20 13:41:26

A million raves to you, if it were possible.

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Lisa to Franklin 2012/07/22 15:03:19

Wow.. Unbelievable. No wonder our country is falling apart!

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mikeeonly 2012/07/19 04:48:50

No

+3
Speaking as a disabled person who is actually for real in my disability, I know of too many people getting disability for conditions like depression and headaches, while others who actually deserve it are constantly denied. I was fortunate in the fact that I had no problem getting it after getting screwed over on my short term disability by my union employer. I do feel sorry for those who wind up having to pay a lawyer part of their disability payments.

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jp 2012/07/19 04:30:13

Yes

+1
I'd like to see this linked back to the Doctors who approved these claims. Bet thats a real story

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Squatch to jp 2012/07/19 13:23:46

+1
Right on - if a person is on disability then they also get free Medicare. Medicare is notorious for paying their claims on time. So, if you have a patient who has free insurance that pays, then schedule them for as many visits as you want and rake in the cash. Of course this is not all doctors, just ones that game the system.

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☆WillThompson☆ 2012/07/19 04:12:16

Yes

+1
Yes, it is. I however am embarrassed that I am on currently on SSDI after coming home from Iraq. I do hope that I can redeem myself after I complete my vocational rehabilitation to enter back into the workforce.

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SA to ☆WillTh... 2012/07/19 13:51:57

+2
I wish you luck. I am on SSDI but too old and not physically capable of doing much unless it is in my home.
Getting older although I have my degree is no fun.

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Franklin to SA 2012/07/19 14:47:09

+2
yea getting older sucks ! I have the bursitis and the arthritis as well as the things I did to my left knee and right hip...I am tempted to go on disability but it just seams wrong ….I am a fool I know / but as long as I can make myself work I feel like I should keep pushing no matter what my Dr says ! So until I break the other knee and can get them both replaced at the same time I will keep putting on my leg brace and poping 4 advil every morning before getting to work ...LOL

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SA to Franklin 2012/07/19 15:02:57

+1
You are an inspiration. I worked for years with my disabilities and certainly can relate to what you are feeling.

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☆WillTh... to SA 2012/07/19 17:57:35

+1
I agree with both of you. I didn't apply for SSDI myself, it was a collaboration of the Wounded Warrior program, Walter-Reed, and my C.O. who actually set me up with V.A. disability and SSDI. My goal is to work either with or for the V.A. after I complete my training to help other veterans. I wish both of you well.

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Franklin to ☆WillTh... 2012/07/20 04:50:11

+2
from one DAV to another , thanks brother for everything - LOL its been so long I forget I am deaf in my left ear and had to go to VA for a few years after separation for surgery ...but the fact that I forgot means it does get better ! its OK call me a curse word but its from the heart BRO and its true - just go threw the motions and eventually "normal" becomes normal again.....

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Franklin to SA 2012/07/20 04:44:46

+2
...I know a new knee and probably a rod in my spine are in my future but i see every day I hold out (and still make a living with my own hands LOL) is a victory - i know no one else really cares and I rarely ever even share my little problems as sympathy actually hurts ! its so useless and shallow / it makes me uncomfortable ! Besides I decided a few years ago that in the end the only person worth impressing was myself ...if i feel good living inside my own skin then life is good-

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Michelle 2012/07/19 03:44:22

No

+2
I don't think it's a sign of the "coming" depression because it's a sign of the depression that is already occurring. I, by far, do not think these stats are a good thing. The high number of individuals added to disability speaks of some fraud going on because people are desperate for money (though a person with a disability applying for disability is perfectly respectable) and the low level of jobs created shows how difficult finding work is.

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Squatch to Michelle 2012/07/19 13:35:08

+1
I agree with you to some degree. America is defintely not what it used to be financially, but things could get a lot worse. When we start using the word Depression we need to think back to the stock market crash of 29.
Watch the movies, if you have not already seen them, Cinderella Man and Sea Biscuit and you will see how bad things could get.
That is why I do not ever eat without thanking God - I have no illusions that we could all go hungry again one day.

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chas 2012/07/19 03:39:25 (edited)

Yes

+3
Just being in a depressed mental-state, or "addicted", has LOADED the SSDI files with PERMANENT disability status recipients . Even if mental-status improves, the client is rarely removed from SSDI.

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richwright 2012/07/19 03:07:30

No

+2
This is a productive country. If the greedy rich were willing to pay just a little more in taxes everything would be covered. There would be less disability if there were MORE safety regulations which Republicans so adamantly oppose.

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Squatch to richwright 2012/07/19 14:17:39

+2
I cannot believe the thinking of people today - they hear something on TV and say it must be true. OK Im am hearing enough about the greedy rich.
Here is a basic banking / econimc lesson.
Let's say you are right and you get everything you want, including those greedy Americans to pay more. What is the GOV going to do with the money - just give it to the entitlement people, or are they going to pay it to the deficit etc....
All we hear is tax tax tax, but what is more important is what you do with the money once you have it. Give GOV agencies too much money and what you see is the waste of millions on LV parties and kick-backs i.e. GSA scandal and Solyndra - probably over a billion wasted with just these 2 examples.
Come on - even if you look at your own personal finances - making more money only works if you do not waste it all.
We could generate a trillion more tax dollars a year and it would not matter if Obama spends 1.1 trillion more.
Obama makes it sound like if he gets money from the rich he is just going to give it to you like some kind of Robin Hood - How are you actually going to get any benefit from the rich paying more. I may actually pay attention if he were to explain this!!!!

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Franklin to Squatch 2012/07/19 15:10:55

+1
- but it was only wrong when Germany and Cuba and China and the USSR Venezuela etc etc said and tried it ...this time i am sure its true and its going to work ! LOL

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Squatch to Franklin 2012/07/19 15:19:44

+2
Right - Make the same mistakes enough time and I guess statistically it may work out!!!!

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Franklin to Squatch 2012/07/20 04:51:39

that is the battle hymn of the North American Liberal !....LOL

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richwright to Squatch 2012/07/20 02:39:46

They are going to invest some in infrastructure which almost all economists claim is a good thing and use part to pay down the deficit.

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