# Planet Money piece: UNFIT FOR WORK The startling rise of disability in America **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 27, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072 "2013-03-27T03:55:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/101 "2013-04-12T19:27:44Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’m not sure why you don’t decouple disability costs from total M-M-SS costs. The majority of the $1.5 trillion is payment that the recipients have fully paid for and doesn’t have much economic impact one way or the other by its mere existence. Federal disability benefits (SSI and SSDI) are part of Social Security. What do you mean by “paid for”? [Social Security and Medicare account for nearly 60% of government debt.](http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/debt/debtbasics.html) IOW, the Federal Government has to pay out $1.5 trillion or so every year and right now it is paying out more than it takes it. > [@LC Strawhouse](#): > > So I wouldn’t be surprised if we see many young North Americans migrate from wannabe-white-collar jobs back to the trades. Those jobs may also have a coolness factor to them now (look at all those Discovery Channel shows) that didn’t really exist 20 years ago during the IT bubble. I doubt it. Not too many people are going to go become crab fisherman, lumberjacks, gold miners or alligator hunters or whatever. Most trade jobs these days are tied to the housing market, which hasn’t been all that great. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/102 "2013-04-12T21:26:42Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Federal disability benefits (SSI and SSDI) are part of Social Security. > > What do you mean by “paid for”? [Social Security and Medicare account for nearly 60% of government debt.](http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/debt/debtbasics.html) IOW, the Federal Government has to pay out $1.5 trillion or so every year and right now it is paying out more than it takes it. Even if you don’t count the social security surplus, the gov’t took in 800 billion in taxes for these programs last year. So the majority is self-funded, like I said. Of the rest, the majority is medicare and medicaid. Then plug in the social security surplus and you have a very small portion of the deficit, if any, caused by age-related social security payments. Which is why it is valid to break it out and consider it separately rather than one monolithic, $1.5 trillion program. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/103 "2013-04-12T22:07:23Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I bet a lot of the skepticism about psychological disability is because a lot of it seems so… dramatic, for lack of a better term. We see the mentally handicapped people working as bag boys, checkers, stockers and greeters and other jobs at various companies, and wonder just how crazy you have to be to be judged disabled and unable to work because of your psychological condition. And based on what we see, to a lot of people, it seems like unless you’re running around naked with a bozo wig on your head, and a toilet plunger sticking out of your ass, you’re probably as capable of doing some kind of work as the mentally handicapped people. ``` Thankfully no, most people do not come to this conclusion. Your statement is completely riddled with holes. Apparently dont know the difference of someone who has a developmental disability and a neuropsychiatric one. If you honestly believe that a psych disability has to include running naked witha red bozo wig, you have alot of completely erroneous beliefs on the matter ``` ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/104 "2013-04-12T22:25:21Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I was recently talking to a relative in the USA who is considering applying for SSI. > > She is an able bodied young woman of 25 who is barely squeezing by working as a waitress, she has panic attacks at work so bad she has to rush to the toilet to vomit or put a broken piece of anti-anxiety med under her tongue and hope it takes effect fast enough so she can go back out on the floor. She says it is getting worse and she doesn’t know how much longer it will be before she is fired. > > She managed to scrape enough money together months back to go see a doc and get a script, she has been stretching it ever since since she doesn’t have enough money to go see a doc again. There is nothing physically wrong with her, and she CAN work but her anxiety attacks make it hard to work. All the jobs she is qualified for are service jobs where she MUST interact with strangers(customers). > > Would she be considered a cheat? ``` Only to the uneducated backwards people who dont "believe" in psychiatric illnesses. ``` ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/105 "2013-04-21T15:53:53Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > Is she pursuing therapy beyond meds? Does she know that CBT can be very effective in treating anxiety? Is she looking into schooling for something she can do to minimize her need to serve strangers? > > If so, then hopefully she won’t need disability for very long. If not, then yes, it’s a little cheaty to me. ah but does she make enough to pay $125 or more per visit to get therapy, which should be done at minimum weekly if not twice weekly, takes several months and can she get off work to attend the sessions? and what does she do if it turns out the issue is a biological one that calls for expensive life risking potentially further debilitating surgery like brain surgery? (rare but it exists) is her boss going to be tolerant of the wide and disturbing side effects that take place if they decide to try and medical cocktail treat her, providing she can afford the meds which can be as much as $300 for a months supply of just ONE of the cocktail of meds? that is the reality of mental health care. unless you have medicaid which will pay in full, even if you have private insurance or medicare they pay 10% on average and the rest is out of your pocket, as well as most private ins will only pay their pittance coverage for a limited number of appts, the lowest I have heard is three, the most generous has been 10. sometimes that’s in a year, sometimes that is for the entire duration of the policy.and you need an employer who will let you take the time as opposed to sacking you for some contrived reason. People sneer because the mentally supposedly don’t try to get better. I just lost the ONLY therapist within 60 miles of me who accepts medicare AT ALL, and it will be months before someone will replace her, if ever. That is a common problem as well. The system would be a nightmare for someone mentally well, trying to get through it while mentally ill? There is a reason why a lot of homeless are mentally ill. Go ahead, make some calls. see how easily and what it would cost to go into therapy and how game your boss would be for it. Be prepared to run the risk of losing your job though. just because what someone sees as a solution does not mean it is doable, or should the mentally ill take up prostitution or armed robbery to get treatment? ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/106 "2013-04-21T16:24:42Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I am on disability. > > I was diagnosed with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. I am no longer able to walk, bath myself or dress myself. > > I can no longer work at any job. I wish I could. > > However, I have worked a full-time job since I was 15. I stopped working at 50, the Social Security office said I had “more than paid my share”. > > I was approved within 60 days with back payment from the date of my diagnosis. > > I also am on the state Medicaid, which has arranged to modify my house to be wheelchair accessible. > > I feel grateful for all the help I’m recieving. I am sad for those who abuse the system. But it basically works. in your state yes, I worked in clerical jobs for slightly higher than minimum wage. part of medicaid here is that int late 70’s they averaged the cost of utilities over the entire state and came up with figure of three hundred and something dollars. That is all that you are credited for regardless of your actual utility cost. My heating bill is more than 300 many months. about the only people who get medicaid here are high school dropouts with numerous children who have never worked a day in their life, they not only get full medical care and foodstamps but also cash for rent, transportation, pretty much everything. a friend told me the other day IF I could find a way to move, I qualify for full assistance no contest in most states, despite having stayed in school, not had children and working to the point I was taken from my last two jobs by ambulance because I did not have the health to do the job but damn it was trying anyway. In Indiana, that is all a negative. ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/107 "2013-04-21T16:29:04Z")
> [@slowlearner](#): > > When I had a disabling TBI 12 years ago my boss told me not to go on disability, he’d pay me just to show up and lseep everyday while I worked things out. I’ve learned new skills over the years and been able to support myself, not because I’m brilliant or gifted but because I’m a stubborn sonofabitch who hates the idea of taking anything from the dang damn dog guvment. I had a long painful day at work today but I by god earned my own bread with my own sweat, I guess that makes me an idiot… I got raped and assaulted in the company parking lot and during the week I was in the hospital was fired and replaced. _ **you** _ were _ **very** _ fortunate. ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/108 "2013-04-21T16:54:57Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > There will always be people with differing abilities. It is in everyone’s best interest that if an individual is able to work in any way, that person should have an incentive to work in that way. The more people working, the more productive the society, the higher the standard of living for everyone involved. one year I 'ghost wrote" (guy had the basic outline I put it all together) for a guy oversees and earned close to a thousand bucks. it took a year, i did it from home, sometimes from my bed. Feeling hopeful, I sounded out every publishing company I could find looking for some one to let me do similar, or editing, or something. the response was I had only a high school diploma, no…and yet when prior to this I had worked clerical for a national magazine I had been made to “cover” an editors job (with no additional pay, it fell under 'other duties as required," a phrase that should be banned from job descriptions)in addition to the clerical job. I could not move from the clerical job to the editors job _ **I was doing** _ because of…no college degree.They did not attempt at any point to hire an editor until I quit. This type of thing happened at more than that one job. if this country followed having requirements for ethical and fair treatment of employees like other countries, we would probably see an improvement. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/109 "2013-04-21T21:22:58Z")
> [@sidhechaos](#): > > … > > about the only people who get medicaid here are high school dropouts with numerous children who have never worked a day in their life, they not only get full medical care and foodstamps but also cash for rent, transportation, pretty much everything. > > … Indiana? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/110 "2013-04-22T03:28:24Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Indiana? Seriously? when I asked exactly why I did NOT qualify even though I paid into the system and my income is poverty level I was told, word for word “You have an education and you don’t have children, you’ll never get medicaid in this state without under aged or severely disabled dependents that have no income of their own.” straight out of a medicaid workers mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/111 "2013-04-22T12:00:55Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Indiana? Seriously? Indiana is truly an enlightened state. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072/112 "2013-05-02T21:37:51Z")
alternet writes about Unfit For Work [here](http://www.alternet.org/media/how-planet-money-american-life-and-npr-have-become-key-players-bankers-propaganda-war-whats?akid=10389.233723.J8Kerr&rd=1&src=newsletter833633&t=9) _The good thing is that the piece was such obvious crap, so intellectually flawed and propaganda-soaked, that Ira Glass and the This American Life/Planet Money/NPR people were forced to respond to their critics. The downside is that the critics were far too respectful, basing their criticism on factual flaws rather than on the corruption that made the flawed reporting not just possible, but inevitable._ inevitable due to major conflicts of interest, listed at the link [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-money-piece-unfit-for-work-the-startling-rise-of-disability-in-america/654072.md?page=5)