Disability: A $260 Billion Scam, Part II

The idea of helping people disabled by accident or illness is a good plan.  It allows us to both express our better angels and give back some of the benefits which come from living in the richest country in the world.  But the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and a bureaucracy is Hell incarnate.

            I doubt that the first plans for disability payments included the possibility, nor even the probability, of spending $260 billion per year on 14 million people.  But there is no, “Murphy’s Law” addendum added to legislation.  While you may want to do good, others just want to do well.

            The types of diagnoses that make up disability have changed a great deal.  In 1961 heart disease topped the charts with 25% of all disabled.  By 2011 that group only made up 10% of disabled individuals, and had fallen to third place.  In contrast, 1961 back problems were next to the bottom of the list with 8%, now they make up 34% of the disabled, followed by mental/emotional disorders at 19% as opposed to the 10% they were in 1961.  Cancer, respiratory diseases and diabetes maintain their positions near the bottom of both lists.  Do you notice that conditions that are hard to fake are either staying or drifting near the bottom?  There is a lesson here. 

Disability is also being used as a substitute for unemployment.  Historically, the two conditions rose and fell in unison until about 2004.  At that time, disability claims began to rise steadily.  In many instances, when a major employer closed, people were guided into disability instead of unemployment. 

And that leads us to the wickedest scam of all.  It is the Supplemental Security System is a program for people who are both disabled and poor.  Two-thirds of all the children in this program are also diagnosed with learning disabilities.  Every learning disabled child is worth an additional $700 to his family.  If the school and child do well and start demonstrating grade-level mastery, the family loses its paycheck.  Parents don’t want that, so they sabotage the child’s success.  Has anyone ever done a study to see what we are buying with that $700 per month per child? 

But I don’t like to complain without offering solutions, so here goes.  First, suspend all of those $700 child credits going directly to the parents.  Instead, use the same amount of money to operate after school academies for these students.  Give them a hot meal, certified teachers and one-on-one supervised study, homework, and enrichment opportunities.  If you are trying to solve a learning problem, spend the money of education.

Second, eliminate all disability payments to people whose lifestyle creates disabilities.  If you wracked up your car and hurt your back while driving under the influence, that one is on you.  If you smoke, your lung problems are yours.  If your diabetes is caused by too much weight, tough, eat less and exercise more.

Finally, put an actuarial test to these disabilities.  If most people can function with your complaint, so should you.  We have people all over this country that work with high blood pressure, diabetes, pain, heart and surgical concerns.  Everybody gets depressed; everybody gets panicked, work anyway.  

Now, here is the up side.  We keep spending the $260 billion, but we divide it up amongst the people who truly are disabled.  They get more.  Each year we weed out more malingerers and we give more money to those left.  America gets more workers (reluctant workers, but that may change); the deserving get more money; taxpayers aren’t subsidizing shirkers.  Win.  Win.  Win.

Cut the waste and keep the faith.