[gatorman_07732]

Originally Posted by GatrHeel

Let's make this easier for you. Unfortunately it has become required.

Can you name one thing President Obama has done to "loosen eligibility requirements" for Social Security Disability?

Right, nothing here about relaxing standards. You ignored my first link that gave proof and if you choose to ignore the huge increase of people receiving government assistance and say they are not encouraging this then I say you are not being honest.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrode...jobs-policies/

I wish to throw the social security disability into the mix of anti-job programs. The disability program is not the creation of the Obama administration, but Obama appointees have set and interpreted its policies for more than three years. Let’s examine their record:

At this time in the election cycle four years ago, 7.2 million workers were on social security disability. Today, the number is 8.7 million – an increase of 1.5 million, or twenty percent. The 1.5 million disability recipients under Obama are “no longer in the labor force.” They are, it appears, safely shelved outside the labor force, which they no longer reenter to potentially swell the ranks of the unemployed.

As disabilities explore new highs, the labor force participation rate (the labor force divided by the working age population) plumbs new lows. Under Obama, an incredible 8.6 million have dropped out of the labor force, 1.5 million of them due to disability. Making disability “the new normal” has contributed almost twenty percent of the declining percentage of Americans available for work.

Why have disabilities increased by 20 percent under the Obama administration? Have Americans have suddenly become less healthy or more accident prone? Under normal conditions, we expect disabilities to rise with the population, which would be a four percent increase, not a 20 percent increase. It should be noted that disability is meant only for long-term health problems. Unemployment insurance and worker compensation are there for short term issues.

A study by the super-non partisan National Bureau of Economic Research explains the reasons for the rise in disability.

First, the Social Security Administration now places more weight on self-reported pain and discomfort, has relaxed the screening of mental illness, and accepts medical evidence from the applicant’s own doctor. The share of awards for mental illness rose from 16 percent in 1983 to one third in 2010, while the share of back pain rose from 13 percent in 1983 to 28 percent. Together they account for more than half of disabilities. Of the 2.7 million workers on disability for mental disorders, 1.7 million have “intellectual and mood disorders.” Even young people can be declared disabled if they get nervous at work or school, have attention deficit disorders, or are not very intelligent.

Second, the application process has been streamlined. Applicants can begin on line, and they are entitled to a free call from a lawyer. Slick law firms specialize in navigating clients through the bureaucratic maze, and their appeals for clients fill the airwaves. If applicant claims are denied, they can appeal to administrative judges, who overturn examiners in half of their cases. Some administrative judges achieved notoriety by never turning down a disability appeal. No wonder. They can be reprimanded and their decisions set aside for “talking down to claimants” or for “lack of respect.” To cite one superior court verdict: “Applicants for social security disability payments, most of whom are truly ill or disabled, are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity no matter what the merits of their respective claims.”

Third, the relative economic attractiveness of disability has increased. The NBER study finds that, for low-income workers, disability (plus Medicare) replaces almost 90 percent of working income. During recessions, wages decline, and workers at or near the minimum wage receive almost as much income through disability as by working. The system itself raises disability claims during recessions.

Disability, as the new normal, is only one factor contributing to slow job growth. Companies will not create jobs if their tax, health insurance, and regulatory costs are not predictable. But a shrinking work force slows down job creation as well. Almost by definition, job creation depends on the number of people wishing to work at wages employers are willing to pay. As fewer people seek employment under prevailing wage and work conditions, the number of jobs shrinks. There may be plenty of minimum wage jobs out there, but if disability is the preferred option, there will be fewer job takers and fewer jobs.