The startling rise of disability in America (2013)

VA Disability and Suspected Abuse

• Several commenters argue VA disability is widely “gamed”:
  • Claims of healthy, active vets (often with desk jobs and full-time employment) rated 100% disabled.
  • Reports of YouTube channels and consultants teaching how to stack 10% ratings, build medical files, and frame pre-existing issues as service-related.
  • Noted jump from ~15% of vets on disability (2008) to >30% today, with one commenter attributing this partly to dishonesty.
• Others push back:
  • Demand data rather than anecdotes and warn this rhetoric resembles generic “people on benefits are faking it” arguments.
  • Some describe vets under-compensated because they didn’t document injuries, contrasted with those who “played the game” and maximized ratings.

SSDI/Medicaid Incentives and Poverty Traps

• Multiple stories describe disability benefits as a trap:
  • Very low asset/income limits, fear of losing benefits permanently if one works, marries, or saves more than a few thousand dollars.
  • People avoid school, full-time work, or marriage because any misstep could mean losing crucial support they may never regain.
• One viewpoint: the rise in disability coincides with cuts to other welfare, making disability the only viable safety net.

Fraud vs. Need

• Anecdotes of clear abuse (workers’ comp “permanent disability” for minor injuries, people openly bragging about lying on VA claims, families using SSDI as a “business”).
• Counter-anecdotes of severely disabled people fighting bureaucracy and technicalities to get or keep benefits.

Definitions of Disability and Work Changes

• Discussion that fewer low-skill jobs exist, leaving people with lower cognitive ability or health issues with little chance at stable employment.
• One commenter frames the article as what de facto Universal Basic Income looks like when routed through disability programs.

UBI and Macro Effects

• Several propose UBI (~$13k/year) as a cleaner alternative to disability-as-welfare, especially with AI and job loss.
• Others warn of cost, inflation, and reduced work incentives; debate whether prices would simply rise to absorb UBI.
• Some argue any serious UBI would require shrinking or replacing much of the existing welfare state.

Health, Lifestyle, and Conditions

• Back pain and obesity frequently cited as major, often preventable drivers; others note many back issues are not fixable by exercise alone.
• Lists of conditions counted as “disabilities” in HR forms strike some as so broad that almost everyone would qualify, raising questions about disclosure and hiring bias.

Meta and Context

• Commenters note the article is from 2013; one cites data that SSDI rolls peaked around 2014 and have since declined.
• Some see disability growth as tied to broader economic changes; others emphasize culture, inactivity, obesity, and “bread and circuses.”