or a scam the system problem...I don't think the fact that there are lawyers on tv running ads helps either.

I don't know anyone directly who is scamming, just stories people tell me that are frequent enough. But I do know 3 people who have disability and need it. My brother who is schitzophrenic, a friend of mine a schitzo-affective disorder, and my husband who has multiple problems.

One argument I have with the system though, is that it is hard for people who need it to get it. Maybe it depends on the state but it took morre than two years for my husband. The other is, in the case of my friend with mental illness there have been times when she is able to work and did so by running her own pet sitting service - but she was always afraid she would earn too much and lose her disability. For her that would be catastrophic because she would then need to go through the entire multi-year process again when she wasn't able to work. In her case, about 4-5 years ago, she had another total break down, and never got back to her former level of functioning. It was a good thing she had disability and a family who provided her with a house. I do know also, in her case and in my brother's case -they reached a point where they had to "re-apply" and re-justify their need for disability. The stress they faced over the possibility of losing this security was intense. It is not much, but it is the only independence they have.

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That's the God's honest truth.

Truth be told, I could probably have gotten on disability for depression at one point, due to the severity, but another truth to be told is that I don't want to be taken care of by the taxpayer. I believe it's better for one's state of mind and emotions to grit your teeth, seek whatever help you can, and persevere until you can find a way to manage these problems, and I have done so successfully. I have a cyber friend who has bi-polar disorder who is an absolutely delightful man to cyber-talk with, he's witty, intelligent, and tough to the core. He worked his way through his initial onset of symptoms, got treatment, and is very successful in business.
You're right- in days past, mental problems were a thing to be dealt with head-on, and frankly, I believe that dealing with them makes a stronger and more resilient human being. I'm not saying it's easy, but it is doable and is character-building.

I really think it depends on the particular illness. Brain diseases are not "mental problems" - they are real organic, not always treatable but hopefully manageable diseases just as diabetes, heart disease, epilepsy or cancer. I know there are are people who probably use it as an excuse for disability but there are others who's symptoms don't respond to treatment.

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Seems like a great idea to me.

The biggest problem with our disability system is the grading system. There are people who are indeed disabled, but can do some work. We shouldn't punish them by not permitting them to work, we should in fact encourage it.

We need to set up a system that takes into account the abilities of disabled people and provides assistance in skill development and retraining, NOT a new welfare system for people who could otherwise be working.

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The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.

-- Hitler, April 11 1942

This program funded by Social Security $ is another example where politicians exploited the American people's altruism for short-term political gain. Anyone who pointed out the siphoning of grandma's SS check into a disability payment was harried with accusations of being an unfeeling Scrooge content to let the disabled live in squalor. Now we have made so much "progress" drawing disability is a socially accepted lifestyle choice.

In the debate prior to Clinton signing the welfare reform bill we were regaled with stories about how it would toss millions of poor people out into the street. It didn't happen. Suddenly many heretofore unemployable people found jobs becoming productive members of society instead of a drain on it.

The simple truth is government hand-outs increase the incidence of the problem be it welfare or disability. It's time we had adult political discourse about the problem instead of settling for a political cat fight. The only way to do this is to elect politicians who are unafraid to engage in the realistic discussion of what government ought to do versus what we might like it to do.

From what I understand, one of the components of the current disability system is that one needs to be able to show that employment in one's current occupation isn't feasible, and to me, this is a serious flaw. A friend of mine's wife is talking about trying to get on disability because her shoulders are bad from years of waiting tables. She's only in her early 40's, but she's basically tired of working, and wants an excuse to get out of it. There's no reason that she can't be retrained in some other occupation that wouldn't hurt her shoulders. It's her attitude that's the problem more than her shoulders imo.

Now, for a true disability- one of my neices has cerebral palsy, and she's blind and can't walk. That's a disability.

Some states seem to have this in place already - my BIL in CA worked for the Dept of Forestry, and trashed his back on heavy equipment in firefighting. The state paid for retraining to gunsmithing, and that is where he now earns an income, in addition to reduced disability payments.

I think a large part of it is the WANT to continue working, and so many that could, just don't want to.

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"Try and fathom the hypocrisy of a Government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured, but not everyone must prove they are a citizen".

I'm a bit confused - when my husband got disability, he had to show he couldn't work in any employment not just his current occupation but maybe this is determined at the state level?

I agree totally with retraining - that is an investment into a person rather than a dole.

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I totally agree. There will always be some who can not work, but I think out of everyone on disability that is probably a minority.

Our system isn't as bad as some though. The daughter of a friend of mine in the UK is a former alcoholic and they classify that as a disability so she gets subsidies.

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