There were 28 million Americans with some form of disability in 2012 and that drifted up to 30 million by 2020. In the last six years it has grown to 36 million. That is 14.5% of the entire labor pool.
Twenty years ago, it was rare for a worker under 30 to be on disability. Disability was generally caused by repetitive motion injuries or work-place accidents and the case-rate climbed with age. It is my impression that there has been a significant number of people in their 20s going on disability for emotional/mental issues compared with decades past.
I know this comes across as cold, but there is a world of difference between somebody in construction tapping-out at 48 because his body gave out and a 24 year-old who goes on disability because of an inability to cope with the work-place. The man in construction worked for 30 years and wore out. The 24 year-old hit-the-silk before contributing virtually anything back to society.
All that said, many people with disabilities are fully employed. Sixty percent of the people with hearing disabilities are fully employed while only seventeen percent with "self-care disabilities" are. In total, the labor participation rate of people with disabilities is half that of people who do not designated as disabled.
Similar reflection of massive increases in 'mental health ' conditions over the past few years in the UK, particularly in younger age groups,. Certainly some of this is due to replacement of face-to-face assessment with on-line - much easier to 'game' the system on-line.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in the UK the benefits system is far too generous in relation to working....
Now reference your earlier post about make work jobs... It has been my experience that the leaders will favor their followers. I am a disabled veteran. I mistimed my last parachute landing in 1985. In 2022, I 'tapped out' because of my knees. The difference between the Biden and Trump administrations was readily apparent to me by how the veterans are treated versus the treatment of undocumented voters. The mental issues causing problems in our society are a very real problem. I'm not sure if warehousing the mentally ill is the answer, but coddling and rewarding mental illness IS NOT the answer. I think idolatry is the biggest problem that our nation and society face. If we get the idolatry taken care of the rest of our problems are solvable. And this may slaughter sacred cows, but here it is, the pursuit of material gain is idolatry. A lot of alleged christians engage in the idolatry but they call it stewardship, it's not. Stewardship is taking good care of what you have, idolatry is always chasing an increase.
ReplyDeleteDisability is disgusting today.
ReplyDeleteActual disabled people can't get it because every fat ass slob that gave themselves diabetes aplies for it and says they can't stand 8 hours at work.