There are abuses in every system. For myself it was incredibly difficult to get SSD. Five doctors filled out the paperwork. I didn't even ask for SSD. I paid for disability insurance for 15 years, because I am responsible. My insurance company forced me to apply for SSD so that they could reduce my benefits by the amount SSD gives me. Yet I paid for that insurance and I'm treated like I'm some kind of parasite on the government. I could have refused to ask the government for help, but my insurance company would have pulled the benefit that I paid for.
All disabilities aren't evident. If someone sees me, they could conclude I was just fine. But I'm not. On good days I can do a bit. I don't have enough good days. I can't work full time--no way---so I can't get health benefits through work. I can't work part time either, because when a bad day hits, it hits, and there are too many. SSD will allow me to work and make over $600 a month and still let me have benefits. My insurance company will not. If I make one dollar, they will take it from me. Everytime I think I feel better and wonder if my condition has changed, I get slammed again and am down, unable to do my dishes much less work.
Don't conclude that everyone on disability is content in their plight. I had a great career that I loved. My salary doubled in a few years and I received upgrades and promotions. If I were well and still working, I would have continued to work myself up that ladder. I had sterling credit and own my own home. Illness took all that away. I am tired of the assumption by those that don't understand my condition assuming that I am somehow a deadbeat.
Some parents seek to secure disability for their children because they can't provide them with health insurance. Perhaps this is an abuse, but they are taking care of their children. Children still die in this country due to lack of health care. If a parent finds a way to secure that for them, I can't say I don't understand.
Getting sick in this country is a nightmare. Again, let me restate this, I didn't want to ask the government for help. That's why I bought disability insurance all those years ago. I was forced to. BTS made his nasty little comments about me depending on the govt. so I could post here all day. But he's a small minded individual, and yet he is not uncommon. This is an incredibly complex issue and cannot be judged with a broad brush.
NC
