Disability is the new LAZY MAN's way to play. Disability claims are up almost 20% as people threatented with having to go back to work after disemployment incentives are used up now turn to "back problems" and "mental health issues" as the new way to get paid. In fact over 43% of all claims are related to "mental illness" and a growing number of them come from former white collar workers.
Over 10.5 million people, about 5.3 of the population now are "disabled". Another 7.5 million or another 3.5% are behind bars. 27% are under age 20. 23% are over 65. A furhter 6% of the population is "legitimately disabled" to a degree they can't work. 1% are in the active duty military. 9% are "unemployed". A further 9% do no work because they can't be bothered any more to seek a job. 8% of the population is on welfare.
Want to feel like a one %'er? You should by now.
Just remember that given these figures, 9% of the US population is providing the free ride to all the other classes (with the exception of the military - who deserve every penny they get and more). Even if you remove double counting possibilities (disability victims on welfare) - 28% of the population supports 72%.
As the disability fund is expected to run out of benefits in FOUR YEARS, I would plan on a big fat juicy take hike to pay for all the Obama supporters who can't or won't contribute.
I can only hope this change doesn't happen. I'm running out of charity.
You do realize that there are a lot of elderly, disabled and mentally ill people in America...right?
ReplyDeleteI have this argument with my parents every time I am on the phone with them. They are even more angry about this problem...but, I get angry at them for not realizing that there is so much money being stolen by those that have the power to do so from every one else.
In other words, are trying to say that the poor, elderly, sick, mentally ill, disabled, unemployed and lazy people are more harmful to our financial stability than the following:
Wasteful earmarks
Extravagant White House parties and other extravagant, unnecessary spending.
The ability of lobbyists (paid by the wealthy) to change opinion and influence the agenda of government
Unnecessary Federal agencies (i.e. the FCC, The Dept of Agriculture if the FDA does the same thing and numerous federal regulatory agencies - just to regulate us unnecessarily)
The amount of money spent on war.
The amount of money we give to other countries LIKE PAKISTAN - you know, the country Osama Bin Laden found very comfortable for a number of years!?!?
Medicaid Fraud - not by the poor, by the doctors!!!!
The amount of money "donated" on behalf of presidential campaigns.
...and many others that I can't think of off the top of my head.
Are you trying to say that people who clearly can't help themselves because they are broken are potentially more harmful than thieves, liars and manipulators that have money and power?
I respect your opinion, but I have a hard time understanding how a $15,000,000,000,000 debt is the result of lazy people.
P.S. if you don't want to partake in the support of the lazy....do what the lazy do...don't pay taxes.
Why do you think the "lazy" do it?
Good points all - but not so accurate. Put simply the gov't spends $10 per year - $6 of which they tax, and $4 that they borrow. And this $10 spend is $4 on gov't operations, and $6 for entitlements.
ReplyDeleteThe spend breaks out like this 15% defense, 6% debt servicing costs, 20% Social Security, 13% medicare, 8% medicaid, 23% foods stamps, welfare and unemployment. Leaving 15% - to run the gov't and the various departments. In fact, the GAO - all the parties and all the park rangers on all the congressman and all of the "washington fat" - account for less than .01% of the spend. A tenth of 1%. The entire Department of State budget - including all the "grants" to foreign countries is about 1% of all our spending. You also will note that in most cases we DO NOT send ANY foreign nations ANY cash. We send them boats and guns and tanks and call it a "grant". It's one of the ways we keep jobs going in the US.
70% of what we spend is "discretionary" ie, benefits to others that we "give" because we are nice people. In most cases, the people who derive these benefits ARE NOT the ones who paid into the systems that support these programs.
Stolen is quite accurate. The gov't steals our money in the form of taxes and borrowing in ours, and our children's names and spends it on those folks that will vote for them.
The "lazy people" are just those that the politicians have taken advantage of in order to gain votes and keep power.
And you and I pay for it.
I see what you are saying...that it is true that a large amount of their money is spent on stupidity, but the "discretionary" stupidity is spent on entitlements due to the fact that the majority of the country is not self reliant, and funneling the tax payers money into a system that encourages government dependency gets them reelected.
ReplyDeleteSo, assuming that this is true (because it does sound rational), what is the solution...to work harder to pay more taxes so the politicians can repeat this cycle or take it easy and simply don't vote?
P.S. Understand that my perspective of life does not equate money with success. I look at life differently, which is where I am coming from.
I hear you - and these "truths" are evident no matter what you believe. Money IS a measure of success - but only one measure. I know unhappy rich people, but I know MANY more unhappy poor people.
ReplyDeleteI may come of as a doofus, but I have 2 economics degrees and run a successful company or two.
Your question is how to you stop it. Again the solutions are easy to think up, perhaps harder to make happen (just look at Scott Walker in Wisconsin!) Here goes:
1. Stop ridiculous spending. Do the line item budget review like you promised in 2008 (I know - promises during elections are not promises, but work with me here)
2. Get rid of ridculous entitlements for welfare, medicare. workfare, bloatfare. You don't contribute in a meaningful way according to your ability, then you don't get rewarded for it. In most states, a single mother with 4 kids makes 20% more than someone working at minimum wage.
3. Abolish public sector unions in gov't at the federal, state and municipal levels, or at the very least remove their ability to negotiate salaries, benefits and retirement programs.
Immediately dissolve teacher unions at the state, federal and local levels and abolish requirement of a student to live in a district to attend a school. Good schools grow, bad ones die off, taking the bad teachers with them.
4. Create a flat tax situation of 20% - FOR EVERYBODY. Not just the rich. Tax all benefits.
5. Abolish death and estate taxes. Create an impetus for intergenerational wealth building and investment. Remove the minimum wage laws and let it float. Post it in the window of the store. See how long the guy that pays $2 per hour will work with out employees.
6. Abolish the ability of the gov't to "Invest" in private corporations. Even a constitutional lawyer can see that Solyndra smelled of the faeces it was conceived in. You aren't smarter than us, so don't try - or even pretend.
7. Create a national, OPTIONAL unemployment insurance program. If a worker doesn't want coverage - then they don't pay. Easy. Cap benefits at 120 days. Period. You'll be amazed at how many people can find work all of a sudden. Or create work.
8. Immediately dissolve the EPA and replace it with the Environmental Jobs Creation Agency who will be tasked with first proving that an initiative creates jobs and wealth as a reason to do it, as opposed to a reason NOT to do it. Sorry hoot owls. You pollute, you get fined perhaps out of existence, but the mere potential of pollution does not automatically dissolve a project. Sorry minnows.
9. Reward corporations that create jobs with a lower corporate tax rate. Leave Gibson guitars alone. Protect jobs here, not in Zimbabwe.
10. Zero sum all gov't dept. budgets every year.
This simple 10 step plan makes it fair for everyone, and can get you re-elected.
Certainly we should teach them to fish! The best charity is that which transforms mens in self-sufficient persons to rid themselves of the charitable support. Education comes first
ReplyDeleteI would say that there are a high number of people in England that claim disability benefits that are genuinely disabled in some way, whether physically or mentally but I am also aware of the higher number of people who claim to be ill and are not. Mental illness is high on the agenda because how do you really measure someone who has stated they have real depression, when in reality they are just feeling a little oppressed by a situation that can be easily dealt with?
ReplyDeleteMy other issue is not that people are unemployed and on benefits, it is when some of those same people don't know how to properly budget their money in order to get out of their poor situation. It annoys me when benefit claimants (who get their rent paid, council tax paid, and get money to live in each week) are able to afford all the luxuries of life, cinema size TVs, they go out to parties every week, new shoes/clothes, visit the hairdressers/salons, get their nails done instead of using that money to get themselves out of the poverty trap. More and more people are finding it easier to claim benefits than work. After all, you would be foolish to get up every morning and do 40 hrs per week for little pay when you can do 0 hrs per for a lot of pay.