Heather Kovich describes her experience as an examiner of Social Security disability applicants:
In the 1950s it was estimated that 250,000 people would be eligible initially for the new disability benefit. By December 1974, nearly 4 million adults were receiving disability payments, and by December 2005 the number had grown to 7.1 million. This increase in people who are considered too disabled to work has far outpaced the growth of the population, and it’s happened in the context of astounding advances in medicine, which have made formerly debilitating illnesses treatable. Although the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 attempted to make the workplace more hospitable for those with disabilities, it did not lead to increased employment for the disabled, nor a decline in disability applications.
The Dish 