IanC
Well-known member
A friend (actually I'd say former friend ) managed to get himself on disability through a mental diagnosis quite a few years ago. He is a former heroin addict and they used to hand out dissability classifications like candy to addicts back in the day. He has been clean for 15 or so years now but still collects his check - while working part time under the table. Once you're classified as disabled, the skies open up and every other benefit is available, so he was able to buy a house and a program for disabled homeowners did all the insulation and replaced doors and windows. He also gets fuel assistance, EBT, free medical. Last year he did the 80,000 dollar treatment for hepatitis.
This same guy owns a Harley, a class C motorhome and spent the winter in Florida. He has a girlfriend also on disability, so they do quite well -not wealthy , but the combined total of all the benefits puts them ahead of the average working Joe.
Now , I live in a low income area where many people live on government checks. Next door to me is what used to be a senior housing complex - very quiet and great neighbors . Since it became open to people on disability it has become a party town. Lots of the residents spend the day at the neighborhood bar, and of course the drugs and guns have arrived along with them. Visually they look quite capable. My neighbor on the other side , whose entire family has gotten themselves eligible for one government check or another, told me before he went in for a back surgery that he hoped it made him disabled enough to collect .
So , whether legit or not, I wonder if there is a point at which the number of people who , for whatever reason, claim not to be able to function becomes unsustainable. Apart from the cost, dollar wise, there is also plenty of evidence as to what happens to areas where large numbers of young men are idle. One glaring example is the drug epidemic on Reservations, and inner city violence. Another example is the sprawling Moroccan and Algerian ghettoes of Paris, where it is so dangerous for non residents that even the police are hesitant to enter, and God knows what other mayhem is being hatched.
And , it seems to be young men, mostly , who have abandoned pride in their ability in favor of proving disability. Young women seem to be the ones holding down 2 jobs and doing what they can.
The political power of dependency has been known since the days of Ancient Rome where bread and circus kept the idle passive and supporting the emperors who provided it. But Rome is also the textbook example of the fall of a great civilization.
Personally, I have little stake in the matter since my immediate goal is to remove myself from it all, retire and never pay another tax other than sales , vehicle reg, fishing license etc. However , I have to wonder at what point so much will be needed to sustain everyone on permanent vacation that they will have no choice other than to bring every working person's tax rate to 50%. Actually , if you add up federal , state, property , sin taxes , sales, utility tax, permits, etc. it's probably close to that now.
I know people have been predicting collapses forever, but surely this can't go on forever without something very bad being in the cards.
This same guy owns a Harley, a class C motorhome and spent the winter in Florida. He has a girlfriend also on disability, so they do quite well -not wealthy , but the combined total of all the benefits puts them ahead of the average working Joe.
Now , I live in a low income area where many people live on government checks. Next door to me is what used to be a senior housing complex - very quiet and great neighbors . Since it became open to people on disability it has become a party town. Lots of the residents spend the day at the neighborhood bar, and of course the drugs and guns have arrived along with them. Visually they look quite capable. My neighbor on the other side , whose entire family has gotten themselves eligible for one government check or another, told me before he went in for a back surgery that he hoped it made him disabled enough to collect .
So , whether legit or not, I wonder if there is a point at which the number of people who , for whatever reason, claim not to be able to function becomes unsustainable. Apart from the cost, dollar wise, there is also plenty of evidence as to what happens to areas where large numbers of young men are idle. One glaring example is the drug epidemic on Reservations, and inner city violence. Another example is the sprawling Moroccan and Algerian ghettoes of Paris, where it is so dangerous for non residents that even the police are hesitant to enter, and God knows what other mayhem is being hatched.
And , it seems to be young men, mostly , who have abandoned pride in their ability in favor of proving disability. Young women seem to be the ones holding down 2 jobs and doing what they can.
The political power of dependency has been known since the days of Ancient Rome where bread and circus kept the idle passive and supporting the emperors who provided it. But Rome is also the textbook example of the fall of a great civilization.
Personally, I have little stake in the matter since my immediate goal is to remove myself from it all, retire and never pay another tax other than sales , vehicle reg, fishing license etc. However , I have to wonder at what point so much will be needed to sustain everyone on permanent vacation that they will have no choice other than to bring every working person's tax rate to 50%. Actually , if you add up federal , state, property , sin taxes , sales, utility tax, permits, etc. it's probably close to that now.
I know people have been predicting collapses forever, but surely this can't go on forever without something very bad being in the cards.
