American employee participation rate data

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000

I suspect a good number of these people went from unemployment to disability.....and now the social security disability fund will be broke by 2016....Hope and change!

SSA Disability fund broke by 2016

Social Security’s Disability Insurance (DI) program satisfies neither the Trustees’ long-range test of close actuarial balance nor their short-range test of financial adequacy and faces the most immediate financing shortfall of any of the separate trust funds. DI Trust Fund reserves expressed as a percent of annual cost (the trust fund ratio) declined to 85 percent at the beginning of 2013, and the Trustees project trust fund depletion in 2016, the same year projected in the last Trustees Report.


People receiving SSA disability payments by year



I wonder which party these people will vote for in the next election?

Freeloaders and career leeches have drained the coffers. As a working taxpayer, I resent them and those who defend their thieving ways.

There are over 1 million physically wounded vets from the Iraq/Afghanistan wars. And more than 1 of every 8 soldiers returning from those wars suffers from PTSD. In either case, one is eligible for Social Security disability in addition to VA disability if one can not work because of such injuries/conditions.

One week after Memorial Day our resident Ayn Rand disciples (the same ones who cheered the decision to send those soldiers to war) are complaining about those veterans freeloading, leeching behavior.
Maybe our resident conservatives can go fight in the next chicken-hawk, neo-con pissing contest instead of crying about the people who do.

PJ, I'm not arguing that Obama is responsible for all of the increased giveaways, but I'm arguing that he's responsible for much of the giveaways. Are you arguing that most of the giveaways are justified. or some of the giveaways are justified?

On a completely different subject, my brother just landed at O'hare after four nights in Amsterdam and ten nights in the Serengeti (Tanzania Africa). By buddy Dom, that you saw briefly when we had beers some time ago happens to be from Tanzania. My brothers will be here for golf next Tuesday, and Dom can't want to talk about all the animals in Africa. I guess baboons love sugar, and on two occasions, a baboon got behind the hotel bar when know one was looking. My bro and sister-in-law saw about a thousand elephants, tens of thousands of Wildebeests, crocs, and lots of others stuff. Dom can't wait to compare notes.

Doctors decide who is eligible for disability, not the US president. Perhaps Boilerman can back up his statement that Obama is somehow, magically handing out disability vouchers to people.

The numbers have doubled under his watch. Is it Bush's fault, or are people getting sick at a faster rate?

I read an article awhile back about how the SSA was so overwhelmed with SSI applications they were basically rubber stamping them.

Neither!

While the Great Recession and bond meltdown took place on President Bush's watch, the deregulation that turned Wall Street into a too-big-to-fail crap shoot was signed off on by President Clinton, with the support of most Republicans and moderate Democrats.

Of course liberals opposed this precursor to the destruction of our economy, so you can't blame them.

Damn those baby boomers. The nerve of them getting older, and sicker.
Damn those soldiers who stepped on land mines. Didn't they watch where they were going?
Damn the ones who only SAW their buddy get his legs blown off. Buck up, dude, you still have both of yours.

I've seen the face of PTSD---It is ugly and life-altering.

I've been blessed. But for God's grace there I am. Happy to help those less fortunate.

Yeah...I'm sure one or another may not "deserve it", but I can't make that call, so I don't try to.