There probably is more disability fraud now than before. There is more inequality, many are reaching their later years without enough money to retire, and of course the Great Recession will have pushed many who were formerly at least marginally prepared down a rung. Edit: time to nationalize some of our productive capacity, particularly that part which is largely automated, and start a guaranteed income.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Wednesday asked a Republican lawmaker who served in both Iraq wars, "What have you done?" as the two men sparred over huge cost overruns at a troubled Denver VA hospital. McDonald was defending the VA's budget at a hearing when he and Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman tussled over construction delays and cost increases at the long-delayed hospital project. After a few minutes of arguing, McDonald snapped at Coffman: "I've run a large company, sir. What have you done?" Coffman, an Army veteran, did not respond at the hearing. But the four-term lawmaker said in a statement later that he could tell McDonald a few things he hasn't done. "I have never run a federal agency that tolerates corruption the way the VA has. I've never built a hospital that's years behind schedule and hundreds of millions over budget. And I've never been a shill for inept bureaucrats who allowed American heroes to die on a medical waiting list," he said. The last comment was a reference to a wait-time scandal that cost former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki his job. McDonald, a former Procter & Gamble CEO, took over as VA secretary in July. He has vowed to improve VA's delivery of services such as health care and disability benefits and make it a "model" for other government agencies. The dust-up started when Coffman criticized the VA for citing its legal efforts to defend the Denver hospital project as a major accomplishment. "How is that a success?" Coffman asked. "You lost that case on every single point for the hospital in my district that is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule." "I think that that's just characteristic of your glossing over the extraordinary problems confronted by your department," Coffman added. "This is a department mired in bureaucratic incompetence and corruption." McDonald said he was offended by Coffman's remarks and noted that he had only been on the job for six months. "You've been here longer than I have. If there's a problem in Denver, I think you own it more than I do," he told Coffman. McDonald then offered to give Coffman his cellphone, "and you can answer some of the calls and see if I'm making a difference for veterans."
There are a LOT of people who scam the system claiming disability. I know a person who has Graves disease, which can impact eyesight. Never mind though that the person earns a living as an artist and photographer. And this 'disability' brings in over $15K/year. And I believe if on disability they also get Medicare. And we've all seen the many TV programs where people of disability are shown to be very able bodied.
There are law firms in North Carolina who regularly advertise on TV that they can get you disability payments from the federal government. The entire thing has become an outrageous scam.
Same here in SC. Turn on the TV right around noon and we see the disability attorneys advertising as well as the usual car accident scammers. What's pathetic is that the disability ads sometimes say you can claim disability if you suffer from things like anxiety, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, migranes, carpal tunnel and so on.
why not put all veterans who can prove their illness is a result of service on Medicare and be done with it????
Democrats know low information voters think people in wheelchairs when they hear the word "disabled." In reality, a substantial percentage have vague psychological issues or they claim their back hurts. Then there are the outright fraudulent claims. Expect these to go way up when illegal immigrants find how easy it is to game the system.
I'm on disability. It was very easy, (sort of, dealing with a U.S. government website. How do they take normal programmers and fuck them up so much?) a Sunday afternoon on the computer applying. Then they sent me a notice I had a doctor's appointment. I went to the doctor and just told the truth. Next thing I know I am getting a check each month.