[eastbayjake]

That was a great story -- I thought of it for this question, too. Social Security Disability has become a long-term welfare program for the unemployable. They cite judges and administrators who will basically approve SSD if you can demonstrate that no one would employ you, just so people with little chance of retooling their skills can make it to 62 and start drawing from regular Social Security. (Example: A high school dropout who's performed low-skilled labor in a mill/factory for 30 years but then the plant closes, leaving him/her with few skills and 10-15 years until retirement.)

This is another good argument for Basic Income: SSD keeps people from earning some money through whatever skills they have (cleaning houses, selling food, making clothes, day labor, etc.) because of the strict income restrictions on how much you can earn while on SSD. If everyone knows it's a program for the unemployable, why keep up this charade that it's actually for the disabled? Just write them a $1000 check every month and allow them to earn extra income however they choose.