The Washington Examiner has a fairly predictable article that decries the number of people drawing disability benefits from Social Security. At least the piece has an interesting map showing the counties with the highest incident of disability. Hint: Disability hits hardest in rural areas represented in Congress by Republicans.
5 comments:
That SSDI and SSI recipients are a higher percentage of the population in the southeast should come as no surprise; it's a natural consequence of the policies furthered by the powerful interests that have no desire to support enhanced access to health care, or good jobs with decent wages, or adequate public education.
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/19/southern_poverty_pimps/
I've often wondered if a significant number of recipients move to rural areas after being awarded benefits because they can no longer afford to live in urban/suburban areas
Anon 1:33--excellent point. Does anyone know of a valid study that has investigated the issue?
I think a more relevant study would connect lack of education with concentrations of disability payments.
There's no great mystery here. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has analyzed the geographic pattern of disability receipt. (By state, not county; it's hard to get data on some variables, like industry mix and educational attainment, at county level...and anyway many people commute across county lines.) See http://www.offthechartsblog.org/the-state-of-disability/.
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