“What I tell people is, if you look like me and you hop out of your truck, you shouldn’t be getting your disability check. Over half of the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts. Join the club,” he added. “Who doesn’t get up a little anxious for work every day and their back hurts. Everybody over 40 has a little back pain.”
Guess what? Sometimes I have the energy to look nice. Sometimes I HAVE to look nice for things when I don’t feel like doing so. Sometimes I just wake up like this.
Republicans haven’t said what they’ll do, but [Rep. Sam] Johnson [Texas Republican] has previously sponsored legislation that increases punishments for disability fraud, which he characterizes as rampant. The Government Accountability Office estimated in 2013 that about 1 percent of benefits were fraudulently paid to people who could work. In its latest annual report, the Social Security Administration says 14 percent of disability beneficiaries suffered “mood disorders” and 27.7 percent had diseases of the musculoskeletal system or connective tissue, which would include back pain.
Hey guess what is included in that 27.7%? I’m guessing the rheumatic diseases. Would you like to know how fun it is to hobble into the bathroom on mornings I’m in extra pain? How about how terrifying it is to have a bowel movement in the morning when I haven’t taken my meds yet and my hands don’t really work?
Or how I’m impacted by not being able to be intimate with my husband as often as I’d like because I can’t move the right ways? How about what happens when I can’t wear clothing because my fibro is killing me, and how even sitting on my couch is killer? How I can’t even hug someone or hold hands because it hurts so badly?
Or maybe you’d like to have multiple deformities with surgeries every couple of years to try to fix things?
Also, mental illness can be very crippling, so don’t discount that. You can’t do anything, and it starts to impact your physical well being, from issues stemming from lack of self care (lack of hygiene making you sick) to very real and meaningful physical pain. Don’t you dare take away the few resources available for those suffering from severe mental illness.
I WILL move to Canada you guys.
Paul’s office said the comments were taken out of context, and forwarded the following statement from the senator on Wednesday afternoon:
“We absolutely should take care of those truly in need of help. But the system is broken, and when people can game the system, they are stealing from those who are truly disabled and won’t receive the care and aid they need,” Paul said.
Sure they were, Rand.
Here’s the deal. Are there people who scam the SSDI system? Definitely. You know what you need to do to combat this? Put more funding in the fraud department who can investigate the claims against those who may be committing fraud. Here in Wisconsin, there is something like 3 people in the fraud office. They will NEVER get through all the tips to investigate people.
There are people who rightfully deserve SSDI. Do NOT punish them because of the few bad eggs.