How Did America Get So Disabled? Understanding the Rise of Disability in the U.S.
Something is happening in America and no one seems prepared to talk about it. In the last five years, the number of Americans identifying as disabled has grown by over 30%, far outpacing the mere 3% growth in total population. In some counties, more than one in three people are now unemployed due to disabilities. Disability payments have ballooned to become the second largest budget item for the Social Security Administration, larger than food stamps and welfare combined. What’s going on?
For starters, the nature of what qualifies as a “disability” is changing. Decades ago, the majority of disability claims were rooted in heart disease, strokes, or neurological conditions diagnoses that are more visible and measurable. Today, back pain and mental illness dominate the charts. Back pain, in fact, is now the leading cause of disability for Americans under the age of 45. But back pain is also subjective, hard to quantify, and ripe for misuse. That doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real but it raises serious questions about how we define disability in today’s workforce.
Education is a major dividing line. If you have a college degree, you’re more likely to land a desk job that accommodates physical or cognitive limitations. But if you’re working in warehouses, on construction sites, or doing manual labor and your back gives out that’s often the end of the road. This has created a stark overlap between disability and poverty. In areas where educational attainment is low, disability claims surge.
And then there’s the bureaucracy. Even though the number of working-age people getting disability payments has dropped, the number of disabled people has actually grown by more than 7 million since 2014. Why the disconnect? Because the system is backed up. The wait times to get assessed for eligibility have more than doubled. Many are denied not for medical reasons, but for procedural technicalities. It’s a system that fails those it’s supposed to protect.
Worse yet, an entire industry has cropped up around it. Consulting firms get paid to shift people off unemployment and onto disability rolls. Lawyers make their money helping clients navigate a complex application maze. The end result is a disability industrial complex one that rewards cost-cutting and gatekeeping rather than care.
Looking forward, two forces threaten to make things even harder: AI and aging. As more jobs become automated, even college-educated workers may find themselves out of work and potentially filing for disability if no options remain. Meanwhile, as our population ages, more Americans will develop physical limitations but we’re also expecting them to work longer than ever before.
But not all solutions are expensive. Sometimes it’s as simple as allowing retail workers to sit during their shift. Or encouraging employers to offer remote work options. Even basic “right to sit” laws could make a massive difference. We don’t have to accept the rise of disability as inevitable. With the right policies and mindset, we can turn the tide.
All writings are for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not provide investment or financial advice of any kind.
