[lbo-talk] Who knew? John McCain on disability, gets checks

[Max B. Sawicky]

You can have benefits that are more or less rich.
Basic wage insurance -- replacement of lost wages due to disability,
death, or retirement, is usually taken to mean a floor with some escalation
in light of the extent of contributions.  The escalation can be progressive
(i.e., proportionally less benefit increase with greater contributions) or
whatever.  It seldom is taken to mean 100% wage replacement, nor
replacement of wages when one is temporarily unable to work at all.
That's possible and not illogical, but it just means a more expensive
arrangement on the contribution side.

It might be noted that contrary to expectations, application for and
enrollment in DI has been growing rapidly.  There will likely be some
discussion of tightening eligibility standards at some point.

Jordan Hayes wrote:
> Max writes:
> 
>> One could argue that if you're able to work, then you ought
>> not to get disability payments ...
> 
> All the research I've seen says that if you become disabled in some way, 
> especially if you don't eventually get "100%" recovered, you'll never 
> make up the wages lost during the time you were out, presuming you don't 
> go on to marry an heiress and/or become a Senator.
> 
> But back to your point: this is a drop in the bucket compared to the 
> real issues.
> 
> I have noticed a propensity for people to get angry about someone who 
> seems to have 'beat the system' in some way; this was the genesis of the 
> 'welfare queen' mythology.
> 
> I say: if John McCain is a welfare queen, good for him.
> 
> /jordan 
> 
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