GUESS WHICH STATES ALL THOSE "TAKERS" ON DISABILITY COME FROM
You've heard the right-wing complaints:
* "Disability Claims Explode During Obama's First Term"
* "Disability Ranks Continue to Surge Under Obama"
* "Getting People on Disability Has Become Big Business at Taxpayers' Expense"
* "[Bill] O'Reilly Exposes Massive 'Disability Con'"
Never mind the fact that disability rolls are probably going up for simple demographic reasons -- the population is getting older, after all. We've been told that people on disability are the 47%, the "takers," the people who've been lulled into parasitism by Obama's evil socialist policies.
Well, guess which states have the highest percentages of people on disability. Here are the top 10, accoding to the site 247WallSt.com:
10. Michigan
9. Missouri
8. South Carolina
7. Tennessee
6. Maine
5. Mississippi
4. Kentucky
3. Alabama
2. Arkansas
1. West Virginia
A lot of red there, wouldn't you say? Only two of the ten states, Maine and Michigan, voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012. Oddly, the bluest, most sneered at pinko-socialist states, California and New York and Massachusetts, aren't on the list. What happened? How is our excess of evil socialism not the main diver of this disability explosion? Inquiring minds want to know.
I suspect that in Red States, they also accept people who file for mental, and not just physical, disabilities.
ReplyDeleteOh steve, you continue to believe in pure reason. Its ok when we do it, not ok when the other does it. Just like funding for Oklahoma will not be held up by the blue states, while funding for Sandy was all but destroyed by the red staters until they thought better of it.
ReplyDeleteThe basic republication position isn't that different from that of the Afghans:
Me against my brother
My brother and I against our clan
Our clan against the world
But it runs in reverse:
Republicans against Democrats
Republicans in my state against Republicans elsewhere
Republicans in my district against Republicans in the next district
Republicans in my family against Republicans in my district
Me against my own family (John Boehner, anyone?)
Me against myself (Closeted Gay Homophobic Republicans.)
Its a big part of Bob Altemeyer's book that your true authoritarian follower is very quick to move from being willing to oppress othe rpeople at the behest of authorities to being willing to oppress himself at the behest of authorities. If you were to show a right winger your list they would drill down until they could "no true scotsman" it away.
I oft joke of the need to build a wall: from Eureka California to Eureka Montana! The unspoken punchline, for the few that have the wherewithall to get it... we already have one: the Rocky Mountains. Rather formidable and quite easily rendered impassible.
ReplyDeleteOld Timers recall that the Pacific Northwest - Cascadia - never voted to "join the union". One day the Army showed up and at the east coast corporations' behest declared Oregon, Washington, Northern Idaho and California and Western Montana "states", and "gave" the northern half to the Brits.
Young timers see that for every dollar we send three thousand miles away we recieve seventy-nine cents in goods and services, while "states" three thousand miles away see a return in goods and services two dollars and a dime for every dollar they send around the corner and it's not hard to understand the grumblings left and right, young and old that maybe it's time we hoisted a happy finger east and wish all y'all a fine fairtheewell. Circle the wagons, batten down the hatches, tighten up our trip. Take care of our own.
There is nothing east of the Rocky Mountains we need.
Nothing.
No fear.
SSDI is still taxed...so, it's not like we don't have skin in the game..
ReplyDelete