A Disabled Nation

As of January, the federal government was mailing out disability checks to more than 10.5 million individuals at a record cost of $200 billion a year. And the rate of increase is growing.

Change in the Ratio of People on Disability to the Labor Force in 1960

Given the advances in medical technology is it likely the the percentage of people who are actually unable to work is increasing that much faster than it was 50 years ago? Or is it more likely that an increasing  number of Americans find disability benefits more attractive than actually working?

Teach a man to fish, and he'll never starve. Teach a man that he'll get fresh fish every day without having to cast a net, and he'll gladly sit on the shore watching you fish.