Rush Limbaugh's Morning Update: Backlog!

Rush Limbaugh: On Monday, a middle-aged guy called from Wyoming. He said that he'd been severely injured at age 18, had steel rods in his back, but manages to go to work every day, even though he could be sitting home on disability. He complained of being surrounded by people who could work but don't -- and won't -- because he's paying the bill for them not to. He concluded we're headed for insolvency, like Greece is.

Now, on the same day this guy called the show, AP ran a story about the two million people waiting to find out if they qualify for Social Security disability. The system is so overwhelmed it is going to take more than two years to process their first payment. This year, the government expects over 3.3 million people to apply for disability; 300,000 more than applied last year, and 700,000 more than 2008.

Disability "experts" claim that the system's hard to navigate. Doctors have to sign off on claims, and "malingerers" are supposedly weeded out. Right now, appeals hearings for those who've been denied is backlogged until 2013! And still they won't go to work!

The number of people already receiving some sort of disability check is almost 13 million. How are we going to pay for all this? That's exactly why the caller was worried: It's anybody's guess!

But here's another question to ponder. The government is strained by three million people demanding benefits; there's a two-plus year backlog. So how will the government deal with 20 or 30 million demanding their new health care benefits -- which they expect to be free? Hmmm?

Read the Background Material on the Morning Update...
• AP: Spike in Disability Claims Clogs Overloaded System