Drop in disability rolls adds to signs of U.S. labor market recovery

That it the title of this article I am writing about. "(Reuters) - The number of Americans on disability has declined for six months in a row in a sharp turnaround after years of increases, more evidence of the labor market recovery the Federal Reserve wants to see before nudging interest rates higher.
Social Security disability rolls have climbed since the 1980s as the U.S. population has grown older and soared during and after the global financial crisis. That stoked fears that shrinking workforce will stunt the economy's future growth.  The surge also raised the prospect that the program could run out of money and triggered calls for tougher eligibility rules as part of a broader political stand-off over the scope and costs of Social Security.  The trend reversal may help dispel funding fears and take the edge off the political confrontation. Alongside other data such as the decline in the number of part-time workers, it is also another sign that the scars of the 2007-2009 crisis and recession are healing.
The number of new disability awards peaked in 2010 and held near or above a million a year between 2009 and 2012. It returned to pre-crisis levels last year, hitting 811,000, according to Social Security figures. Data for the first three months of the year suggest a further drop to around 750,000 in the whole of 2015. Last year was the first in a decade when the share of disabled workers in the 16-64 year-year-old population stabilized. Other measures of the prevalence of disability have also leveled off. The numbers serve as a gauge of labor market strength because people with less severe disabilities and sought-after skills are able to hold on to jobs when the economy improves, said Social Security Administration's chief actuary Stephen C. Goss. Disability applications have dropped by about 400,000 a year, to 2.5 million, since the crisis. " That is good news as I am always seeing people with mental illness that want to try and work again. Work gets you out of yourself and you think of other things besides your problems.
The article goes on to say: "CYCLICAL UPSWING
In addition, some in the middle of the extensive application process or already on the disability rolls might find jobs that pull them back to work, said Goss, who oversees the statistics used to manage the vast pension and disability programs.  'There is no question that there is a cyclical component.'
With benefits linked to a person's earnings and years of work, the federal program is available to people with physical or mental conditions that prevent them from 'gainful' activity - defined to mean they cannot earn more than $1,095 a month.  But the availability of jobs, and employers' willingness to hire those with health problems, changes with the economic cycle: More people with less-severe problems seek benefits during hard times and more will choose full-time work over benefits during upswings.  Since September, more people were leaving than joining the program, driving down the total number of benefit recipients to 8,935,000.  Kevin Holtsberry, spokesman for Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, a job placement agency, said the group has seen a jump in the past year both in the number of people requesting vocational rehabilitation plans so they can keep working or return to work, and a more than 16 percent increase in the number of people placed into jobs.
'We have seen an uptick in applications and we are seeing an increase in successful outcomes,' Holtsberry said." Even when you have a job and you are still on social security it is hard because I found that they always had a hard time figuring out what I made and what they take off social security.  Sometimes because of that a person will find out it is better to get completely off social security and try and make it on you own as was my case.  It was a headache.
The article ends: "Andrew Houtenville, an associate professor of economics at the University of New Hampshire and research director at the school’s Institute on Disability pointed out that labor force participation for people with disabilities has increased over the past six months compared to the rest of the population, a rare stretch of improvement. For Federal Reserve policymakers who meet on Tuesday and Wednesday and continue to weigh when to start lifting interest rates a key question is how much slack is left in the job market and how many people might still wait to rejoin the workforce.  The share of those working or looking for work peaked in 2000 at 67.3 percent and has been falling since, with the slide accelerating during the last recession. The rate has held relatively stable for a year now, but at just below 63 percent it is still far below the pre-recession levels.
Yet Richmond Federal Reserve bank president Jeffrey Lacker has indicated that this might be as good as it gets since the crisis discouraged many workers from looking for jobs altogether.
Speaking on April 10 in Sarasota, Florida, Lacker said that the potential for cyclical movement into and out of the labor force was 'gone now.'  "I think we're back to trend," he said. Lacker, who is a voting member of the Fed's policy committee this year, has advocated considering a rate rise in June.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Michael Flaherty; Editing by David Chance and Tomasz Janowski)." Well things get better for people with disabilities than they do something to make it worse. Even though I am glad to be working rather than sitting home and watching TV everyday and complaining about money problems.  I am still complaining about how high it is for rent.  I guess complaining will never change not matter how bright the economy is.

Mental Illness and College

This is the second half of last week’s blog .  I never gave up on college as I knew it was my only chance at succeeding in a good life.  As I did not want to work a construction job any more.  The disability office was going through changes and I started working with a program called student support.  I kept taking computer classes and they were not working out and they told me one lower grade and I would be suspended from college.  I told the professor as I did the work that if he would pass me this semester I would not take any more computer classes.

Student support told me to look for a new major and they told me since I had drug and alcohol experience I should take those classes as a major.  I did and I still was going half time to school so I would not fail. One class I had to take was geography and was not doing too good in it. We went on a field trip to red rocks and the teacher drove me back as I do not drive.  On the way we talked and I ended up telling her I had a disability she told me about the disability office and that she would give me a no credit if I wanted to go to the disability office and take the class again next semester.  I told her no I would talk to the disability office and still try and pull this class with a good grade.  The whole class was not doing so great and the teacher gave us a copy of the final test to review.
I took my home and that whole weekend at work and at home I studied that test and memorized it.  I passed all except where places are in Colorado.  The teacher had said never ask me the directions because I will get you lost.  I passed the class and I think my being locked up for the last ten years is why I never knew where to go in Colorado.  I only knew Canon city and the state hospital in Pueblo.  Also for that test the disability office let me take the test in private and with someone reading me the questions. I read the answers right off from memorizing the test.  In another class I had failed the first test than I talked to a student about helping me with the notes.  She did and I brought up the grade and the girl that helped me was the top scorer in the class from helping me.
I finally was at the last year of my classes and took internships in drug and alcohol counseling. It all went good until my last internship then I was leading a group of teenagers about drug and alcohol.  I was not supposed to be leading groups since I was not certified yet but wanted to learn all I could.  There was a young man in the group that did well in the group but the people who owned the center were going to have this young man kicked out and fail him because his parents did not see anything wrong with marijuana which he had been caught with at school.  That was the people I wanted to help teenagers from making the same mistakes that I did.  I was angry and finished and graduated but that spring I enrolled in a Master’s program at University of Colorado at Denver. It had took me eight years to finish my bachelor’s although I wanted to work at something I felt good about so I went back for my Masters.
I finished that Master’s and learned how to do research.  That is what I wanted to do now. I also was involved in the disability office there and had a note taker.  I finished faster in three years and finally was able to work in research.

Stability and Aging

When people think of disability, they usually think of someone as having a difficulty, such as managing their life or being dependent upon the government or society which is necessary for everyday living, and with the growing numbers of people who are classified as disabled, researchers feel it’s time to define new strategies which would prevent and slow down the rate of people becoming disabled. 
In the past, research has displayed that unhealthy behaviors, such as (poor diet, smoking, and lack of physical activity) have a negative effect on the health of people.  Obesity, diabetes, cancer, stroke, drug abuse leads to death and even such increases unhealthy behaviors. “There have been researchers from France and the UK whom have done studies which were to investigate relationships of unhealthy behaviors and disability for over a decade.  They studied a community of older people (65 years or older) and interviewed them about their lifestyle, smoking habits, their diet, physical activities and alcohol use.”

There were three levels of disability: (1) mobility, (2) activities of daily living and (3) basic living.  “Mobility was defined as heavy or strenuous activities that are heavy housework, walking, or climbing stairs.  Daily Living was defined as using the phone, managing medications and use of money, use of public transport, shopping, preparing meals and doing laundry.  Basic Living included bathing, dressing, toileting and eating.”  Anyone that participated in the study was considered disabled if they could not perform at least one activity without help.

PhysicalInactivity, Poor Diet And Smoking Linked To Disability In Older Population -Health News - redOrbit 

In the Mental Health system in the US, we face the world of the disabled with somewhat open hands and mind to give those who are disabled a fighting chance, not only to exist in their own space, but to become educated in caring for themselves not only before they reach and elderly age, yet while they are growing before they become elderly.  As we know most disabled people find it hard to care for themselves, through education and the Mental Health system today, we can reduce the unhealthy behaviors and unstable behaviors which have come about through Mental Illness.  Though consumers may have a disability, they are given a chance to grow resilient and understanding especially of their illness.  As unhealthy behaviors exist, these behaviors can be slowly changed as the individual becomes more independent and stable in his or her life. 

Written by Donald S