Not only is the process horrendously inhumane, but so is the amount given. Those of us who have to go on disability (SSI and SSDI) are forced to live in poverty. We can barely afford to live and live on our own. Can we please talk about this? We’re forgotten about and left to rot. 
-Neurodivergent Dragon
I agree, this is something that no one ever brings up. I too am on SSDI & I had to close my private psychotherapy practice & stop working due to chronic “invisible” health issues. I am the highest educated (beyond an MA degree) in my entire extended family & at the poverty level. The amount they’d allow one to earn before declaring you able to work again is so low. Most folks like myself don’t have consistent, reliable health & that’s why we’re not able to work again full time (and I worked for me as a business owner) but some of us would like to work as we are able without being afraid of losing benefits but we’re so afraid that we just hide & get the poverty level check. I remember when I was a case manager for HIV/AIDS clients in the late 90s before I opened my private practice, my clients, some of them nurses exposed at work, were able to work & go on/off SSDI but the whole thing was so stressful for them. The whole, proving you’re sick proving you’re well cycle. All I know is you can have all the degrees & intelligence in the Universe but if you don’t have consistent, vital health so you can be relied upon & dependable to show up & sustain that energy to work you’re going to have a low-income lifestyle on SSDI & with that not a lot of options.
I feel you. I’m waiting on my first hearing.
Fixing Social Security requires two actions, both of whom are hard polytically. The actuarial demographic facts are indisputable. The retirement age must be raised to 72 yo in a slow step wise fashion over a decade; in recognition that people live longer than they did in 1933. Next the FICA ceiling on contributions must be forever eliminated so that all wage earners, especially those earning more than the current $160K /yr. are contributing their fairer share. Both of these acts must be done or it just doesn’t pencil out and benefits would be subject to decrease as the fund we all pay into loses solvency. This same problem hurts Medicare as currently structured. We should go to a single payer non profit healthcare system like the proposed Medicare for all. And end Medicare Advantage scam ripoff by expanding benefits to include vision, dental and other things now only found on the Advantage plans. it should be noted that workers in hazardous occupations should still be able to retire on full benefits early at either 50 or 55 yo if the main Social Security plan was fully funded, like Sen. Sanders wants to do.
Social security is one of our programs that’s solvent. Why can’t we leave it alone? Improve it but please don’t let it go away
I don’t want it to go away but it needs some serious improvement.