Prostitutes, Drug Dealers and Pimps Oh My! Prostitutes, Drug Dealers and Pimps Oh My!

While I was watching the recent Republican Party Presidential Debate, I knew it was coming. There was going to be some comment about people scamming the Social Security Disability system. I wasn't dissapointed. In the second half of the debate former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee mentioned the "illegals, prostitutes, pimps, [and] drug dealers" that are "freeloading off the system now." I have already written about such comments before and how politicians say them recklessly with little emperical evidence and the harm it does to the Social Security Disability program and all the people who need its help. So instead I am going to make fun of his statement.

I am going to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Social Security Administration (SSA) asking them how many prostitutes, pimps, and drug dealers get Social Security Disability. Can you imagine any of these individuals going into a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge with an attorney. Your honor my client can no longer perform her past relevant work experience because she cannot lay down for more than ten minutes at a time. Your honor my client can no longer perform the work of a pimp because he can not stand on a street corner for anymore than 15 minutes at a time. Your honor my client has severe arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome from quickly exchanging money and drugs for so many years. I will stop here though I could continue.

Update 11/16/2017: For full or partial disclosure purposes I have since writing this entry represented people with social security disability claims who have been convicted of some pretty bad things. I'll talk about them to the extent that I can in another posting. Still no drug dealers, prostitutes or pimps though.