How Did America Get So Disabled?

America is more disabled than it ever has been before.
Despite advances in medical technology, better treatments, and a better understanding of nutrition and health, the size of the disabled population has grown by more than 30% within the last 5 years ALONE, despite the total population only growing by 3%.
For three years after Covid, the number of disabled people in America was growing faster than the number of PEOPLE in America.
In certain counties across the country more than one in THREE people are out of work due to a disability, and support payments are now the second largest budget item for the Social Security Administration after retirement benefits.
Disability payments now cost more money every year than food stamps and welfare COMBINED by a significant margin.
In some towns across America, banks and stores stay open late for ONE night a month… the day that disability cheques become available.
This is clearly a big enough problem by itself, but there is a lot more going on behind these numbers which tell a rather scary story about… everything… from the ways we decide if people are worthy to work, regional inequality and the long term realities of AI in the workplace.
I know I sound unhinged but I promise it’s all connected.
You might not believe it, but people didn’t magically just become more disabled overnight, nor are certain areas of the country somehow just 400% more accident prone than others.
So why has America REALLY become so disabled?