agreed..going on disability is NOT an act of desperation. it is a planned long-term application event. I have a friend who has since moved to long term comma status, who truly was disabled and it took his people an entire year to get the 1st check. His people worked on that check for months on end, they were pulling their hair out..
it is fraud for tens of thousands, and is planned and deliberate... for those who are cheating, they would be better served to put that kind of time into working in fast food joints.
I think everyone can agree there are legitimate cases as you cite. However, it is my belief that the fraud vastly outnumbers the legitimacy.