United States Disability Policy in a Time of Economic Crisis: A Comparison with Sweden and the Federal Republic of Germany

TP EOPLE OF ALL NATIONS SHARE A COMMON FEAR of deteriorating health and its consequences on physical and economic well-being. Work in the marketplace is the principal source of income in modern societies and inability to work or even a reduction in that ability due to a health-related impairment is a risk that must be faced throughout life. Hence, it is not surprising that all modern industrial societies have developed sophisticated social programs to mitigate this risk to work and income. But disability programs are a subset of general government social welfare systems which attempt to ensure work and income, not only to the mentally and physically handicapped, but also to the "socially" handicapped or, indeed, to all members of society through a mix of employment and income-support policies. The dramatic shifts in the overall size and configuration of government programs targeted toward the disabled population in the United States over the past decade and a half cannot be explained simply as responses to demographic and health changes. Rather, one must look to our underlying philosophy regarding the use of employment and income-support policies in times of economic crisis and to the varying eligibility criteria we have used for such support.