A discussion earlier touched on something I’m sensitive about so I felt it a bit deeper.
How much you get in disability benefits is based on how much you’ve paid in. It’s most similar to a mandatory insurance policy.
Receiving disability is no more “living off the taxpayer” than having your insurance pay a medical bill is “living off the insurance company.”
It is your money. You paid so that it would be there if you needed it.
If a casino pays out on a good bet, is it an act of charity? How is this different?
Keep in mind that if you did not pay into disability, you are ineligible for it.
That’s leaving aside how I feel about gov’t benefits in the first place. I have been on those as well, at certain times. I don’t think they should be a source of shame or ill-feeling, just making the point that one is not the other. I know what kind of country I want to live in, and that’s one that takes care of its people.