Social Security Disability Insurance operates on the idea that if a person or their family have contributed to the workforce and paid into Social Security, they should be able to receive money in the event of a medical condition preventing them from pursuing employment. You know, socialism. Instead of sticking a hook at the end of your mangled arm and going back to your gynecological practice, you can now live it up on Easy Street, all on the taxpayer’s dime. That’s what some TV pundits would have you believe. But in practice, getting SSD is an extremely complicated and long process. Rachel, an SSD examiner, and Manny, an SSD consultant, explain why: