Phillippe Croizon, a Frenchman who had all four limbs amputated after an electrical accident in 1994, swam across the English Channel in 14 hours. A specially designed snorkel and prosthetics assisted him in completing the journey. I’m reluctant to affix the “supercrip” label to anybody, but Croizon might be the rare person for whom it’s not hyperbole. I get a little winded just eating potato chips in front of the television, so I’m a little in awe of this guy. It might be time for me to look into that gym membership again.

It looks like commenting on the dramatic rise in Social Security disability rolls has turned into something of a fad. James Ledbetter has a piece in Slate that is highly critical of the program’s structural disincentives that dissuade people with disabilities from rejoining the workforce. He’s particularly interested in the growing number of people with mental illness who are receiving SSDI (the wonky acronym for Social Security disability benefits). He writes:

Perhaps more important, SSDI in its current incarnation is a moral and economic tragedy: We are paying millions of presumably otherwise fit mentally ill people to stay out of the workforce for the rest of their productive lives. And this at a time when mental illness is more treatable than it ever has been. When Congress passed the Americans With Disabilities Act, it established several overarching principles, including equality of opportunity, full participation, and economic self-sufficiency. SSDI, regardless of its good intentions, is public policy that pushes “disabled” people in precisely the opposite direction.

I’m a little troubled by his use of “disabled”–I’m picturing him etching quotation marks in the air with his fingers while rolling his eyes. Mental illness can be a significant barrier to returning to work for many people. I have no doubt that many are capable of working, but employers generally do a poor job of accommodating mental illness in the workplace. Any redesign of SSDI is going to have to be accompanied by a committed effort to place workers in jobs that suit their abilities and to instruct employers on best practices for accommodating a wide range of disabilities. Otherwise, we’re just yanking the safety net out from under people who might not be completely ready to stand on their own.

More people are applying for Social Security disability benefits because of the the grim economy. Many of those applying have minimal education and may have had challenges keeping a job even in the best of times. They were often the first to lose their jobs when the recession arrived. Social Security disability is a lifeline for such people, but the crush of applicants is creating an unsustainable cost burden on the program. And once people are on the Social Security rols, it’s unlikely that they will ever return to work. As one commentator notes, “The current SSDI system sends a negative message to disabled Americans that they are not valued members of the labor force by making it impossible for them to draw any benefits and work, even part-time.”

As long as we continue to follow policies that equate disability with a total incapacity to work, people with disabilities who could otherwise be productive workers with the proper support will continue to be relegated to lives of poverty. Some may not be able to work, but our current policy is based on a blanket assumption that disability is antithetical to employment.

I have guests arriving in a bit, so I’ll leave you with a bit of disturbing news to contemplate over the weekend: robots are learning how to lie. Let’s see how smart those scientists feel after the machines revolt and we’re all working as slaves in the lunar mines. No way am I sharing any of my rations with those scientists. But on a more positive note, we’re probably one step closer to a fully functioning sexbot:

“Yes, master, your endowment is much larger than that of the average human male.”

A new study shows that the Twin Cities are the third least-stressed metropolitan area in the nation. On a day when I had to shell out a considerable sum of money for an unexpected van repair, I’m not feeling particularly chill, but I’ll take the authors’ word for it. Perhaps I just need to listen to some Prairie Home Companion and have a little hot dish before bed.