Russ Roberts links to a NYT piece on declining male labor force participation. It's a good thing in some ways--increased prosperity has allowed for early retirement. Alas, there are also some folks who relying on other folks to work in their stead as this passage excerpted by Roberts indicates:

But the fastest growing source of help is a patchwork system of government support, the main one being federal disability insurance, which is financed by Social Security payroll taxes. The disability stipends range up to $1,000 a month and, after the first two years, Medicare kicks in, giving access to health insurance that for many missing men no longer comes with the low-wage jobs available to them.

The disability program, in turn, is an obstacle to working again. Taking a job holds the risk of demonstrating that one can earn a living and is thus no longer entitled to the monthly payments. But staying out of work has consequences. Skills deteriorate, along with the desire for a paying job and the habits that it requires.

Pay particular attention to the third paragraph--the illnesses are no so severe that they would prevent someone from working a high pay/high benefits job. Since when does the severity of a disability depend on a person's labor market alternatives? BTW, there's a thriving legal practice in helping people receive Social Security disabilty payments.