A record of 8,733,461 workers took federal disability insurance payments in June of 2012, exceeding the entire population of New York City by more than 500,000, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Over the past two decades, the number of people earning a paycheck in the U.S. has dramatically decreased, reported the conservative CNS News. 

In June of 1992, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 120 million Americans were working for a living, compared to a little over 3 million who were relying on disability payments.