Conversely I know a number of people who are not realistically able to work in the normal economy due to disabilities who have had their benefits cut to life-threatening levels. It's not unusual for these decisions to be reversed on appeal but then you have to find a way to stay alive for months while representing yourself legally.

It seems to me that the crackdowns make the system worse. As it becomes more bureaucratic the people who know exactly how to lie can still scam it but the genuinely needy don't know the magic words and get shut out.