Jack FAIR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States, Defendant-Appellee

Jack Fair suffers from a herniated disc, sciatic pain radiating into his thigh, arthritis in his back and nearly all major joints, headaches, obesity, gastric distress, hypertension, allergies, social isolation, anxiety, claustrophobia and insomnia. His application for Disability Insurance benefits, pursuant to Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq. (1982 & Supp. V 1987), is the subject of this appeal.

I

The factual and procedural history of this case are not atypical. Fair is a sixty-one year old man whose education ended after high school and three years of training in interior design. After four years of military service, Fair began a career of public employment which would last nearly thirty years. He spent the majority of this period working for the City and County of San Francisco: From 1962 to 1970 he collected coins from parking meters, work which required extensive walking and heavy lifting; and from 1970 to 1980 he worked as a tax investigator, a job he performed primarily while sitting at a desk. Since 1980, when the city placed him on disability retirement and began providing him with an aftertax pension of $712 per month, Fair has not been…