What i hate about SSI

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and for those with families who aren't rich. Guess I'll just mug those like you. though reality is you'd have mass rioting and burning of buildings. so you can a. keep welfare or b. have the whole nation collapse in violence..... choices choices. not to mention the first choice is more moral and kind to a fellow human being.

I don't even think people like that consider us worthy of being alive, let alone charity.

I've often heard it said that welfare kills your spirit inch by inch. I'm not sure how far I would take that analogy, but there is a certain degree of truth to it. In a past life, I did social work in the UK and I saw first hand the poverty of people on government benefits. There's a constant fear of losing welfare, just like you mentioned, and this leads people to become very preoccupied with keeping their benefits, often at the cost of improving, building job skills, or finding a suitable job. It's a terrible system, but it isn't going to improve any time soon.
A few things that I took away from that experience were:
1, When a person feels like they can't work, they will exhaust all options to not work until there is simply no choice left.
2, Only certain disabilities will actually preclude you from working in any job available in a modern society. Low functioning autism may be one of those, but Asperger's isn't. As an aspie, you have an uphill battle to fight, but learning to mimic social skills and being amenable to doing less desirable work (data entry, warehousing, etc) will go a long way in your favor.
3, Welfare creates an abundance of free time, which is often filled up with meaningless worrying and redundant behaviors that would not have been created if not for having the time.
4, Welfare policy is a politically supercharged topic, and is created out of a mixed bag of political incentives. The result is a system that isn't exactly consistent, coherent, or even functional. Don't look for meaning in a judge's decision or a politician's comments, there isn't any.
5, If you can possibly work, you'll be far better off in the long run, even if it's not appealing at the moment.

I kind of agree with you there...when I got on SSI I did have the thought, well I suppose it sort of helps make up for all the BS I dealt with growing up. I faced constant harrassment for being 'weird' and it helped f*** me up so the least society can do is give me a little money to work with since you need it to live in this society.

SSI is hard to get. There is so much to go through to get on it. I want to get it but it's just too much to go through and for not even enough to survive.

There are lawyers who specialize in applying for U.S. Social Security Administration benefits. The only payment that they are allowed by law is 25 percent of the total benefits that accrue between the time you apply and a decision to grant your benefits. It normally takes about 18 months to two years to conclude a claim, so your payment to a lawyer would be the benefits for 4.5 to 6 months (it is deducted from your total accrued amount and paid directly to the lawyer). You are awarded the remainder. After that, you get 100 percent of your normally monthly benefits. Receiving SSI benefits includes free enrollment in Medicaid and a small monthly SNAP food benefit.

Doing it yourself without the help of a lawyer is possible but can be very tedious and difficult.

I figure that I may as well air my greavance against Social Security here. I have been on SSDI for the last decade. When I have access to mental health care, and the very expensive medications that come with it, I am capable of being a productive member of society.

The thing is that I am afraid of losing the Medicare (the only medical insurance I have, and really that is all I can afford) if I decide to try my hand at re-entering the competitive job market. The thought of having hallucinations again because I have limited access to mental health care is not a good one. Especially in my state, which is notorious for warehousing mental health patients without treatment for indefinite periods of time.

I want to be my own man again, but I do not want to lose the only security I have and be left with nothing if things do not work out alright.

I don't know about SSDI, but, in my state, SSI recipients can transition gradually into work while not losing their benefits. Look into it. It might be helpful.

Most people don't realize that small business loans and government financial aid are also technically welfare. Many countries couldn't operate if not for their social welfare systems. People would starve, stop going to school, stop creating businesses, etc.

Snoop Dogg recently said that the change in low-income welfare requirements made people go from playing ball with each other to selling drugs to live.

I agree that it sucks. I'm on SSD as well as private disability for a neurological disease, and I grew up in poverty. Most of the other poor people I grew up with are still poor, not because they don't try, but because they can't get anywhere.

At the risk of sounding argumentative (not my intent), I want to point out that SBA loans and student loans are only a subsidy to certain elements of risk that the financial markets shy away from. Students typically have no credit history, and would have a difficult time obtaining loans at non-usurious interest rates. The subsidy amount is the difference in interest that would be paid at the market-available rate to a student versus the 6% or so for student loans. This risk is made up for by the fact that they can't be discharged in bankruptcy--which is a feature that only a government backed loan could possibly have. One could argue that the inability to discharge student loans in bankruptcy makes up for the PV difference, and they aren't actually subsidized at all. A similar argument, with different specific reasons could be made for SBA loans.

Other areas of government subsidy have different issues. Most commonly, subsidies distort the market for a good, which overstimulates demand and drives prices up. This is one of the major reasons why universities have raised tuition at such a blistering pace, thereby creating more demand for student loans. It's a vicious cycle.

I don't disagree with some of what you're saying, but it needs to be said, Snoop Dogg isn't a credible source.

the social security system is a drag according to everyone having trial problems and diagnosis issues. people that are on it are not being on a leash. not being accredited for what they spend and such. not what they are born to be in. but how it's spent, where the checks are going to. who is claiming and what is being managed. why they are not spent sometimes. a guy spent over 40,000 dollars on social security and he's on the street struggling and sleeping. its pretty bad. but then again what isnt bad. student loans are the worst.

Ive been on ssi for the past 5 years. I'm trying to find work, but my husband is crying "you'll loose your check!" The main issue is not the check, but the medicaid... We both have expensive health care. And we have to have more money, barely making it. But as I understand, I can make up to 29 thousand a year and still get medicaid. I try to tell my husband "why are you so worried about the stupid check if we can do better without it?"

I don't like the part about where the money is held and how it is held.

1. You or you have someone else whose your payee that has the money in a fiduciary account.
2. If you aren't the payee then you can't touch the money in the account or write any checks which is almost identical to having your rights taken away.

Therein lies part of the disconnect: Snoop Dogg is a credible source because he's lived it, it's part of his experience. This isn't an ivory tower debate about principles and morality, it's an actual issue that's happening to real people, right here, right now. I'd take Snoop Dogg's opinion over some asshat sitting behind a cushy desk who's only experience with low income people is what he/she watches on the television.

But don't you get most of it back at tax time? Via the Earned Income Tax Credit?

My understanding is that you get pretty much all the taxes you pay back for the first $14k you earn, then a portion of the taxes you pay up to about $42k.

...Never knew the US has it just as bad. I'm Australian, recent high school graduate and currently on the youth allowance - Australia's unemployment benefit for young people. Once you reach a certain age, it simply becomes 'the dole' - adult unemployed benefit.

And here, Centrelink is just as bad as the OP describes it.

It's better here though for survival because minimum wage is bigger and medical care is cheaper - don't know about taxes though.

Anyway, I'm lucky to have a bigger pay due to being on the 'living away from home' allowance - it's not absolutely huge but a few hundred a fortnight will do for me for now.

My friend, however, lives at home andhas a much smaller payment - only about half as much as me.

This plus the fact that he pays half his money on board to his mum, and he's left with only about $100 or something each fortnight. He's nearly 20 and has been living at home since he graduated, a few years now.

We were both initially unable to get onto disability pension, though I am still trying.

I function quite well and sure, could work a limited range of jobs, but just being on disability takes the pressure off.

I'm not trying to sound lazy or undisciplined - I very much have difficulties and it could very much give me trouble in many jobs.

The only reason I want to be on disability is because like I said I do have difficulties, but also to stop getting harassed so bad hopefully.

I still want to study, to eventually work, live a prosperous life, etc. but I'm not ready - I want to overcome my difficulties first and once that happens, will get off it.

Anyway, my friend has much lower functioning than me. I'm not sure if he's an aspie or just some sort of other disability but according to my mother his difficulties are 'VERY obvious' and looking back I can see this. He cannot function/live on his own (aggressive towards younger brother, lacks proper hygiene e.g. forgets to shower, has to be reminded to do chores at 20 years old, anxiety, poor social skills, etc.) and yet even he didn't get on. He's likely unable to work even if he's job-seeking and earns so little himself.

The system's against you from the start. While I CAN see the argument that 'it's supposed to be horrible, so you can get yourself working' it never use to be this way in Australia. Recent policy changes in recent years have made the criteria so that even those like my friend are ineligible.

Under our previous prime Minister, the ruthless Tony Abbott, many destructive changes were close to being made. Our new PM is no better and of the same party but pretends to be 'more liberal' and 'progressive' minded but it's your usual political brainwashing. We still have the same treasurer/handler of the nations money - the arrogant, greedy, vicious Joe Hockey.

Our debt was worsened, and many changes were made so people get less or no money, all being wasted on these rich a-holes plane flights and luxurious lifestyle.