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Unfairness of Life and Welfare/Entitlements

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heavenlyabyss
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11 Apr 2014, 1:10 pm

Jacoby wrote:
I don't really know how somebody could lie and get on disability, I thought it was pretty hard to get on for even legitimate reasons. I don't think working under the table is the worst thing in the world tho, how much money can you really make cutting grass or being a metal scraper? They don't get that much money and so a little on the side for themselves doesn't bother me. I don't really think you can stop this fraud and abuse, obviously there are more egregious cases that should be dealt with but there isn't any reason to go after poor people just surviving and putting up more barriers and regulation and more hoops to jump thru will just make it harder for those that legitimately need help to get it which defeats the whole purpose of the system. You'd probably end up spending more money policing the welfare system than you would save from the reduction in fraud and abuse.


You're right. It's not easy to get on disability. I have an official mental diagnosis (as I'm sure most of the people here do) and it's not like I can just go in, say, hey I'm depressed," give me money. If anything, I think disability should be expanded to cover more of the mentally ill (although this is a touchy subject and rather subjective and bound to bring up a lot of bickering)

Food stamps are relatively easy but you still have to prove you have low income. However, food stamps don't provide much of a living on their own.



Sweetleaf
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11 Apr 2014, 1:11 pm

OliveOilMom wrote:
Sweetleaf wrote:
OliveOilMom wrote:
We get food stamps and my kids all got Medicaid when they were under 19. I got WIC when I was pregnant and nursing and the kids were under 5. Our income fell within the limits for it and it really helped. Food stamps help a whole lot right now. Sometimes we wouldn't eat without them.

What I think isn't fair is the way some people fake disability and get that, food stamps, medicaid, etc. I know somebody who does that. He works sometimes under the table. I remember they used to do drop in visits on people who got those things. I wonder if it's time to bring that back.


It certainly wouldn't help people who are legitimately on disability....I'd constantly be nervous if I knew some government official could drop my my house and get into my personal business whenever they feel like it. That would just make me feel like I'm getting treated like a criminal or something stupid could happen like I am doing dishes in my house so they decide that means I should be working. As is they already review your case after a couple years to make sure you should still be on disability.... mandatory surprise visits probably aren't the best thing and it would probably cost more tax dollars.

Also though I don't know this individual or how you know that they are for sure faking, but I think there are a lot less fakes than people assume....its not exactly easy going through all the paper work and legal crap and waiting over a year to get on disability and its not much money especially if its SSI rather than SSDI seems like there are easier ways to scam things to bring in more cash that scammers would be more likely to go after...not to say fakes don't exist but their reasoning certainly makes no sense to me. So would surprise visits really be worth the tax dollars and potential distress of disabled people having to endure them? People on disability should still have the right to privacy in their own home they didn't commit a crime by being disabled.


I know for sure he's faking because 1. he told me and 2. he hauls scrap metal, works construction for cash under the table sometimes and 3. cuts my yard cheap sometimes. He also sells his pain pills that the dr gives him for his "back injury" that put him on disability.


Sounds like a fraud to me, even so I still stand by what I said about suprise visits from government officials or whatever...probably would not be the best way to weed out frauds like that.


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Jacoby
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11 Apr 2014, 2:15 pm

heavenlyabyss wrote:
Jacoby wrote:
I don't really know how somebody could lie and get on disability, I thought it was pretty hard to get on for even legitimate reasons. I don't think working under the table is the worst thing in the world tho, how much money can you really make cutting grass or being a metal scraper? They don't get that much money and so a little on the side for themselves doesn't bother me. I don't really think you can stop this fraud and abuse, obviously there are more egregious cases that should be dealt with but there isn't any reason to go after poor people just surviving and putting up more barriers and regulation and more hoops to jump thru will just make it harder for those that legitimately need help to get it which defeats the whole purpose of the system. You'd probably end up spending more money policing the welfare system than you would save from the reduction in fraud and abuse.


You're right. It's not easy to get on disability. I have an official mental diagnosis (as I'm sure most of the people here do) and it's not like I can just go in, say, hey I'm depressed," give me money. If anything, I think disability should be expanded to cover more of the mentally ill (although this is a touchy subject and rather subjective and bound to bring up a lot of bickering)

Food stamps are relatively easy but you still have to prove you have low income. However, food stamps don't provide much of a living on their own.


I'd imagine support for mental illness(for the lack of a better term) is probably one of the most under-served parts of our welfare system considering how high the unemployment rate is and how so many that fall thru the cracks end up in prison. Not everybody is lucky enough to have a loving caring family that is willing and able to support them.

Food stamp abuse on an individual level really doesn't concern me, the standard amount a single person gets is about $200. If somebody is able to find a way to eat and can trade their food stamps for money or whatever then the money is getting spent anyways, nothing is lost.