For those of us who get SSI for ourselves or as caretakers

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I am about to have my own meltdown today. I keep seeing these judgmental posts on Facebook about how people who don't work get handouts and those who own land and pay land taxes are soooo unfairly treated.

I'm going to sound like a martyr so forgive me, but I live in rags off of SSI to be the caretaker for my daughter.

It's not fair to judge people who receive assistance from the state.

I can't afford all the fancy OT stuff for my daughter, but we get by. I have bought most essential things.

We can't afford an Ipad or anything like that off of this income, however, and we actually NEED it for AAC. My daughter is non-verbal.

And the people who complain about those who get SSI or welfare are the ones who drive new cars, have a big house, a beautiful spoiled family, and they can't take a couple of crumbs of their income to help those who legitimately can't work?

Bogus.

Do autistic people who are very disabled from their particular form of autism have no value to society that we just get the absolute bare min. to just simply survive? Why is this the perspective of the masses? I think my daughter has a place, a truly special one. Just no one wants to give us a chance. I have lost almost everyone and the neighbor won't even let her son come say hi to my daughter for fear of "catching autism." She has straight up said that she is afraid he will copy her behaviors, and grabbed him up without letting him say hi off of our deck this morning -- he was crying and really wanted to meet my daughter. People suck.

ETA: I literally got hit in the head with such grief just now after clicking submit, even thinking about this morning with the little boy who wanted to meet my daughter, it came like a wave, that I almost passed out. It was completely involuntary. I've never felt such an intense feeling like that from just simply emotions in my life. I felt like I was deep under water, pressure in both my ears, heat running through my body -- something I didn't know I could feel just from a bit of anger, something I imagine heroine withdraws to feel like or something.

I can't shake this terrible feeling like we will never be understood, and that society is completely backwards.

The Squid apologizes to you for the hardships you go through. But we have seen both ends of this debate. This year, our room mate passed away with stage four lung cancer after a two year battle. While this woman was on her death bed, she was receiving no financial aid from the government other than a whole $50 a month in food stamps. It's all they would give her. During that same time, We were working in a convenience store and witnessed a woman pull in with a BRAND new escalade. She gets out with four children and they all pile in the store grabbing everything they can get their hands on. When about $150 worth of overpriced snacks had been set on my counter, she asked if we took EBT. We told her no, since at the time our store had not been set up to do that. She shrugged her shoulders and pulled out a massive wad of cash all in hundreds. We asked where she was going, and she replied they were headed to Disney World.

It's easy to get angry with common perception about who does and does not receive government aid. The trouble is we witness more people abuse this system, and not enough people who need it are eligible. These free riders give the whole program such a bad name. We could probably tell you over a hundred more stories of people using a food stamp or assistance program who should have had no business with it. It sounds like you honestly need the aid. If they were to seriously audit their program, they could catch some of the free riders and folks like you might have more income.


Edit: We're sorry again about your breakdown. It also sounded like you needed to say what was on your mind somewhere. Unfortunately there are people out there who don't understand what it is to be different. The Squid himself has been singled out most of his childhood for his mannerisms. But keep in mind that there ARE people who are more accepting. The Squid has made a whopping FOUR friends in his whole life. But we are happy they are our friends. We would not change them for a million "Friends" under any other definition. Your daughter will find that many people will treat her unfairly, but there are some diamonds in the rubble.

Your condolences are appreciated. I really like the way you type too. (ETA: idk why but your avi reminds me of dr. who)

As far as the other end of the debate, I understand that too. My mom has a friend like that. She convinced some pain management doctor to give her wayyy too much oxycotton. So, she sells most of it for an additional $2000 a month, while only paying $300 a month for a two bedroom house with an ocean view since her past drug abuse history got her bumped up the list for HUD. She also gets every kind of social benefit you can think of, and her house is covered, like hoarder style, in new clothes, expensive perfumes, etc.

Meanwhile, I pay $1100 a month, receive significantly less benefits for myself and daughter, and have a 1 bdrm with an outdoor "kitchen," while I have to do my dishes in the bathroom sink.

Exactly. It's these abuses that people are reminded of. Try not to take any comments made to you about this to heart. You know that you deserve the assistance and like most responsible parents, you will do needs to be done to make sure your daughter is provided with what she needs. Just keep working at it, and come in at night and talk about it here, if it makes you feel better. Or have a sparring match with your pillow. That works too.

Those individuals who complain most loudly about "welfare" are the FIRST to snap to attention and salute the idea of corporate welfare, tax breaks for the rich and U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) retirement benefits for those who cash the checks, but don't (and never did) need the money. They defend the idea of freebies for military veterans even though most vets served a few years as slightly overweight defense-depot desk jockies shunting equipment hither and yon, and never spent a minute of their lives in any battle bigger than the line at their cafeteria. But, when it comes to working Americans who had their SSA "contributions" seized at virtual gunpoint their whole working lives with the verbal promise that, if they ever need assistance for their medical conditions, they could and would receive those benefits (yeah, right; it is sooo easy to do).

The image of "welfare queens" still pervades in the minds of average yahoos who blame others for their perceived plights while not understanding that the "real" money that is wasted buys ever more bullets for government agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which have no use for them. Clearly, our government and their sycophantic cheerleaders need to sort out their priorities.

I have AS among other things and get SSI income because my conditions prevent me from holding a job and I haven't seen a lot of facebook posts talking crap about having to be on government assistance, but i have seen plenty of it in the media and various other places on the internet. So yeah it bothers me and can get to me because it really is BS, I would think funding welfare programs to help the poor in society would be a good use of tax money...but whatever either way it bothers me to. But yeah I don't care much for this society and that is part of why.

But yeah I have a couple useful/nice things a phone and a laptop...but those things are actually pretty useful, to have yet some people would think if I am on welfare I shouldn't have anything like that and should spend it strictly on food and water and hygiene products and rent well I try to budget so yeah I end up with a bit left over for things outside of that and its not really anyone's business what...I also hear of people going on about keeping the government small yet they want to create a bunch of regulations on people receiving welfare so essentially you have every bit of your life down to what you spend every penny on being monitored...because 'its ok to take away the rights of people who have to depend on any outside help' or some facist BS. Luckily I think the government is a little afraid of what would happen when people get pissed off and how expensive it would be to implement all that.

The mom of that kid sounds like a real b*ch.....But yeah it seems like there is lots of stigma and sometimes it can be hard to ignore it or tune it out, it does piss me off quite a bit.

I was on it before I started working because of phsycial disabilities I was born with in addition to Aspergers that no one diagnosed till around the time I graduated high-school. My younger years in school were wasted because I didn't have the help I would of needed to have done better to where I'd have a fighting chance of being productive after high-school. It's NOT my fault those years were wasted because docs in my area were quacks yet people including my parents resented me for being on it because they felt I was capable of working. Yeah they are plenty people who are more disabled with one area than me who can hold good jobs but they had help I never had & they are only disabled in one or two areas instead of the combination I am that no one understands which makes it alot more difficult for me. My mom was a public school teacher before she retired in a very poor community & she has lots of stories about people who really do abuse the system. Mom gets on it because of her kids who are living with the grandma so mom is getting money that's supposed to be for her kids. My mom kind of resents the SSI program because of various abuse she's known but I was someone who actually legitimately needed it & was resented too because she felt I could be working & doing better if I tried more. I worked enough to be on Social Security Disability now & know I'm much better off on it because SSI discruaged me from trying to be more independent by taking away $1 for every $2 I made before taxes so working wasn't really worth it unless I could make over time. & I wasn't alowed to save up any money to use for something that might help me be more independent. I think I'm much better off on the SSDI system because I have Medicare in addition to state Medicaid because my SSDI amount is low enough & I live in a state that allows me to have both. In the state I lived when I was working none of the doctors accepted Medicaid so I had to pay the full cost to see a doc out of money I made from working or SSI & I needed to see docs in order to keep working. I really wish the SSI program would encourage people to be more independent instead of forcing them to be trapped on the program.

I get really, really angry about welfare hustling-- people who don't need it, are perfectly capable of working and just don't want to.

I get really, really angry about welfare fraud-- people dealing drugs under the table, then taking SNAP and AFDC and whatever else they can get over the table. People pushing people like me onto disability because they stand to make money litigating the denial of the claim (I went from Asperger's and depression to Asperger's, and depression, and agoraphobia, and whatever else I've got now be it OCD or PTSD or GAD or whatever because of an as*hole named Eric C. Conn) or charging Medicaid for an hour therapy visit once a week to do a med check and send you on your way.

Most of the reason I get really, really angry is because THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LEGITIMATELY NEED IT.

I'm really sorry about the way you get treated. I'm sorry about the as*holes and the stupid people.