This may be hard to believe, but the Greeman Toomey PLLC blog is not the only blog around on Social Security matters. There are plenty of other blogs you can find related to Social Security matters, mostly moderated by a different Social Security disability law firm or Social Security advocates. After perusing another blog about Supplemental Security Income (SSI) it struck me how much anger there is related to people who receive SSI.
The original blog post, that was written several years ago, still receives current comments on it. The post suggests that the maximum SSI payment of $733 per month is not enough to live on, especially considering this amount equates to an annual figure that is below the poverty line.
It doesn’t seem like this sort of post would ingest such angry responses, but it did. Many of those who spouted off indicating that SSI recipients, many times, receive food stamps, Medicaid and housing assistance along with their monthly SSI benefits and that they should be grateful to get what they receive.
It is true that those who receive SSI are either disabled or elderly and no SSI recipient needs to have a long enough work history to qualify for SSI. In fact, someone who never worked a day in their life could qualify for SSI and this angers people. I wonder if the people who resent those who receive SSI would be willing to change places with them?
My guess is no because you either have to be old or disabled to receive the hefty amount of $733. For those who never worked a day in their life? Well, there are many people who were born so disabled that they never had a chance to work. Attacking those who receive SSI is really quite reprehensible.
The disabled who receive SSI have gone through an extensive qualifying process and had to prove to Social Security they were disabled based on the strictest of standards. In fact, Social Security disability is one of the most difficult programs to qualify for medically in the entire world. Many times people who are awarded SSI have to wait up to two years or longer before they qualify for benefits.
The people who receive SSI, for the most part, are grateful for the income the safety net program offers, but the fact remains that $733 a month is not enough to live on. Anyone who may think they would like to give it a try can give it a shot and get back to me. Sure, those who have such little income do qualify for such things a food stamps, Medicaid and assisted housing, but by no means does this extra government assistance take care of all their needs and these people are clearly not living high on the hog. If you doubt it, maybe you would like to visit them to get a closer look at their standard of living.
Remember, those who receive SSI cannot just go get a job to supplement their income. These people are either disabled or elderly, which are the people SSI is for. Even if some of those who receive SSI could work somewhat, anything they earn from work-related income reduces the amount of SSI they receive, so there is no incentive to even try and work.
This blog in reference, written several years ago still receives comments. A total of 83 comments have been posted. This does not seem like a lot comments, but for a Social Security disability blog this is an enormous amount of comments. To read the original post and comments click here.
