Washington Post Article - Disability

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I crazy for reading this and thinking there should just be a universal basic income? Give this poor family twenty grand a year. Give all the poor families twenty grand. Ridiculous that this woman prays to god for the "right" diagnoses, but she's desperate, uneducated, and broke.

Tax the rich.

Yes. You are crazy. They would spend it on drugs and cable tv. You don't hand people fish to solve poverty. You teach them how to fish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
"Disability" and Medicaid are federal programs that are funded by the states. Each state can choose to fund them as little or much as they choose. In Maryland, even severely disabled children do not get disability payments unless their parents are destitute. I can tell you (and I have a severely disabled child) that no working parents receive disability payments. If you are talking about LISS money which can be used to pay for therapies, that is $2,000 per year, and it is done by lottery. You can't possibly be serious that middle class kids will mild issues are receiving funds to pay for multiple classes, etc. That's BS.

Disability is actually a federal program through social security. Due to medical treatments (cancer), I was on disability for 2 years. I had disability insurance, but was required to apply for SSDI, which was fast tracked and approved (cancer is often fast-tracked). What I learned is there is a lot of ambiguity: pain -- my back hurts so I can't work. There is no way to disprove the pain. So, people get the disability.

(Oh, and while I was on disability, my insurance/ssdi only paid 60% of my income (received 100K); long term that would work in Alabama, but not in northern VA. Drained my savings and ran up debt. But I am alive and working (same job) today).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Her three kids were supposed to get checks - they were taken off disability at some point, and the family lost $1000/mo. They absolutely allowed her to get pregnant and give birth so that her children's disability checks could add to their coffers.

No. Your kids don't just automatically qualify for SSI disability checks.

First, the woman with Down Syndrome started getting SSI, it appears. Probably when she got pregnant with her first child. But that first child wasn't disabled.

After that the grandma managed to get SSI as well, after she hurt her shoulder at a factory. The article said that there were several claims and denials but eventually she was approved.

Then the twins were born, low birth weight and premature which is a temporary listing condition for SSI for children. Mom of course was destitute, so they qualified financial for the program (it is income based).

Then mom had a fourth child, the little 4 year old. Not disabled.

Disability gets reviewed every few years to see if the person is still disabled, and the boys no longer made that listing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids. The parents sound like losers who mooch the system that was intended to help those in real need.

One of the parents has Down syndrome. If people with Down syndrome don't meet the criteria of people with disabilities, for whom the system was intended, I'm not sure who does.

Ok where is the other parent? There is NO MENTIION of a father in any of this. These kids did not just pop out of thin air.

It's clear to me the father(s) only wanted to get off. They definitely weren't interested in having a relationship nor dealing with the mother's family.

[Anonymous]

The article mentioned a relationship with on man, himself disabled. I think the father of the twins?

And another man, who was getting married to someone else.

Could have been three different fathers. Do NOT understand why she wasn't using implanted hormone birth control after the first pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I crazy for reading this and thinking there should just be a universal basic income? Give this poor family twenty grand a year. Give all the poor families twenty grand. Ridiculous that this woman prays to god for the "right" diagnoses, but she's desperate, uneducated, and broke.

Tax the rich.

I was coming here to post just this very thought. I think universal basic income is something that should be explored. I'm rich even by DCUM standards and would be fine with taxes on this (I'm also fine with the ACA supplemental taxes including on capital gains). I have a child with severe ASD and intellectual disabilities - he may never be able to read or engage at anything greater than a preschool/kindergarten level, so I would hope that supplemental social security would be reserved for him and others who truly need it, like the one young woman with Mosaic downs in the piece.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My father has family members who live close to the town in this article. I wish I could say the people in the story are some kind of anomoly there, but unfortunately, they are not.

This is the reality. The Wash Post did not find the one family doing this. Once the first family managed to work the system others perked up and took note for themselves.

What they should be cracking down on is the social security office that these people are using. The one around here is incredibly strict and once you are in the 'appeals' pipeline you have little chance of being approved. First you go to an appeals board I think and then to a federal judge - I don't remember exactly but I had been speaking with a former social security judge who does appeals for people and she said it's pretty impossible to get approved. WaPo should interview some former judges - apparently if you approve too many people (which this lady said is basically anyone) you get demoted and pushed out the door after being made to absolutely hate your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I crazy for reading this and thinking there should just be a universal basic income? Give this poor family twenty grand a year. Give all the poor families twenty grand. Ridiculous that this woman prays to god for the "right" diagnoses, but she's desperate, uneducated, and broke.

Tax the rich.

I was coming here to post just this very thought. I think universal basic income is something that should be explored. I'm rich even by DCUM standards and would be fine with taxes on this (I'm also fine with the ACA supplemental taxes including on capital gains). I have a child with severe ASD and intellectual disabilities - he may never be able to read or engage at anything greater than a preschool/kindergarten level, so I would hope that supplemental social security would be reserved for him and others who truly need it, like the one young woman with Mosaic downs in the piece.

It is, I can say as I have an older child like this who was approved. It's only $700 though which you cannot possibly live on in the Washington area. And if the disabled person doesn't pay a fair portion of the household rent with that money (any less you are considered to be getting an in-kind gift from someone ) it is reduced to $450 or so per month.

Ironically you get more if you work for money and then are disabled, but the most severely disabled people cannot work do they get the least (which you cannot possibly live on)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ironically you get more if you work for money and then are disabled, but the most severely disabled people cannot work do they get the least (which you cannot possibly live on)

You don't get much more if you have worked for some time before becoming disabled! The average benefit from SSDI is $1171 per month. Yes it is more than $700/month but still not a lot to live on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The article mentioned a relationship with on man, himself disabled. I think the father of the twins?

And another man, who was getting married to someone else.

Could have been three different fathers. Do NOT understand why she wasn't using implanted hormone birth control after the first pregnancy.

The most tragic part of the whole thing to me was that the disabled young woman had FOUR children. Given her level of mental capacity, why wasn't she protected from the men who exploited her and are now not supporting their children. And, if nobody is going to protect her, at least put her on permanent birth control!

If grandma had only get daughter to look out for, maybe she'd be able to work instead of caring for the daughter plus four children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday's Post had an article called "Generations Disabled" that I found pretty interesting. I have been lucky enough in my life not to have any experience with this sort of thing, but I really feel for the kids in this environment who are "labeled" and thus enabled to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. How does this cycle even stop?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2017/06/02/generations-disabled/?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.dcd71507a0df

Free money. That's how they survive. Instead of disciplining, educating, and properly feeding those kids, grandma wants a government check and pour pills down their throats

All the wealthy families around here are pouring 2x the number of pills down their kids' throats so that they can work and not get a call from the school.
Every rich kid with any kind of issue around here in the rich area is ' autistic' too - because the parents want the benefits of free therapies for them.
People around here are WAY worse about that kind of thing . People around here falsely pile up the govt benefits for their kid way more. Those people actually need more therapies for their kids and they probably get nothing. Move those people to Fairfax and they'll get benefits for their kids .

The disability checks are a bit much. I do wonder how the mom or grandma or whatever she is can find childcare for her adult disabled child to work? I doubt that that Down syndrome daughter can be left alone .

This!! I find it outrageous to read in DCUM demanding free therapies, IEPs for their special snowflake at the expense of everyone around them. They scream "Its the law!" It's a rich person version of a welfare queen.

you are a horrible person with no understanding of parents or children with disabilities.

I agree pp. That person sounds like some of the teachers at my dc's school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I crazy for reading this and thinking there should just be a universal basic income? Give this poor family twenty grand a year. Give all the poor families twenty grand. Ridiculous that this woman prays to god for the "right" diagnoses, but she's desperate, uneducated, and broke.

Tax the rich.

Yes, you are crazy. Anytime this kind of issue comes up on DCUM, it's clear who has experience living with generational poor people and those who don't actually know any poor people. Money does not solve this problem. You have to change the mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The article mentioned a relationship with on man, himself disabled. I think the father of the twins?

And another man, who was getting married to someone else.

Could have been three different fathers. Do NOT understand why she wasn't using implanted hormone birth control after the first pregnancy.

Great idea, too bad current administration is making access to birth control more difficult and expensive for the poor - well, for everyone unfortunate to work for those religious, women-should-keep-their-legs-together types.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The article mentioned a relationship with on man, himself disabled. I think the father of the twins?

And another man, who was getting married to someone else.

Could have been three different fathers. Do NOT understand why she wasn't using implanted hormone birth control after the first pregnancy.

because republicans have made it clear that birth control is wrong and shouldn't be funded by the govt. Instead they would rather waste billion on these ding dongs who keep having babies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article mentioned a relationship with on man, himself disabled. I think the father of the twins?

And another man, who was getting married to someone else.

Could have been three different fathers. Do NOT understand why she wasn't using implanted hormone birth control after the first pregnancy.

because republicans have made it clear that birth control is wrong and shouldn't be funded by the govt. Instead they would rather waste billion on these ding dongs who keep having babies.

No, actually the reps would rather they starve to death, or maybe die of illness untreated because of no $.