"The 14 million Americans on ssi/disability"

So, apparently npr is doing a series on the subject of disability income, life on disability.  Hannah Jaffe W. is in Hale County Alabama (i heard much but not all of the broadcast)

The growth of the program is very very fast.  Every 15 years there is a double in the # of people collecting disability.  Currently there are 250,000 Americans applying for it every month.  It's a more appealing life then 35 hours a week working the minimum wage.  Because you get the health benefits.



It was noted that all of hale county's yard sales were held on the first or on the third of the month.  1/4 of people in H. County are on disability.  That being said, people know that since that's when everyone gets their check they go ahead and put their stuff out.

It's common for people to ask recipients what their disability is.  i know people ask me what my disabilities are almost every day.  i don't mind.  one of the ways i like to educate people is to tell them, that, there are many disabled people whose disabilities are largely invisible.  that doesn't make those disabilities any less real.

Hannah comes to the conclusion that Dan Mitchell really is disabled.  But npr does wonder what constitutes disabled?  Many in this town are on disability for back pain.  NPR wonders who decides if your condition is bad enough?  In this town it's Dr. Timberlake.  He prefers to serves a rural population.  In this town, there are no college grads.

Ethel says that there are no jobs in Hale County where you can sit down with the exception of SSA worker. 

"poorly educated and rotten place" is a disability.  (i would certainly have to agree with that.  even being carless is a disability.  Ethel's husband is on disability for nerve damage in his hands.  (i noticed nerve damage in 05, and it has worsened substantially.  My limbs fall asleep constantly, it is very painful.  I always feel pins and needles and the sensation that my hands/feet are made of barbed wire and someone is cutting the wire with scissors)

When the mill shut down in Hale County, everyone went on disability!  (one factor in my applying for disability was that no matter how hard i tried my employers were never satisfied.  I explained that to my lawyer, that if in every field i get let go or complained about i am going to need a regular income from disability)

If you are on disablity you are invisible to the rest of society.  Disability is like de facto welfare and recipients are very unlikely to ever get out of poverty or better their lives.  So the only way out of the trap npr concludes is to die, or turn 65.  (It's certainly no wonder so many commit suicide i say)

Glass wonders, what should the government do to help the disabled?

Lawyers are trying to help and Binder and Binder are the most popular. ssa pays the lawyers.  B and B represented 30k people in one year!

One's lifetime average is 250k  (for me it is alot less)


end part one  more to come in my next blog, about this story

"Hannah Jaffe Waltz wants to know"

Last night on NPR, What is life like for America's hidden 14 million?  by Hannah Jaffe Waltz.  They are reffering to the 14 million who collect disability income.  I will tell you, some of what i will tell her and she does want us to let her know what it is like.

Well, I'd bet that for persons waiting on ssi/ssdi most are thinking that their lives will improve quite a bit if they win.  That is very unlikely.  I got about 400 a month when i was approved in 2002.  I expected a huge back payment, because i first applied in 94, but did not win til 02.  My back payment?  3k.  I had to walk the first thousand over to my last landlord who i was indebted to.

My thinking was that I'd take the disability money and that would be enough for housing.  Boy was i dreaming.  My friend Dan told me to quit my job right away lest i get in trouble for working.  I did what he told me to do, and found that even with the ssi/ssdi I would still continue to cycle in and out of homelessness.

Maybe, when i get accepted into the subsidized housing life will get better.  I waited 11.5 years to get into my first subsidized unit.  I have been largely in subsidied housing since, however, my life has been consumed with violent crime ever since the day I got accepted into it.  You wouldn't think, one would still go hungry or even starve but that did happen to me.  It may be why I have severe nerve damage and weakness.

I'd love to tell people waiting on disability benefits that their lives will improve, but it is extremely unlikely it will improve by much, unless the applicant was lucky enough to have high earnings while they were working.

"Amazing NPR/All Things Considered"

When I heard that ATC would be doing a piece on homelessness and young baby boomers, i made sure to be available to hear it.

Even more "exciting" because it took place in Baltimore, and i did not know that would be the case.  They featured a homeless couple Andrea and Tony. I actually think i may have met her.  He has a bulging disc (or does she) and he has osteoarthritis.  Her cane was stolen and she lives on painkillers.  (which made me jealous because i'm not on any medication at all)

On the show they said that "50 is old"  I really appreciated that they said that.  I will be 50 in June and i am seriously ill, but i'm the only one that knows the extent of what that means.  If you are homeless you are more then 3x likely to be seriously ill, they said on the show.

So true.  Even though I don't sleep outdoors, I have still been cycling for twenty years and i'm sure it is a big reason my health is destroyed.  Chronic starvation/malnutrition also took it's toll.

ATC featured the United Church of Christ soup kiotchen.  I was there once more maybe more then once, but i did not appreciate being treated like a piece of meat by the men in the line, so i did not return.

Fessler said "just try to eat healthy when you are homeless"  She went on to illustrate what was avail to eat at the soup kitchen.  She mentioned stuff like white rice white b read beans, hot dogs.

The reason y Tony and Andrea are still on the street is because they have no security deposit money.  For me the story is not that simple or straightforward.  There are myriad factors on why I cycled in and out and s.d. is just one of them.

HOMElessness hit young baby boomers hardest.  (I am a young baby boomer.  1946  to 1964)

600k of u.s. homeless are young baby boomers.  about 1/2 of total homeless.  Andrea has no teeth.  (here in mountain town people have no teeth or the teeth are rotted and nauseating to even look at)

The couple say if they went to the shelter, they would be seperated, so they sleep outdoors.

"All Things Considered/NPR"

Really enjoyed npr's farewell to Dear Abby.  I began reading those columns as a girl, additionally I owned a book called "Miss Manner's Guide to Rearing Perfect Children"  (i don't recall the author's real name!)  It was neat to hear about Abby and her sister Ann Landers as well as Abby's views and how they evolved since the 50's.

Someone wrote in to her and said that women 50 and over no longer want sex.  The letter got about 10 to 100k responses from women stating that the best sex for them was after 50 because the kids are gone they can be as loud as they want!

Farewell Abby!