I know I used an anecdotal to the birth control for the "poor" but I, too, have career experience in this area. I did home care in the ghetto of our city for 8 yrs and hospice in the home for 11 (not as many of the impoverished end up on hospice and I blame poor community out reach for this, the poor and everyone else all die eventually, hospice care is a provided benefit free of charge for anyone with Medicare or Medicaid and most insurers cover it.)
The 8 yrs in home care taught me so much about poverty, how hard it is to break out of that cycle. Little kids often raised by very ill grandmother on home care and trying to raise her grandchildren at the same time, common scenario. Those kids are mostly raising themselves, thank God for free school breakfast and lunch for those children who qualify. They parents are MIA, father commonly never involved from the get go, the mother in jail, on drugs, or many other reasons, making the sick grandmother the only thing keeping these kids out of the overburdened foster care system.
In NY families with one or both parents, or an adult who is not disabled, TANF is provided for a max of 60 months. The first adult to reach 60 months, the whole family loses TANF. A family of four typically get $896 a month. After 24 months of TANF, household adults who are able bodied are expected to meet a work requirement or be enrolled in program to help them become employable. A single mom with 1 child is required to work 20 hrs/week and is eligible for help with childcare. In our city, the last childcare center in the inner city closed it's doors probably 12 yrs ago. So impoverished mothers trying to work really do not have the child care benefit or have it but cannot access it easily, a bus ride to day care far from home if a spot could be obtained, bus ride to work, and reverse. So add in transportation costs. As for SNAP, that has been one of the most successful programs in NY with only a 3% fraud level. The max a family of 4 can receive is around $650 and is based on income with a work requirement. Free nutritional programs are provided. So a family of 4 overall receives approx $1500 a month in TANF and SNAP with strict working requirements and a time limit and likely qualify for Medicaid. May qualify for Section 8 housing, but the waiting list is usually years. Rent in the inner city, oddly was often higher than what I was paying for mortgage and taxes or about the same rent my ex-husband pays in the suburb with the best schools. $800-1000 and the housing was a disaster in most cases (not in Section 8 homes/apts, those tended to be live-able, small, old, infestation bugs throughout the whole building, but still a big step up). Slum lords abound charging those crazy rents. I've had 2 patients literally fall through their front porch, it was so rotted and had to have 911 come lift them out.
So somehow, on this budget, which may actually be do-able for mustachians, really is not all that much and is strictly regulated. According to the Dept of Labor welfare fraud is about 3%, not bad in my eyes. Did I see Coach purses (a common complaint), sure, but when you compliment a woman on it, they'd often tell me it was a good fake and where to get one. But yes, some had the real thing. Did I see giant tvs? Yup, I have no idea where they came from but rest assured other than that tv, the rest of the apt was usually falling down around them, gross furniture many yrs old and mattresses on the floor. Not one family I saw of whatever combinations of family possible was living the high life.
As for SSDI or SSI, that is no picnic to get and that gets re-evaluated periodically, as well. Hospice patients with with worst of terminal illnesses usually died long before receiving their benefit and the process is supposedly quicker for certain terminal diagnoses. The family got the back pay, small comfort.
I have now found myself applying for SSDI, so if you're going to judge, feel free to judge me. I have 3 snowballing disabling issues that forced me to draw a 23 yr nursing career to a close very suddenly. I was devastated and waited 9 months to apply for SSDI even though doctors were very blunt that I needed to do this, I would not be working soon, or likely ever, as a nurse or really anything else. I refused to believe that until even I had to say, it's time to give up my position that was held by some random new HR policy. If I was faking a disability, would I have waited 9 mos to apply? Do I want to live on $1800 a month? Of course not. I had just been told by Vanguard's financial planner and the one from work, that rather than retiring at 62, which I was really hoping for, I could actually retire at 55! I had no clue. So I am 45 and lost those 10 years of contributions til age 55. (highly unlikely I would've done it, I loved my job, but who knows what I'd want to do when I hit 55?) I got sick so quickly after that, I never really contemplated stopping at 55. And certainly not 45.
I was denied the first go round, as is nearly everyone, so I now wait 16 months for my hearing before a judge. I hired a lawyer who has not lost a case yet by one of my doctors because he documents so well, I have a team of 4 docs who all are willing to do thorough documentation. I am lucky in this, very lucky to have this team. I am fortunate that I can pay my lawyer the 25% of the settlement. I am also vey lucky to currently be receiving LTD through my employer, a policy known to not accept you or only pay for a few months. I anticipate being income-less for probably a year while waiting for SSDI. Easily assumed, as even my LTD case manager tells me do not count on this benefit.
Anyway, I would give anything to turn this boat around and be at my desk tomorrow, ready to work, until at least 55! I'm not looking up SSI and SSDI fraud stats, someone else will have to do that. I very rarely saw it and don't forget, there are tons of serious illnesses not obvious to the naked eye. I never once saw a family in poverty, receiving benefits or a disabled person on SSI or even SSDI (the one based on your years of work) take a vacation. No, that's not true, I have had terminal patients awaiting SSDI, take on last trip before they died. But SSDI is based on years of work. So these were low to middle class families who had savings or another working spouse.
So if you feel the need to judge, judge me, at least it's a fair fight.
