Hey Noonie.....

[Retread]

I have received two emails this last week that contradict one another. I have to say I have never believed the first although I have seen it a dozen times or more. It just sounds ridiculous.
That said, the second sounds much more believable.

From your position in the system can you comment?

#1

A Ford Dealer's Report

From Tom Selkis' (Latham Ford) Facebook –
True story yesterday at the dealership. "I'll try to make this as short and to the point as I can.

One of my salesmen here had a woman in his office yesterday wanting to lease a brand new Focus. As he was reviewing her credit application with her he noticed she was on social security disability.

He said to her you don't look like you're disabled and unable to work.

She said well I'm really not. I could work if I wanted to, but I make more now than I did when I was working and got hurt (non-disabling injury). She said the gov't sends her $1500.00 a month in 1 check. And she gets $700.00 a month on an EBT card (food stamps), and $800.00 a month for rent. Oh yeah, and 250 minutes free on her phone. That is just south of $3500.00 a month.

When she was working, she was taking home about $330.00 per week. Do the math and then ask yourself why should she go back to work. If you multiply that by millions of people, you start to realize the scope of the problem we face as a country.

Once the socialists have 51% of the population in that same scenario, we are finished.

The question is when do we cross that threshold if we haven't already, and there are not enough people working to pay enough taxes to support the non-working people? Riots?? Be prepared to protect your homes.

She didn't lease the Focus here because the dealer down the road beat our deal by $10.00/month. Glad to know she is so frugal with her hard earned money."




#2

Most of the time, people on Social Security Disability draw roughly $600 - $650 per month. Most people on SSDI do not get food stamps, or what they're calling an EBT card because they make too much money on SSDI (go figure). I don't know anyboby nor have I ever heard of anybody getting ANY kind of rent subsidy from any government (Federal or State) agency. As to free phone minutes for the disabled... no way.

IF this person had a big family with lots of kids at home, she MIGHT qualify for some food stamps, but I seriously doubt it would be over $500/month. I don't know if AFDC (state-run Aid for Families with Dependent Children) would pay anything on rent or not, but maybe if a family lived in Section 8 housing (mostly sub-standard projects) they might get a subsidy or rent on a sliding scale.

[Starbuck]

Just talked with a lady at a wedding whose sister is on all the programs in Phoenix. All of them.

This lady, an accountant, said she ran the figures for her sister to figure out how much money Sis would have to make (before taxes) in order to replace all her benefits.

$60,000.

And Sis is no where near qualified to apply for a job that pays that much.

It's bad, folks. Real bad.

[RobJohnson]

If you are in one of the 38 participating states, you'll next need to confirm that you qualify for the program. Income guidelines for free phones vary by state. If you already receive food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, home energy assistance or free school lunches, you will likely qualify for a free phone.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/...lan/55315532/1

If you qualify for the phone program, you're probably also eligible for a new program offering low-cost broadband service. To gain approval for merging with NBC Universal last year, Comcast began offering the Internet Essentials plan for low-income families.

The program is available in 40 states. Families qualify for the $10 monthly plan if they are receiving free lunches from the National School Lunch Program.

[noonwitch]

I never worked in the welfare end of things, so I don't know exact policy. It sounds like she's gaming the system, or was lying about how much she got to get the car. If she has a big family, her housing allowence would be higher and she'd get more food stamp benefits on her EBT card. If she's also caring for an elderly relative that lives in her home, she could be bringing in a lot of money. Or, if she has a teenaged daughter with a kid or kids, she would be the one getting the money for the baby(ies) if the mother is under 18, and for the mother, too.

She might have settlements or something from a work-related injury. I know there are ways to get assistance regardless of that, but I don't know how it works, or if there is a program that structures how that money is paid to them so that they are still eligible for SSI/Medicaid.

[FlaGator]

Story number two seems real. My brother was schizophrenic and received $650 a month along with eligibility for HUD housing. The most he could get in food stamps was $25 because he made too much money. That being said there were people who lived in his apartment building who received all sorts of benies plus hundreds of dollars in food stamps. I never understood this and social workers' explanations made no sense.

[southernlady]

There is a big difference between SSDI and SSI (both are for disability but the programs are different)

SSDI is based on what you EARNED as a working individual and you must have a certain number of qualifying work quarters to get it. It's basically getting your retirement income early. And it all depends on how much YOU put into the system and based on what you would get at age 65 (62 if early retirement). Also the individual is the only person who has to qualify. What your family earns has NO basis on what you get just as it works during actual retirement.

SSI is totally income based (the entire family) and pays barely enough to pay the bills. It pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources. SSI benefits also are payable to people 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial limits.

Both my husband and I are on SSDI (NOT SSI) and do NOT qualify for Food Stamps or EBT. What he gets is based solely on HIS earnings during his work life and what I get is totally dependent on what I earned.

Most people on SSDI do not get food stamps, or what they're calling an EBT card because they make too much money on SSDI (go figure).

And that is SO true.

Liz

[Novaheart]

I figured out how much a neighbor had coming in from taking in several foster kids. I really don't think this couple did this out of the goodness of their hearts, but can't prove that. What I did figure is that fostering allowed the woman to be a stay at home mom. What I can't reconcile is that these people opened their home to adolescent foster kids who were frequently at the center of problems in the neighborhood, in the same house with their three biological children. Sorry, but I wasn't raised that way. You can take in foster kids when the nest is empty, but to bring other children into the home with your own children (born or adopted) deviates from what I would consider full time and protection.

They were taking in $56,000 per year. Even so, that's probably cheaper than keeping the foster kids in some kind of state home.

[noonwitch]

I figured out how much a neighbor had coming in from taking in several foster kids. I really don't think this couple did this out of the goodness of their hearts, but can't prove that. What I did figure is that fostering allowed the woman to be a stay at home mom. What I can't reconcile is that these people opened their home to adolescent foster kids who were frequently at the center of problems in the neighborhood, in the same house with their three biological children. Sorry, but I wasn't raised that way. You can take in foster kids when the nest is empty, but to bring other children into the home with your own children (born or adopted) deviates from what I would consider full time and protection.

They were taking in $56,000 per year. Even so, that's probably cheaper than keeping the foster kids in some kind of state home.

Now this is more in the area of what I do. We pay foster parents a daily rate for the kids in their care, and provide medicaid/insurance coverage for them. We pay slightly more for teenagers, and provide more money for clothing for them because their stuff costs more. It's still less than $20 a day, unless the kid has special needs.

For special needs kids, we have a scale that measures how much time and money above and beyond that the foster parent has to spend on that child's care. If it is a total care situation, we negotiate a rate with the foster parent above the scale. Those are rare cases, usually involving either a severly developmentally disabled child who is unable to use the toilet, or a child with a serious medical condition that requires the foster parent to receive extensive training on how to operate medical equipment and care for those needs.


But none of this comes out of the general welfare budget, it comes from a combination of federal and state/county funds. Federal funding does tie into whether the family was on assistance prior to the removal of the kids, though.


I don't really have a problem with a foster parent who stays home all day with the kids, as long as the other parent is working. When school is out, there is always someone around to supervise. When school is in session, there is always an adult who is available to deal with the issues that may arise.