Spending time interviewing random ass people. Family, friends, and neighbors. Neighbors are practically strangers with little to no knowledge of a person’s life or history.
Just to make sure disabled people aren’t “gaming” the system.
Seems like an EXTREME waste of tax dollars.
It seems like it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to just give disabled people their money by that point.
Not to mention everyone on disability lives below the poverty line and even below “minimum wage”.
Also not to mention you can’t even live with your significant other without losing your benefits.
Also also not to mention even if you have a partner that can afford to provide for themselves and a stay at home partner, that partner wouldn’t be able to provide for a stay at home DISABLED partner because insurance and meds are expensive.
ALSO also also. I know having disability comes with medicaid, but I’m not entirely sure how you expect a disabled person to afford their meds on medicaid because meds are damn expensive even on insurance.
ALSO ALSO also also. You need to have less than $2k in your bank to qualify. So, let’s assume I saved up $250k because I’m trying to buy a house, right? Then I end up in an accident that causes me to be unable to work. I’m expected to drain my entire $250k of savings before I qualify.
ALSO ALSO ALSO also also. Even if a disabled person is able to somehow save any of their money despite being below the poverty line. If they save over $2k they lose their benefits.
ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO also also. They have to report every dollar they get. So, let’s say I’m on disability, and my friend gives me $20. I have to report that $20. So the government can deduct that $20 from the income they give me. And if they find out I got $20 and didn’t report it, they’ll deduct $20 from every subsequent payment to me.
Getting disability is fucking impossible.
(Trigger warning. The following content includes stories based on stuff I’ve actually heard in disabled communities. If you’re sensitive to fatphobia, abelism, or discrimination against neurodivergent people, or antisemitism please skip ahead to next red text.)
If you walk in to they court room to claim your case? The judge will say you’re healthy enough to walk, then you’re healthy enough to work. If you say you’re too sick to come in, and decide to attend virtually? The judge will say you don’t care enough to come in, it must not mean that much to you.
If you’re fat and disabled? The judge will declare that your disability is your fault because you’re fat and therefore don’t take care of your health. The judge will say if you just lost weight, you wouldn’t be disabled anymore and deny you. (This person was in the peak of health, running every day, before their disability hit. The meds that they took for the chronic pain caused them to gain 30lbs, and they couldn’t run anymore because the main symptom was a cyst in their knee that kept bursting when they used it a lot.)
If you’re applying for disability and part of it involves joint pain, they’ll require a doctor to check you out. Now, because you’re disabled and can’t work, you can’t afford your own doctor, so you’ll get a court appointment doctor. Court appointment doctor will run tests to see the range of motion in your joints to see if you’re disabled enough. If you’re screaming in pain because it hurts too much? Doctor will say he can’t do his tests because it causes too much pain. Then the judge will deny you because the doctor couldn’t run tests.
If you’re neurodivergent, and therefore don’t express pain “the correct way”? The doctor will tell the judge obviously you’re not in that much pain and they’ll deny you.
Not to mention if you’re if any religion other than Christian? Like if you’re a Jewish person and accidentally wear a Star of David to your appointment? The doctor or judge could just be antisemitic and deny you.
These are real stories people have actually told me.
(Okay, you can stop skipping now. But the next paragraph is classist, so if you’re sensitive to that, skip the next paragraph too.)
Not to mention if the judge determines you can do “light work” they could deny you. I’ve seen a person apply for disability, part of that being “I can’t stand for extended periods of time.” The judge wrote in their file “This person can clearly do light work such as working for a maid service, working as a server, or working at a grocery store.” I’m NOT exaggerating. They let me read their file, and that’s EXACTLY what it said.
I should add I’M DISABLED. I’m obviously privileged in that I can still work. However, I’m in several groups for my disabilities, and I’ve heard several stories from people with the same health conditions as me when trying to apply for disability because their case is so severe they can’t work. (Some of these are from a sibling with different disabilities).
Point is, it’s hard enough to gain disability without being forced to jump through all these hoops to prove that you really need the financial assistance.
(I should add if you became disabled before the age of 22, you qualify for SSI which is reduced benefits from SSDI, and on SSI you have to be reevaluated every year to prove that you’re still unable to work, and if you’re lucky, one day, maybe, you’ll be allowed to apply for SSDI. Maybe. Perhaps. If you’re extremely lucky. The argument is you haven’t paid into the SSDI program enough to qualify.)
Point is. When you look at all of the hoops disabled people have to jump through to prove they’re “disabled enough”. That shit had to cost a fortune in tax dollars. I’m pretty sure it’d be cheaper to just give them their money by that point.
Anonymous asks are on. If you’ve applied for disability, were denied for ridiculous reasons, and feel comfortable letting me share? Please send in a submission or ask. It can be completely anonymous. I’ve seen some of the most ridiculous shit on denial paperwork.
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