Who can tell me sth about the American Dream

[Ernestine]

Well it's probably really stupid to make my board debut in the middle of a heated thread but then - why try to be something I'm not, eh?

Marichiko, although my definition of the American Dream (nod to topic) is closer to Lookout's than yours, I feel your frustration and add my two cents accordingly. I have someone in my life who was on Ohio SSDI for several years -$550/month plus medicare/medicaid. It is not a government handout but insurance that we all pay into when we are working and healthy. There should be no more stigma attached to collecting on social security disability insurance than there is for submitting a claim against car insurance. He is now working part-time at WalMart for 6.75/hour so the SSDI checks have stopped but he still gets the medicare/medicaid. It's a good thing he does because his monthly cost for medication is $314. He has schizophrenia and couldn't possibly work without the medication so it's almost a Catch22 situation.

I don't want to derail this thread with too much talk about socialized medicine but the idea has been put forth here that people wouldn't need disability insurance or medicare if they lived careful, seat belted, apple eating lives. That simply isn't true. The number one reason for government funded SSDI is schizophrenia, a disease that strikes young people without reason or known cause. I think the number of people collecting it because they led reckless lives are a very small percentage.

Welcome, Ernestine! I've never discussed social issues with a basset hound before. I bet you have some interesting takes on things.

Your comments on schizophrenia are so right on and thank you for also stating the reality of SSDI payments in Ohio (which match those in the rest of the country).

Your friend is very fortunate that his schizophrenia is not so profound that he can't work even with the medication. I know several people with schizophrenia who draw eiher SSI or SSDI and even with their meds function only with the greatest difficulty. One, especially, is one of the sweetest kindest persons you could ever hope to meet. He'll let people who have nowhere else to go stay at his place - stuff like that. Yet he is so delusional, even with his meds. He thinks that he built the entire city of Colorado Springs and that he played in the band with the Beatles. He lives on that $550 a month plus $140 in food stamps. Needless to say, by the middle of the month his food stamps have been used up and he must walk 4 miles each way to the local soup kitchen because he is afraid of the strangers who ride the city bus system (which is worthless, anyhow, and too expensive for someone who gets so little money).

Many of the homeless people on this country's streets are schizophrenic. They can't navigate the SSI system on their own and don't understand or are afraid of the people in the agencies who might give them help. These people break my heart, but the rest of my fellow Americans view them with callous disregard.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Ernestine

Well it's probably really stupid to make my board debut in the middle of a heated thread but then - why try to be something I'm not, eh?

Hell yeah, jump right in and welcome to the Cellar.

He is now working part-time at WalMart for 6.75/hour so the SSDI checks have stopped but he still gets the medicare/medicaid. It's a good thing he does because his monthly cost for medication is $314. He has schizophrenia and couldn't possibly work without the medication so it's almost a Catch22 situation.

Damn, schizophrenia and WalMart! That's double jeopardy.

I don't want to derail this thread with too much talk about socialized medicine but the idea has been put forth here that people wouldn't need disability insurance or medicare if they lived careful, seat belted, apple eating lives. That simply isn't true. The number one reason for government funded SSDI is schizophrenia, a disease that strikes young people without reason or known cause. I think the number of people collecting it because they led reckless lives are a very small percentage.

Two separate topics, socialized medicine and disability ins/medicare.
In Marichiko's case, it was the result of something that's easily preventable. If her Mother (landlord) or the management company if there was one, had done the proper maintenance of the heating system, this wouldn't have happened.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

In Marichiko's case, it was the result of something that's easily preventable. If her Mother (landlord) or the management company if there was one, had done the proper maintenance of the heating system, this wouldn't have happened.

Just a second public service announcement to anyone who might still be riding this roller coaster thread :

At the time my Mother was married to her second husband, a man who extremely frugal (read:cheapskate), and cut corners on EVERYTHING. He serviced my furnace himself even though he had zero background in the area of home heating work. Thanks to his incompetant tinkering, the furnace burned improperly. The moral of the story is that there are certain things you shouldn't do yourself, no matter how bright you think you might be. Home furnace repair is one of those things.