Livable Income …

What do you consider a livable income? How much does a family that is disabled need to make it? Why are those the ones that have to suffer?

This may sound like a stupid question today but this is one that you need to read … I am hoping that you will!

In the way that the State of Washington is run and the US Government is run it seems to be that those who are disabled are being punished. This can be shown in an easy way. The information I will be using is what a person that I know has to deal with for a family of two.

The city that they live in is just outside Seattle. They live in an apartment, have a cat, and ride the bus. Their apartment complex has a 1.6 rating out of a scale of 1 – 5. Their monthly total rent including pet fee and water sewer and garbage is almost $1400.00.

When one of the people in the family was working they made $13.00 per hour Gross {please remember that}. With that amount, the other person loses their SSI ($750.00 per month) and their medical through the SSI program. The rent assistance program that they go through makes their rent approx $650.00 per month.

The person loses their job due to challenges that they are having due to their disability. They have to go onto Unemployment and their other half is told that ‘The person who gets Unemployment and Veteran’s benefits makes too much Gross  for them to get their SSI back’.

Let’s do some math right now. As you can see I keep putting the word Gross in Italics – this is the reason why. Everything that SSI, the housing assistance, food assistance and every other type of assistance says it goes off the Gross income.

The Veteran gets $275.00 (using approximate amounts to protect the person) per month. They were getting $310.00 per week (again approximate) gross on unemployment. This totals to $1515.00 Gross per month. When they working the person got $13.00 per hour and worked about 35 hours a week so their monthly Gross  income was $2095.00.

So when they were working the United States Social Security Department felt that for a family of 2 that $2095.00 before taxes is enough to live on.

When the person was on Unemployment the United States Social Security Department felt for a family of 2 that $1515.00  before taxes is enough to live on.

Then you add in the standard bills of rent ($650.00) internet and phone ($120.00) cell phone due to contract ($145.00) and household items.

They get $175.00 in food assistance when the person goes on Unemployment.

Are you still with me? I hope so…

When the person who was getting the Unemployment runs out of that and hasn’t gotten a job – they have been told that they are ‘not qualified’ for just about every job they try for. Their health is failing so they decide to try to get on SSDI and get their other half’s SSI back.

Social Security tells them that it has been over a year and therefore the person will need to reapply and then it will take about 6 months for a decision.

The State of Washington says that since they have no kids that they can’t get cash assistance due to the fact that they make too much in the Veteran’s benefits to qualify. They are told that the total that the state would help them with is $248.00 per month for a family of two with no kids while they are trying to get on SSDI and SSI.

The housing group drops their portion of their rent to $150.00 per month but they still have as part of the rent the w/s/g and pet fee to pay so it is actually $250.00. They are getting $350 in food assistance.

Anyone frustrated yet? 

This is what is happening to the people in the State of Washington who have been willing to serve the Armed Services and tried to work. They are being punished. At this time they are still waiting for an answer on the SSI and are having to appeal the SSDI denial due to the fact that the VA Medical Center has been slow with paperwork and so Social Security chose to deny them and they are having to apply.

Is this what the country feels is OK for the people who don’t have a silver spoon in their mouth?