In a medium sized town, I saw this sight---quickly took a picture and hurried to catch them.
I introduced myself---made the right comments---asked for the story.
She dragged her passenger to a talking place and they told me.
Then continued their treck.
I will summarize the story---then I want to ask you a question.
They are brother and sister (names and town withheld) and they live in the nearby woods in a tent---for 2 weeks of the month. For two weeks they stay in a motel: cost: $500. He injured his ankle some days ago and she padded the cart with cardboard for these outings. They are on their way to churches to ask for assistance. Now here's the shocker: He gets SSI disability income of $900 a month. (mental) She gets $200 in food stamps. Both smoke (roll your own) cigaretts: total cost: $100 a month. Their money never lasts the month and so they go begging.
Now dear reader: How would you have society respond to these (literal) basket cases? I'll tell you in a day or two what I think.
Even so, they live in wretchedness---OF THE MENTAL KIND. They both feel victimized---take no responsibility for their situation and are indeed a "bottomless pit" that no well meaning government program can fill---regardless how much money we dump into them. In this---the right wingers are correct. (Oprah gave a bum $10,000 and predictably he blew it quickly)
I think their benefits should be reduced to about $400 --- That amount of money would put some URGENCY into their life----would stimulate some CREATIVITY---some hustle, some challenge, some zest. Rats deprived of easy food become very active searchers. The trick is to find a balance between indulgence and unconcern. (creative deprivation)
If he gets $900, it's SSDI, not SSI. The federal SSI payment is $721/month. They should be living in a subsidized apartment with that much money. The cheapest places charge 30% of income. mental health agencies help people get into this kind of housing.
ReplyDeleteI get $721/month SSI and $98/month food stamps. I am in a flat rate subsidized apartment for $515/month. I WISH I was as rich as these folks! I am a disabled senior in a power wheelchair. Something is not right with these people. Probably a lot more to the story.
I think they probably drink or use drugs and a lot of their money is wasted on that... Subsidized housing here is based on income, a nice apt can be as little as 25-30 % of your income...so that leaves the rest for utilities and food stamps fill in the rest, and there is meals on wheels for seniors. Some people do not want a decent life. In order to live on a small income budgeting skills are a necessity.
ReplyDeleteShould to be easy to find about 45 million more stories just like them. Living off the Government dole is the new American normal.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: He said that California adds money to its SSI recipients in certain situations---like if they do not have a kitchen. Anyway I trust the figure is close to correct----and it is a damn shame that they cannot enjoy life on so much free money.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad only pays about $350 a month (electric and heat included in price) he adds cable and then his land line phone is $9 month for a nice apartment, well maintained in a suburban area, its subsidized housing. Someone needs to help them apply, unless these people don't want this help.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad only pays about $350 a month (electric and heat included in price) he adds cable and then his land line phone is $9 month for a nice apartment, well maintained in a suburban area, its subsidized housing. Someone needs to help them apply, unless these people don't want this help.
ReplyDeleteWe need to respond with educating these people.
ReplyDeleteThere is more than enough help out there for these people and many more like them. The problem is they don't know how to go about getting the help they need. At 10,800 per year this man is under the federal poverty rate and is entitled to many more benefits than what he is receiving.He can get medicaid, food stamps, subsidized housing, free cell phone, just to name a few.Help is there for them, they just don't know how to get it.
To bail out our government debt our banks will take over all savings accounts, pension plans, 401k, gold, and silver just to pay the interest. All unemployed citizens will be on basic subsistence.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me society has responded. $1100/mo. Maybe more education on what other options are available to them. Which they may or may not already be aware of. But then how do you teach people to make wise choices? That's the challenge.
ReplyDeleteThat's more than enough to live on. And I'm not sure I should be paying it anyways (through taxes).
ReplyDeleteAnd there are many people who just don't know how to budget their money. No matter how much you give 'em, no matter how many programs you come up with, there will always be people who will live like this.
I say let the churches and the other groups take care of them. The taxpayer has had enough.
"I introduced myself---made the right comments---asked for the story."
ReplyDeleteRandy, I am amazed that you always get the story. I would like to know what it is that you do say to them. What are the right comments?
To anonymous: How do I get the story?
ReplyDeleteIn this case I caught up to them--smiled and said: "Hey, that's a cool arrangement---can I get a picture?" I asked the guy if he was comfortable in there? He said yes--that the sister had put lots of cardboard padding.
My big secret in eliciting stories, I think, is the power of my attention. I really know how to listen (taught to me by a Zen monk in Santa Fe, NM) I build the flow of my questions on their previous answer demonstrating a real curiosity about them. People are so rarely the focus of someone's attention that they open up like a spring flower.
Randy,
ReplyDeleteGood job of identifying 2 of the 45 million on welfare. With little knowledge of how these people get to this point, your communication skills are lacking on a grand scale. My guess is they got kicked out of HUD subsidized place because they were either rolling more tan tobacco or were total slobs and failed multiple HUD inspections which resulted in them getting kicked off HUD, and losing those benefits, but still allowed them to get SSDI and food stamps. Your comments should be vetted by SS employees or SSD recipients because most people actually work for a living unlike these people. Just out of curiosity did U actually see that guy get out of his shopping cart with his injured appendage or take their word? How does one get out of that kind of high sided device without re-injury? did U ask that simple question?
Thanks, Randy, for explaining how you get the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big proponent of the "Housing First" model for dealing with homelessness.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_First Not only is it the most humane program of its type, it is also proving to be one of the most cost effective for taxpayers by cutting down on the need for emergency services, incarceration, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis program has been very successful in the states and municipalities that have implemented it. Sadly, I think the majority of Americans are too hateful to support this on a wider scale even though it would ultimately save money and reduce crime.
Thanks for this info Pam, it is nice to see a program that can be that successful. I have often thought that "tiny homes" (a recent simple living craze) would be useful here. I was once on a Board of directors of a housing program and was appalled at how much money was spent to build "low income housing".
ReplyDeleteVtChris, I love the idea of the Tiny Homes for this type of program. After Katrina, one of the big home improvement stores (I think it was Lowes) partnered with a tiny house designer to create affordable, somewhat mass-produced kits for beautiful small homes called Katrina Cottages. I had high hopes for something like that being picked up by the Housing First programs.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link for the Katrina cottages. http://katrinacottagehousing.org/
Hi Randy,
ReplyDeleteGood story and some sad replies:
"I think they probably drink or use drugs and a lot of their money is wasted on that"
"Some people do not want a decent life."
"it is a damn shame that they cannot enjoy life on so much free money."
"I say let the churches and the other groups take care of them."
Rather than trying to understand the tremendous difficulties of mental illness, some people would rather ignore it, blame, or shift the problem to others. There is no single or simple solution for mental illness or poverty, but a starting point might be a bit of compassion for our fellow human beings. Americans eagerly spent nearly a trillion dollars in a phoney war for oil and greed, but some don't have a moment or dollar for a mentally ill person in their own neighborhood.
Yes, I have struggled with mental illness. With treatment and understanding I have resumed as a productive member of society. Without the help that I received, that could be me homeless and pushing the grocery cart.
Steve (the bleeding-heart liberal Canadian)
Beautifully said anonymous---and so true. Thanks for putting the issue in perspective.
ReplyDeleteI am a bedwetting liberal, but there was a fascinating TED talk by Jonathan Haidt a professor at U of Va a few years back. He did studies on the five moral cultural universals: Fairness, Care, Respect for Authority, Loyalty to the Group and Purity. These five moral topics exist across all human societies, worldwide.
ReplyDeleteWhen asked liberals tended to self place themselves high on topics like "fairness and care", while not surprisingly conservatives self placed themselves high on "Authority, Purity and Group Loyalty (ie, the flag, country etc)". Liberals have little time for the later three, except for purity. Liberal purity today is environmentally rather than religiously based, ie; eating "pure" food, doing Yoga and putting only "pure" things on your body, and having "pure" politically correct thoughts.
Haidt found its not that Conservatives don't care at all or have no sense of fairness, rather they say its fundamentally unfair for people like the ones Randy interviewed to not have to pay the full price of their "bad life choices", whatever they might be. This coddling and nannying of the weak fundamentally weakens our society, they would argue.
Haidt says we are locked in a moral "Matrix", that neither side can see anything but its own arguments and its own 'truth'. I read the comments here and I try to step out of my liberal matrix, but find it hard. Do we really want to go back to a world of shoeless children on our streets, famine and pestilence? I see the need for a vibrant economy and hard work but have little time for the Protestant work ethic. Life is short, after all...
I wanted to come back and read your rebuttal...surely only if they seek help will they get it! EVEN if you took them to the DSS yourself, they would be unable to conform to the stringent regiment of keeping those benefits as one commentor stated HUD etc. treatment for the mentally challenged has been almost erased in this country! Try finding a decent facility for your loved one who has dementia? As I have been involved in recently...Nursing homes bunch together every sort..it it not a good way to solve problems..community based help is the best way to go to really understand the needs and deliver the best solutions.
ReplyDeleteDr Dave: You take my breath away: Are there really people out there so reasonable? Thank you for the succinct clarity of stating the issue. I agree with Haidt's analysis. I heard professor Haidt discussing his book and speculating why some of us rank fairness above care etc. He said that ultimately there may be genetic influence at work---dividing liberals from conservatives.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, I think the ultimate solution will lie in technology generating super abundance for a downsized human population.
There was a time when salt was considered precious--traded ounce for ounce with gold. (in Timbuktu) Now we can afford to give it to whomever craves it. Item by item we will eventually eliminate shortages---in housing---clothing--food---medical care--education and even entertainment.
Greed will be seen for the mental illness that it was.
Sondra: I agree: It is too much to ask basket-case people to navigate government forms and regulations.
ReplyDeleteIt may also be too much for basket-case people to handle money wisely.
The obvious solution is to give such people DIRECT SERVICES: food to anyone hungry etc. Or some other system that realistically deals with people where they are.
Hello, I have yet to see a sign on a liberals yard, bumper or shirt that says " I care deeply about your plight and will help you out if you ask or knock" When it comes to using tax dollars these people get on some moral social justice fairness caring high horse. When it comes to using THEIR money or opening THEIR house to these so called basket cases they are all lip service. $10800/yr is the average income for a person on earth, this guy could live a great life in over half the countries on earth, I am pretty certain he could still collect the check living in another country.
ReplyDeleteRandy, what did you mean when you said: the solution is in "generating super abundance for a downsized population."
ReplyDeleteHow do you see a population being downsized? Is that a solution that falls into the Ebola camp or the "unnecessary eaters" scenario of the world's 1% billionaires? Wondering it you could be more specific on that.
Randy, you are an over privileged and educated white guy and should not be judging these folks. You are part of the reason there is such disparity. Another exploitation blog post by you. shame shame shame.
ReplyDelete