“Leadership is a privilege
to better the lives of others.
It is not an opportunity to satisfy
personal greed.” (Mwai Kibak
former President of Kenyan)
Sunday night on the TV show 60 Minutes I saw a segment on persons with disabilities receiving social security supplement income, SSI or SSID. The numbers of claims for such help as increased significantly in five years which sounds normal in a declining economy for low income persons. However, the focus of the segment was not on how the poor are growing poorer but how some persons without disabilities may be receiving Federal income.
I have noticed that over the last 10 years it is harder and harder for persons with disabilities to qualify for SSI. The implication of the show was that more and more persons without serious disabilities, just poor and out of work are receiving benefits with the help of smart lawyers who receive payment from the government for the application. I am sure there is fraud in the system but I doubt it is nothing compared to the fraud and profiteering of Wall Street the last five years.
I thought it odd that in this time of increasing disparity of income between rich and poor that ‘60 Minutes’ would focus on the poor struggling to survive.
Social Security Income for disabled is about 500 −800 dollars a month while the rich probably make that per hour on their investments, money making money.
The other day I read an article how Democratic Administration might be, with help of media, setting the table for a budget cut in SSI and SSI payments in some sort of deal with the Republicans. The article gave examples from the liberal media about this focusing on the poor not reach who do not need any SSI from government. Are we being prepared for another round of greed, taking from the poor to give more money to rich?
As part of our Treasurers report of our St. Vincent De Paul conference, established to serve the poor without judgment, a member focused on possible hustling of us by changing names when calling in for help. If a Doctor or Lawyer makes some minor defraud of the system we deal with the particular individual but not the whole group. However, when a poor individual plays the system for a little more we tend to categorize all poor persons.
I tried to find the article tonight about how government, Democrats and liberal media might be setting us up to justify a cut in the Federal payments to those with disabilities. It sure smells that way. The American Dream has changed from providing for oneself and family with house, car, education and providing opportunities for next generation to one of getting what you can get, taking the short term benifts and let the next generation suffer the consequences. We have moved from a society of opportunity to one of greed.
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