The plight of the good ABAWD denied assistance

[3DOCTORS]

I just read that my home state, Kansas, is going to let the exception for food stamps expire on October 1st for ABAWDs (Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents). The government officials claim it’s to decrease welfare dependency. So all of a sudden these single people are supposed to miraculously come up with a job or enroll in some kind of training program - I’ll get to why the latter also bothers me in a minute.

This really makes me heartsick, because there is such a stereotype out there that just because you are a single adult you are automatically some kind of criminal scamming the system. This is an incorrect and unfair stereotype. There are scammers in all demographics - and good people trying to get by in all demographics as well. I was one of them while awaiting my Social Security Disability to be approved, as well as at other times when I was unable to find a job. Not for years and years in the past, and I didn’t trade my food stamps for drugs or alcohol. I survived with their help. I was very grateful for the help I received.

Now of course I don’t want to see families and kids deprived of food and realize this is one of those difficult to solve dilemmas.

The problem is that not everyone is a good fit for a job - before I was approved for disability, I frequently “fell through the cracks” - my psychological issues made it darn near impossible a lot of the time even to know what jobs to apply for; I applied for some I knew I wouldn’t get and others that even if I got them I would not be able to do them. My experiences (3 in all) with state Vocational Rehabilitation were basically that they could give me aptitude tests but isince I had phobias and memory problems I wouldn’t be able to do the jobs the tests said I could do.

And I believe there are many people like me in similar Catch-22s. If only there were some way to bust the true scammers without hurting the people who are truly struggling.

I’ll tell you another thing. I have practiced chastity for decades, but if I had gone and gotten myself in a relationship with a wife-beater, gotten pregnant out of wedlock, etc., then I would have been eligible for all kinds of aid from multiple sources. I’m not saying don’t forgive the sinner, don’t try to help, and I certainly don’t want a woman feeling pressured into abortion.

All I can do is vent. And try to make people think more than one side to every story. I hope this thread won’t be full of uncharitable replies just because I’m sticking my neck out here.

 

[Petaro]

It is a very difficult decision for a government as to how far to set a safety net and who to exclude whilst maintaining budgetary prudence. A lot of Americans are set on smaller government and see any socialism as an evil intrusion in the capitalistic market forces which should balance out in society’s favour. Other countries as in Europe have gone far too far and are in economic crisis as a result.
Where government becomes a default charity, it runs the risk of encouraging fraud and people who prefer to live on government relief. There of course will always be cases, such as yourself, where people will fall between the cracks due entirely to the need for some equity based administrative decision outside of individual assessment which is the basis of private charity.
Australia has just set up a National Disability Insurance Scheme, so far ill defined and uncosted. However, most Australians see it as a move towards the equitable treatment of the disabled by an affluent caring society. It will of course be defrauded by some who look for every way to cheat and steal; but this minority will be weeded out eventually and many needy people will have a social safety net whilst being encouraged to work and live fully in a just society. We however have not been in recession for over thirty years, and our economy is growing as it has every year over the last three decades. It is harder for governments in debt to be generous in their social policies.
Every change in social benefits always causes outrage from people, some who expect too much; others that have greater need. But America has a massive trillion dollar debt and is walking blindfold towards a fiscal cliff that your pollies refuse to act on, as unpopular austerity measures are required to balance the national budget. Whilst this situation exists nationally, it is difficult to blame individual states for attempting prudent revisions of social services.
I am pleased to hear your personal circumstances have improved since falling within the definitions of specific disability policy.