Fun fact: One of the where it all began moments was Ronald Reagan’s 1976 speeches about Linda Taylor, the alleged welfare queen who defrauded social security. To quote Reagan:
She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veterans’ benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands. And she’s collecting Social Security on her cards. She’s got Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names. Her tax-free cash income alone is over $150,000.
Except she didn’t.
Linda Taylor was not a kind soul, and was, indeed, defrauding the social security system, but had four aliases and was getting about 8,000 in annual benefits, far from the royal amounts accused by presidential candidate Reagan. ($8k is about $42K in 2024 dollars, so not exactly a robust regal living for what is a fuckton of paperwork).
As someone who’s on SSDI and might be committing fraud to pay my rent, my disposable income is less than it was in 1990 when I was entirely legit, only then my rent was about 40% of my income, and now it’s 89%. I’m having to save for replacement appliances and am skipping brunches even though I’m supposed to – according to parents and psychiatrists – be getting out for social contact, for which I am instead relying overmuch on 988.
And I’ll be losing SNAP on November 10th, which means I’m just fucked. I am stocking up on noodle cups and pantry-stable foods, since I don’t know how I’m going to survive and still pay rent, unless some sociopolitical miracles happen.
I’m half hoping that we are, indeed, three skipped meals away from revolution as I don’t want to be skipping too many meals or dying of malnutrition. As I said, sociopolitical miracles.
Agree on Reagan, of course. Sorry about the SNAP - feeding your citizens (and giving a handout to farmers at the same time) is such a no brainer that it’s my go-to when trying to convince folks that Cruelty is the Point with these policies.
Consider your local foodbank. We, and I’m sure others too, see SNAP disappearing and donated what we could split between state and local food banks. I don’t know what else we could do right now. Except stock up some more on bulk dry rice and beans
Fun fact: One of the where it all began moments was Ronald Reagan’s 1976 speeches about Linda Taylor, the alleged welfare queen who defrauded social security. To quote Reagan:
She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veterans’ benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands. And she’s collecting Social Security on her cards. She’s got Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names. Her tax-free cash income alone is over $150,000.
Except she didn’t.
Linda Taylor was not a kind soul, and was, indeed, defrauding the social security system, but had four aliases and was getting about 8,000 in annual benefits, far from the royal amounts accused by presidential candidate Reagan. ($8k is about $42K in 2024 dollars, so not exactly a robust regal living for what is a fuckton of paperwork).
As someone who’s on SSDI and might be committing fraud to pay my rent, my disposable income is less than it was in 1990 when I was entirely legit, only then my rent was about 40% of my income, and now it’s 89%. I’m having to save for replacement appliances and am skipping brunches even though I’m supposed to – according to parents and psychiatrists – be getting out for social contact, for which I am instead relying overmuch on 988.
And I’ll be losing SNAP on November 10th, which means I’m just fucked. I am stocking up on noodle cups and pantry-stable foods, since I don’t know how I’m going to survive and still pay rent, unless some sociopolitical miracles happen.
I’m half hoping that we are, indeed, three skipped meals away from revolution as I don’t want to be skipping too many meals or dying of malnutrition. As I said, sociopolitical miracles.
Agree on Reagan, of course. Sorry about the SNAP - feeding your citizens (and giving a handout to farmers at the same time) is such a no brainer that it’s my go-to when trying to convince folks that Cruelty is the Point with these policies.
Consider your local foodbank. We, and I’m sure others too, see SNAP disappearing and donated what we could split between state and local food banks. I don’t know what else we could do right now. Except stock up some more on bulk dry rice and beans