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In Southeast Kentucky I know families on “disability” or welfare that are now looking at three and four generations of being on the tit and they don’t care one bit to try and guilt you for getting upset with them. They will call you un-Christian is you dare say anything about their sorry mooching behinds.

They will spend every last penny they get on lotto tickets, cigarettes, and booze or drugs when the eagle craps each month then head to the local food pantries and beg for food. My father served on the board of one of these food pantries the community and churches donate too and him and another board member were asked to investigate a family requesting help with their utility bills in the 1980’s. Between the five of them in the house, which was paid for and a car they owned free and clear they were drawing nearly $4500 a month clear in government checks and food stamps as well.

I drove my Dad and the other fellow to this residence where they were investigating and when we pulled up it was a dump, just not taken care of because of laziness. Not having the money to fix something is one thing, your yard and porch looking like a trash dump is just lazy. My Dad and the other guy waded through a porch full of beer cans and two or three fifty gallon drums were sitting on the porch full of empty beer cans and empty cigarette cartons laying everywhere. They talked to them about 10-15 minutes and walked out. When they got to the car my Dad said no way, not one red cent, scrap of food or piece of clothing for these mooches ever! The other guy said I agree, if I had $4500 and food stamps I would live like a king and eat steak twice a week!

I have a friend who was teaching a high school class recently and was asking kids getting ready to graduate what they wanted to do with their lives and future kids and one girl said I am already on disability, my mom and grandma are and it’s my duty to get my kids on it as well!

I had the miss fortune of working as an SSI investigator right out of college for a year. The most common aliment, “I have bad nerves” or “my back hurts” big healthy strapping 18 year old punks just too lazy to work. If I could disqualify them on financial grounds I would every time, but once they got their case past me to the doctors it was out of my hands. And you could bet the house payment that if one person in a marriage got disability the other half would show up within six months with the same disability!

I remember two cases where I actually was happy to help people applying, one was a young girl who’s mom was a single working mom just getting by and the girl had graduated high school and was going to go to college and a drunk driver hit her and turned her into a near vegetable in a nursing home, I felt so bad for that mom applying.

The other was a couple in their late 70’s who showed up in their Sunday best. He had worked off their farm a little and drew about $400 in social security retirement and the wife was a housewife. They had made their living mainly on their farm. He was unable to work it like he had before and their prescriptions were biting into their $400 livelihood. They owned their house, a ten year old car and had $3000 each to bury one another and $1500 in a savings/checking account. All they wanted was the Medicaid card to help with their prescriptions, no money, didn’t want to be a burden. When I told them they were eligible they were tickled and very grateful. Then I told the gentleman he would get a check for about $300 in addition to his monthly social security check and the lady a check for around $800 monthly. They didn’t want it and tried not to accept it. I finally told them it came with the Medicaid card in their case. They were constantly thanking me as they walked out of the meeting, grateful and thankful. Only two cases where I thought any of them deserved help.

I quit this job after a year, when he office manager said we were not signing up enough people on SSI and we were going to start advertising, this was in the early 90’s and each month in our district alone SS/SSI paid out nearly $6 million dollars monthly. I went back and got my graduate degree.