Question and comments. My wife didn’t work enough re contributions to Social Security (but worked almost 20 years in child care). Back story. Her mother died when she was 16 and she had to take care of 4 younger sisters and one brother while her father was away on military missions during the 50’s, thus she got into the education and workforce later in life.
Now she has two bad hip joints and lower back problems, but doesn’t qualify for SS Disability. Can she get any help?
I’ve had a heart attack and cardiac arrest, and have only been working 75% time since 2002 due to budget cutbacks on the contract I’ve been under for many years. Part time jobs are hard when you are 67, have to travel 50 miles a day to a research job site, and have enough pains for the whole neighborhood to share.
I do get Social Security and a few dollars from investments (recently had to cash in some 401K for car repairs and preplanned medical treatment/crowns/bone graft & two implants). Still walking but not like I used to.
Haven’t applied for any disability and can’t afford Medicaid or whatever. Pay for my own insurance along with my company’s contributions (which are very fair). What do I qualify for down the line?
Getting old is a bitch so there is a definite need for reforms in our medical system, medicare, etc. Cutting down medical malpractice payments and caps on regular claims will help, but Obamacare is deliberately increasing our costs for treatments that our doctors could do in-house, instead of at the more expensive hospitals.
PS: another problem coming up Jan. 1 if Obama wins - Increased taxes on Dividends, from about 15% to 40%. If you live off of mutual funds/stocks/non-exempt bonds or have them as supplemental income, you are going to get screwed.
This is how Obama helps the Middle Class - he helps himself and his welfare voters to our badly needed money.
By all means lets reform Social Security so that those who have earned it or who have a condition that prevents them from working, can get it first. We are our brothers keepers but if we aren’t taken care of, we can’t help our brothers and sisters.
I think and pray that he'll reform the system so that those who've decided they don't need to work - and their benie's have run out, so they've jumped over to SS/disability - will be kicked out of the system...forcing them to take one of the 12M newly created jobs.
Something has to be done. Dims just keep expanding the program, to those who are able but too lazy to find work and those here illegally. Pubbies haven't done much better, but are the only ones we have who may be likely to fix this broken system.