[update- march 4, 2009- there is evidently a 250 extra payment for some persons on ssi and veterans- i've tried to find out exact details but kinda hazy. at least its not in mixed up tax refund and my estranged husband can't get his hands on it, like he took my stimulus in 2008.... but, alas, i am not holding my breath. i know it sounds greedy of me, but the rise in inflation and decrease in non-profit ngo help available, including decreasing amounts in food box contents- due to reduced amounts of people who can manage to donate and increased amount of people needing extra help- have made things very difficult. i've been against gambling all my life but i find myself buying scratch tickets when i get groceries, as an investment, not an entertainment....the only chance to get anything extra...] I have loooked and loooked at the stimulus package and there is help for ppl able to work and have jobs, ppl able to work who are unemployed, ppl in school, but no direct help for the disabled who cannot wolrk and are on SSI, SSD, or VA Disability. looks like you have to earn a certain amount before you are "really" affected by the recession/depression... No refund or refundable credit on taxes, as it says a percentage of taxes or 500, whichever is LESS, and i guess "zero" is less. i dunno bout the rest of the ppl on disability, but the folks i know living at a fraction of the poverty level are smacked down by this recession/depression pretty darn bad, especially w state benefit and assistance cuts, shortages at foodbanks and depletion of community sources of assistance
i guess we just don't really matter to the new pres and dems... after all my partner and i make a combined total of 900 a month and only were able to donate about 70 dollars over the course of the campaigns, so we don't count...
We moved into Sandyville about 10 years ago ,into a rental down the street ,this was just after we had hit a all time financial low because I had injured my back and became disabled, My husband worked and was supposed to be securely employed after 17 years ,and I finally got BWC to start paying me , we had a decent living . So we bought a home around the corner from our rental , well we really thought we where secure. his job of 22 years and my BWC income what could go wrong.
My husband had injured his back 10 years earlier but kept working because they where taking care of it, But when it started to get worse after 10 years I guess his employer didn't want to be responsible , and laid him off permanently. He continued to look for work but his doctor told him not to get his hopes up because his abilities would be limited, we didn't want to recognize what we already knew ,that he was headed down the road I had just got off of. We finally had to recognize it after he got the job of his dreams great pay and benefits and a Union , but got let go after 3 weeks because he couldn't keep up the pace.
Well now he has had to apply for SSD which he has earned he worked all his life, but they haven't approved it ,they already turned him down once , he has no other income. and workers comp wont pay because they passed a law saying they wont pay for wear and tear for a previous injury. They said they couldn't discern that his back was worse because of an injury that happened ten years earlier, which was crap because he was being treated the whole time so he could continue to work.
For the last 2 years we have been trying to keep our existence from being foreclosed on and the 3 of us feed clothed and healthy with my income only, from BWC, and they don't keep up with the cost of inflation, its just a little more than SSI ,
We filled our income tax this year because he worked 3 weeks last year and we don't even get the stimulus package because he didn't make 3000.00 dollars he was just 250.00 short , and they wont count my income in one of their disability loo polls , even though my income is the household income and 3 people have to live on it.
Well I'm not complaining to much this is going on everywhere, and at least we haven't lost our home yet ,all I'm saying is when you think whats going on in America is in the next town or state don't look that far because its happening right next door.
We need New Rules something Bill Maure would say. to prevent employers from throwing away loyal employees like old dogs.
We need to be able to still live if we become injured or disable after working all our lives, but not old enough to reach our retirement.
Both my husband and I have paid taxes for years and shouldn't be left out of this stimulus package. I was really expecting it to come in and was counting on it to pay our home Insurance and next years land taxes, until I found out yesterday after calling the IRS we didn't QUIALFY.
Whats wrong with this picture. to much of Bushes policies and Bushes inner circle of friends making all the money and decisions.
Leaving America to broke to help the people that was the backbone of this country.
Their is the war in Iraq and the war he didn't tell us about, The war on the middle class.
Obama has my vote for sure
