Money Matters - Part 12

I encounter disabled people in my work every day too. I do wish we had a better way to handle people whose disability is because they drink or do drugs. However, even this is at least 60 % affected by genes, so the rest of us can be happy about our family history.

The manner in which SSI disability determination is done deserves a better look because its usually based upon a half hour interview and a record review. I could do that work if I moonlighted, but i don't want the responsibility. I can tell you that I do not rely upon the SSI diagnosis but i ask about it anyway just to see how close they are to what I know for my work in the courts. It's the criminals whose information is the most divergent from apparent reality. The good news is that law inforcement is always trying to lock those guys up for their crimes, and there are some truly dedicted probation and parole officers who are onto them.

The genetic basis for drug and alcohol abuse is a hotly debated topic. I do not believe it is anywhere near settled yet. And it's not just that. It's the people who get some injury on the job who want to milk it into a permanent disability check. Also, these days, it's obese people claiming disability for their problems which are a result of their life choices.

There's something screwed up about getting an injury due to a specific job meaning you should get paid forever and NOT have another job. Don't we have OSHA and regs to keep workplaces from being overly dangerous?

If my only skill is running a cash register, and I get carpal tunnel syndrome from doing it too much, can I get disability? Isn't it my fault for not having or finding any other skills?

It's more than that. Sometimes people do get an injury that prevents them from doing the job they were doing. But they seek total disability - meaning they cannot do ANY job. That is despicable.

I believe the debate about genes and substance abuse is mostly about how much is affected by genes, but most say it's between 40-60% and that is the SAMSA figure. It's apparently genetic that some people can tolerate more alcohol than others, and the more a person can "hold their liquor" the more potential there is for addiction.

Different disability insurances also affect whether a person would want to claim a partial disability or not.

It's always a problem when a person decides to fake "bad." If a person is exaggerating a symptom it is not easy to tell. This is at the crux of what I do for a living. If I'm not sure, I still have the option to send someone to a psychiatric hospital so it is easier to decide if they are faking using tests and observation.

Well speaking from personal familial experience, predisposition does not equal disability nor disease. My very large maternal family has its share of alcoholics. They still ate the minority, luckily. So choice, control, etc., plays a large part. Siblings, who have the same predisposition, have totally different outcomes.

I believe only doctors can/should determine level of disability. And the patient's insurance should have no influence on what the doctor determines. It's not up to the patient to choose his level of disability!

I am considered a doctor but a determination is done after reading MD reports. Most MDs would not want to work for such low pay, and it's even low pay for me to do the eligibility determinations because I would try to do it carefully. I'm not saying the insurance affects the doctors, but it might affect what someones motivations might be to exaggerate their illness.

Genetics never completely control us, thankfully, but they do stack the deck, and it's a mistake to think behavioral conditions are much different than diabetes or other medical conditions. This battle for parity in insurance for psychiatric conditions was a long and hard battle.

Saw headline today, teacher in my lovely state gets to keep her job after slapping a special ed student...I couldn't even read the article, just ticks me off to no end!!!!!!!!!!!!

why are gas prices going up?


anyone see the comment from the prez that if you are a business owner it was government that built your business and not you? really? hmmmm

Yes - and I will refrain from commenting.

Interesting ~ I missed that but am reminded of DHs' comment about all the taxing entities make more out of our small business than we do and they don't even show up to make the coffee.

Why are gas prices climbing?

you can go make all the comments you want on my fb page ^_^

Yet another solar startup that received tax dollars has gone under. This one got ONLY 20 million.

geez

Did we talk about useless licenses once?
Rading about rain barrels, I see reference to the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association. and their courses fort accreditation
http://www.rainharvest.com/arcsa-rainwater-harvesting-certification-courses-level-300.asp?bc=no
Is that not rediculous???

A rare earnings miss from Apple today. Look for the losses to continue tomorrow.

Guess that's certified to install a rain barrel system? pretty soon only licensed professionals will be able to do so they'll need a business license and have to pay the state and fed gov every year, and then if you install it yourself you'll get fined

I have no $ in stock market so makes no diff to me

No 401 (k), no pension, no insurance (non-term), no annuities?? Nothing? Mattress?

Gasoline has gone up 10% or more in the last 3 weeks.

I have some political remarks I could make regarding the Colorado shootings, but this is not the place.

Apple was down 5.5% in overnight trading. More to follow tomorrow?

Darius, I read your blog post about the shootings. It was very thought provoking.

never been a fan of apple

where's your blog Darius?

Why the heck did they fire her?

He had an EBT card (federal welfare type card) she did not sell him cigaretts as she felt it was not right. The cash EBT card is used for items NEEDED like soap, shampoo, laundry detergent etc.

EBT card food - you can only by FOOD, you cant buy a can of dog food. You cant buy prepared foods.
EBT CASH card for neccessitys - You can buy what ever you want.

In NY they are screaming over this as strip clubs have put in machines where they can use the Federally funded card to see ladies in the raw!!!

A person that is getting federal help should be able to by stuff for pleasure! Working people pay for this and its just So Not Right.

agree, they should use their own $

Darius, checked out the blog, we had some of the same thoughts

Gotta love this:

"...a federally-funded Oklahoma Job Corps program spent around $76,000 per person to help youth secure minimum wage jobs."

There's something seriously wrong in this country, and I cannot really point anywhere to a culprit. It's so myriad in complexity that we'll never untangle it.

I've been reading some of the alternatives to our current Republic. None make me happy, but neither does the current Republic.

Have any of you thought about where to draw the line and finally stand up?

We're well past my line.

Unemployment rate in Spain for those under 25 is 53%!! Yikes.

OMG! I bet they all live with their parents because they can't afford to live anywhere else!

I'm sure.

wow - a lot of college kids here are back with thier parents. i have a friend with 4 kids - two out of college -very good colleges and he now has a full nest again.

Unfreakingbelievable. And this is GM - still owned partly by us!

http://news.investors.com/article/620090/201207271807/gm-risky-subprime-auto-loans-fuel-sales.htm

Everything is going up in price from clothes to food and people are not getting raises. Hello

You pay an arm and a leg for Head and Shoulders.

schickenlady, that's very true, yet almost no one in most areas (esp. the NE US where there is still some viable economy) are making provisions, even something as simple as a vegetable garden. We need a different mindset, because the huge digital screen tv's and iPhones are never going to feed us or keep us warm.

The golden days of cheap fuel that came from 500,000 years of decaying stuff underground are gone, and fracking shale for a few thimblefuls of gas/oil isn't going to replace it.

We drove through northwest North Dakota today. It is a booming area because of the oil. It was amazing. I think the majority of the vehicles were pickup trucks and construction vehicles. We were told not to try to find a motel room there and we found out why. There also are temporary 'cities' set up with modular structures and fields and fields of all sorts of mbile trailers. My mind thought this is what the gold rush was like to some extent.

I read a very interesting article in New Yorker Magazine about that boom. Sounds just like the gold rush.

Some people who still had land there did well selling the mineral rights.

I needed some Miracle Whip and it was $6.99 at CVS for a squeeze bottle. It will take a miracle for me to pay that price!

rofl ( sadly!)

Food prices at some non food stores are insane. Well, MORE insane.