Deaf Lion

Image courtesy of Proven Ways to Create Passive Income (provenwaystocreatepassiveincome.com)

SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income, also known as Social Security Income, is an acronym that every aged and disabled people know.  When apply for SSI, you have to prove yourself that you are a legal citizen and unable to work due to your age or disability.  Once approved, you are eligible to receive a monthly income from the Federal government up to $647 (as of 2009).  The SSI comes from the US Treasury general funds which is mainly tax-payers’ money.  Being deaf is considered one of the disabilities that people can use to apply for SSI.

Originally, Social Security program was created during the Great Depression to eliminate the poverty, unemployment, old age, and burden of widows, single mothers and war survivors.  Even though there were much discrimination against many groups of people (such as women and minorities) from benefits of Social Security at first, the intention was noble.  Social Security Act helped people who suddenly became unable to earn money for themselves.  SSI gave necessary amount to the people for basic food, shelter and clothes. Over decades, Social Security was evolved many times and branched off into several programs like Disability Insurance, Medicaid or Welfare.  Still, the Social Security is still far from perfect.

There has been a long time of discrimination against the Deaf people in the work force which have prevented the deaf people from getting a job.  However, the recent events have shown the revolutionaries of Deaf population: they can do anything except hear.  With good education and communication resources, the Deaf people can get decent jobs even in the jobs that require ability to hear.  As long as I have known about SSI, I detest at people who take advantage of SSI when they are able.

I knew some Deaf students in high school who had SSI because they were deaf.  Even though it was not necessary to get a job at underage, they’d get money from the government to help their life styles.  At first, I naively thought that their parents weren’t able to provide enough money to support their families or having deaf child(ren) was expensive because of the hearing aids and medical bills to treat deaf.  However, the government is already taking care of the medical treatment for the deaf children under age 18 by providing free audiology check-up, hearing aids, cochlear plants, and any deaf related medicine.  When they told me what they would do with SSI, I began to have doubts.

First of all, the Deaf students I know who receives SSI actually do have parents who are financially well off, if not earning less money than standard of living cost.  Second, they don’t need extra money from the government because their basic necessities are covered.  They have food, clothes and house.  And third, they have education and they are able to get a job despite being deaf! However, it’s not enough.  They know that being deaf is considered a disability under government terms.  So they apply for SSI which is easy to do.  After wait time and process, ca-ching! They have free money.  What they buy with SSI money are luxuries like plane rides, cars, computers, games, and more.

Is it really necessary for Deaf children who are financially well off by their parents to have SSI?  It is like stealing money from the people who need it the most who can’t actually earn decent wages.  Just because they are deaf, the government overlook their parents’ incomes and resources and  that’s okay with tax-payers’ hard earned money?  I have several people tell me that I should apply for SSI because I have hearing disability and I could use extra money toward my college education.  It was tempting but knowing that I didn’t need it and receiving it would actually hurt other people.

It is not just Deaf people who are getting SSI like that.  I heard a story from one person that she knew a family who came from another country and within short time of living in America, they easily got SSI just because they were immigrants.  Hearing a story like that sickens me. Lazy people getting SSI is stealing from tax payers who work really hard to earn their money.  10 percent of their wages goes to Social Security program.

What I really want to see that the government need to eliminate Social Security because it doesn’t work anymore.  No revision and no changes.  Social Security needs to go when it had been poorly handled for the last two decades.  There are too many loop holes and millions of people are taking advantage of it.  Guess what? We still have the poverty, unemployment, old age, and burden of widows, single mothers and war survivors.