I've been writing diaries for some time about struggling to climb out of poverty. I've written about how I fell into poverty, by becoming disabled with pain. Kossacks have replied in comments, asking why I'm not collecting disability benefits or other government assistance. Here is why:
When this all ensued, I was self-employed, working my way through college, and in my final year. I suffered with disabling pain that began at this time, as a result of a lot of bad medicine, not because I had anything crippling or serious wrong with me.
I was living on a very limited income while attending college, so could not afford to buy private disability insurance. When the pain began, I visited a specialist. He responded to me by saying he didn't believe that my pain was as severe as I claimed. He then made a point of noting that in my medical file in front of me, as if to drive home to me that it would be futile to apply for government disability benefits. Because of that, and because of the horror stories I've known of disabled people being turned down for benefits, I never applied. I was always sure I'd be turned down, because I would have to include in my medical history the notation this specialist made.
I've looked into the income and asset requirements for food stamps and public housing. If my income alone were the determining factor, I'm sure I would qualify for some benefits. But I have a small sum set aside in investments for retirement that totals about $7,000, and I'm told that is above the asset limit for qualifying for food stamps. As for public housing, the waiting list is long--very long, and priority for housing goes to people who are literally out on the streets.
I don't write this to whine. I write it to illustrate how people--many Americans--fall through huge holes in our "safety net." If that happens, we live harrowing lives of daily terror, dreading an acute crisis that will leave us on the streets. The "haves" of America go about mostly oblivious to us, but they do so at their peril. They are one layoff, one medical crisis away from exactly this predicament. Some give themselves a false sense of security by picking apart the particulars of our lives, those of us who have fallen through the holes in the net. They'll pounce on some choice or path we've chosen as proof of our "unwise life's choices." We make the choices available to us, and often they're far less than ideal.
I worked as a free agent, self-employed, through college because my courses fell at any time of day, any day of the week, and I needed the flexibility that self-employment gave me to earn my degree. And I'm deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to earn that degree. It's the one thing I've earned that no one can ever, ever take away from me.