Unusual Political Rant
This is not about nature or photography. This is about my life recently. I wrote the following “Letter to the Editor” in my local newspaper. I also sent it to my local state representatives. I really think that all Americans should write letters to their representatives when they are unhappy with the government. Which is pretty much everyone these days! I just thought I would also post it here for good measure. I promise I won’t go off on a political rant, personally, I am not very political very often. But this needed to be done.
On a side note, I have a nice nature and photography blog in the works for next time 
My Letter to the Editor
I have watched documentaries and have seen news stories about homeless veterans and often wondered, “How can a U.S. veteran be homeless?” I am finding out firsthand how this happens.
My dad is a Korean War veteran. He grew up working on a farm, was drafted into the U.S. Army, and headed to Korea to fight for his country. He came back and married my mom in 1955. Both my parents worked hard for many years to provide for us children. He was finally forced to retire at 75.
Both my parents collected very small pensions, along with Social Security. They barely had enough to make ends meet. In early January, after 57 years of marriage, my mother passed away. My dad’s income was cut in half. I helped him sign up for any kind of assistance he could get. Which has proven to be futile.
He does not qualify for assisted living. Waiting lists for subsidized senior housing are months, if not years, long. HRA rental assistance waiting list is years long. He doesn’t qualify for Medical Assistance because he has a very small life insurance policy that is over the “asset limit.” He could get a little help from the VA, but it involves waiting lists, changing doctors and driving miles to see a new one.
Even if he got into subsidized housing, he doesn’t make enough money to pay his bills and rent. So he will be moving in with me. I am a single mom and have worked full time since I was 18 years old. I have received assistance ONCE in my entire life while I was laid off with a very small child. That is what government assistance is all about, to help those who work for a living and fall on hard times. Not for those who are too lazy to work. The government hasn’t figured this out yet?
Yet the U.S. continues to provide for other countries and immigrants at the drop of a hat, while ignoring the homeless veterans and hungry Americans. I walked into the Social Security office a couple of years ago and was astonished at the people waiting in line. Some couldn’t even speak English. Others had children in $100 tennis shoes and playing on smartphones. Yet they are collecting Social Security? This was not the welfare office, it was Social Security. For what reason did they qualify? Have they paid their dues? I don’t know their story, but I highly doubt they have paid as much as my father has paid. I could go on and on, but why bother? It falls on deaf ears.
I am very proud of my dad and his patriotism, and am proud to be an American. But right now I am very ashamed of the U.S. government and what it has become.
My dad and my sidekick at Applebee’s on Veteran’s Day.
Having gone through the same thing with my mother, I know exactly what you are going through. The “rules” the government sets up do reward the lazy, and prevent those who paid into the system for years from ever collecting anything. It just isn’t right. It’s a nightmarish maze of rules and red tape, and nearly every one I spoke to gave me incorrect information, making the maze that much harder to navigate. I think they do that on purpose.
May I offer a few tips from what I have learned. Have all your father’s assets put into a trust, and have a power of attorney drawn up now, even if your dad can still make his own decisions. It’s a lot easier now than having a court declare him incompetent, cheaper too. See if you can cash in the life insurance policy, and then use that money to pre-pay for funeral expenses, with that also in the trust. Your dad should be on Medicare now, which would cover many of his medical expenses.
That brings up another point, Medicaid is a federal program, but the states administer it, so the rules are different in every state. (why make things easy?) Anyway, a person can’t have a life insurance policy and qualify for Medicaid, but if you set up a pre-paid funeral correctly, it may qualify your dad for Medicaid, to help with his medical expenses.
VA benefits are abysmal, but you may have to sign your dad up for them, just to satisfy the rules makers. I was going to add more, but then, where do I stop? It is a horrible system all the way around. You almost have to have an attorney guide you through the maze, but they don’t come cheap, and the last thing that any one needs when they are short of cash is to have to pay an attorney. That is if you’re an American who speaks English. If you are foreign born and don’t speak English, a caseworker from the government will do just about everything for you, including filling out the forms.
Sorry for the length of this, and I am sorry that you’re having to go through this.
Thanks, Jerry, for the pointers!
I am deeply sorry for the reality of what you’re experiencing. I haven’t been “here” directly, but I have certainly watched friends go through this over and over. And I am in complete agreement with you about the circumstances being even more egregious when we are talking about the limits of helping our veterans. I feel very strongly as you do. And yes, maybe we all need to be a little louder when talking to our representatives. Bless you…and your father!
Thanks!