I understand Ernurse, and that represents one group of state-supported disabled.

I have posted because I am more familiar with another group that you clearly haven't been aware of.

A)The now elderly woman who has worked hard all her life and raised several children from babies to adults with no assistance whatsoever from anyone, including the dangerous fool whom she divorced for those children's safety. Now she finally has subsistence via SSI.

B)The 25 year hardworking professional who spent too many years trying to survive after no longer being able to remain employed while getting progressively sicker, with no assistance whatsoever from anyone, who has now been away from the workplace too long by time s/he finally applied for assistance to be reckoned for social security, and so now at last has only subsistence via SSI until s/he is at least 62 yo, when the SocSec s/he worked and paid into all those 25 years can presumably kick in.

These are people who, out of self-respect, stayed away from "the system", yet due to age/illness were forced to swallow their pride and ask, after going through years of the very demeaning process it required. Years where people who thought the only ones out there were the ones you have recalled in your post.

People who "look too good", yet are in high degrees of physical pain and disablement.

I could tell you stories, Ernurse, that would curl your hair, stories of people who aren't plugged into a network of welfare knowledgeable advisors.

I am not criticizing you Ernurse, because I understand what you have seen, however, when someone writes a letter as this low-rated md has done, the people whom he intended to read it are those who make decisions that affect many many more than the poor example he jumped to conclusions about, and who became the subject of his ill advised letter. Named or unnamed makes no difference.

He was an arrogant, sarcastic snot. Read it agin, please.

Now, does he know that the only thin they can't take away from you is your jewelry? Probably not. Does he know that the only way to keep it from being stolen is to carry it on your person? He's never had to think about that, probably. Did he ask if she had a friend who does tattoo and needed some practice at it? If he did, I didn't see it. HTH does he know who is buying//drinking beer? Were they doing it in the ER? It was an assumption on his part.

And even if he were right about that one person, I know many, many folks like the ones *I* told you about. People who grit their teeth every day because they hate receiving assistance, but know that they can't get along without it.
The ones I know are people who would have nothing to do with a "filch network".

That's why I posted what I did.

There is much much more to the story than what Pretty Boy knows.

If you have some political ax to grind then start your own thread and post it on a debate forum somewhere else, K.

Been in lots of ERs, long time in the field of health care, did it every day for a lot of years.

You aren't close enough to the truth to know this but you don't open your checkbook, they can only use cash.

You can do 100 pushups for that.