This is called "Too Many Poor People"

[Tdarcos]

"Medical Assistance" is a Federally funded, state-operated program that picks up the $100 a month Medicare insurance premium for low income people. Without it, Social Security takes $100 a month out of my check. This is separate from and in addition to the $16 a month in food stamps (now called SNAP) I'm basically automatically eligible for because of disability.

I have to recertify every six months. Mine expired on December 31. Last time I didn't get the notice, two months later Social Security informs me that retroactive to two months earlier I'd been decertified, which means they have to take $200 out of my check, then reduce it by $100 a month from then on. Getting a $300 hit all at once was basically a body blow; I had to borrow money for a while in order to manage. So when I got the notice I immediately reapplied.

I got to use my printer/scanner/color fax with OCR I got from my sister for Christmas to scan the notice below. Was only $69 at Staples; the exact same HP Officejet 450G was $99 across the street at Target. Plus it's a networked printer (it supports both TCP/IP and USB), you plug it into the router, it gets a DHCP lease, and you just talk to it over the wireless network and it works exactly as if it was local. So it sits on the other side of the room instead of teathered to my PC. (It also meant if I had more than one computer they can all use it.) HP makes really good stuff.

This is what happens when the normally too busy welfare department gets hit with an avalanche of clients because of the recession:

MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
PAGE 1
PRINCE GEORGE'S CTY
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
6505 BELCREST RD GR FL
HYATTSVILLE MD 20782-2799
District: HYATTSVILLE OFFICE
Customer ID: [REDACTED]
Case Manager: MICHELLE KING
Telephone: (301) 209-5184
Date: 02/18/11


Mr. PAUL ROBINSON
[ADDRESS REDACTED]
UNIVERSITY PARK MD 20782
Dear Mr. ROBINSON:

APPLICATION DELAY

You applied for Medical Assistance on 01/19/11. We are required to complete work on your case within 30 days. We have been unable to do this because:

AN AGENCY DELAY HAS OCCURRED BEYOND OUR CONTROL.

We will work on your case and send you a notice of our decision as soon as we can. If you have any questions, please call your Case Manager at the number listed above.

Please remember you must report all changes immediately.

************** END OF NOTICES ******************

[AArdvark]

Oh, you have to report all changes immediately but they can just go along at whatever pace they deem necessary. Government...

This is similar to the month to two months backlog of court transcriptions because there is so much litigation and every one has to be typed out.


THE
JUST WAIT
IT GETS WORSE
AARDVARK

[bruce]

Nah, it'll be fine.

Once the Koch Brothers succeed in getting Jackhole Walker to crush the unions, we'll move on to the next phase of the Republican Revolution.

What's that one, I hear you ask? It's the one where crippled fucks like Tdarcos get NO MONEY AT ALL from the government and starve and die in the street, while the government stops collecting taxes at all from investment bankers so they can <s>create jobs</s> wipe their asses on hundred dollar bills which they then dangle in front of the rest of us with the promise that if we lick them clean we can keep them. Except when we're done licking the bills clean, the bankers set the bills, and us, on fire, and dance away tittering.