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Proposed SSI Cuts Anger New Yorkers
Reported by: Paul Merrill
Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com
Videographer: G. Finley
Videographer: B. Sanders
Fox 23 News.com – January 28, 2009
Hundreds of protestors rallied on the east states of the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon.
They raised their voices over what, for many people, is a small amount of money.
The protesters are upset because they say, if passed, Governor David Paterson’s budget will cut monthly payments to disabled New Yorkers by an average of $24.
More than 600,000 New Yorkers receive disability benefits.
“Help us out,” says Stanley Foy of Putnam County. “We’re not asking for a hand-out; we’re asking for a hand up so that we can establish a dignified, modest quality of life.”
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients tell us they need every penny they get and a decrease of just a few dollars would be disasterous.
“That makes a big difference whether it’s trying to get to appointments or trying to establish a quality of life,” Foy tells us. “I feel reduced as a human being.”
SSI advocates say they understand that fixing the current financial crisis requires shared sacrifices but they’re arguing that cutbacks like the ones that could affect New York’s disabled population are unconscionable.
“They’re asking the poorest of the poor to share this burden by carrying it on their backs,” says Leah Farrell of the Center for Disability Rights.
Lobbyists pleaded their case to state lawmakers on Tuesday.
The advocates say SSI cuts could end up costing New York money in the long run.
Farrell explains, “When you have unpaid bills, that leads to evictions and when you have an evicted person who is in need of medical care, they’re going to be funneled through hospitals and into institutions which is more costly to the state.”
Advocates say low-income housing isn’t always available to SSI recipients so, often, SSI income can’t even cover someone’s rent.
Renee Lohse of Putnam County says, after she pays her rent, she’s left with $170.
“To make that stretch the whole month is really hard,” she tells us.
New York State Budget Division spokesman Jeffrey Gordon says, “The need to close an unprecedented $15.4 billion budget gap required reductions in every area of state spending. Even with the reduced state benefit, a recipient’s total monthly SSI benefit will still be higher than their 2008 monthly benefit due to the impact of a cost of living increase to the federal benefit.”