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A comment on Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the least real work possible?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the leas... by DubiousPusher on Wednesday April 07, 2021 @11:10AM (#26726047)
Social security disability is incredibly difficult to live on. Depending on the individual's work history it can pay as little as $700/month. The average beenfit is $1263 but it's only that high because most people claiming it became disabled but had (or their spouse had) a productive work History before that. People with lifelong disabilities will be well below that.

You can supplement with part-time work but that only gets you so far. As soon as you start making money on disability, you lose 1 dollar for every two. And the most you can make is $1260/month. At that point you lose Medicaid and any progress you've made is lost because insurance is way more than you are making.

You effectively top out at $1263 + $1260/2 = $1893/month. Rent is going to claim 1/3 to 1/2 that.

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Re:Ask HN: What tech job would let me get away with the leas... by lief79 on Wednesday April 07, 2021 @11:31AM (#26726348)
Yes, US disability and far too many government benefits are setup in a way that can actively discourage people from self improvement or trying harder.

Where are the fade outs, and the incentives that will reward you for getting off the system, rather then punish you? It's a subject for a different thread at a different time.

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