[nfb-talk] blind and wanting to improve things, not get labeled

[Ed Meskys]

Some people seem to be confusing SSI with SSDI. SSI is welfare for people 
who had never worked enough to qualify for Social Security. SSDI is for 
people with a work history to be eligible for Social Security. I was a 
college professor of physics when I became blind. Three months later I was 
at a residential rehab center, and returned to work after completing rehab. 
A few years later the college went bankrupt and closed, something that was 
happening nationwide at a rate of one closure every ten days. I could not 
get a comparable job, and, after nine months, got one doing individual 
tutoring and writing curriculum at a reform school (they called it an 
institution for emotionally disturbed adolescents, and used Skinner's 
behavior modification). My take-home pay was $5 a month less than my SSDI 
had been, and working involved a 40 mile commute, begging rides from two 
people in each direction, plus paying for lunch out. When my contract came 
up for renewal after 18 months, I did not struggle to get renewed. Since 
then I had various part time positions which did not effect my SSDI. Now I 
am long time retired, at the age of 74.
Ed Meskys