[Nfbmo] Judge finds blind people owed 30 million

[Bryan Schulz]

you want to talk hypocritical/ethics?
i know several people who moved to mo for the bucks.

Bryan Schulz

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dewey Bradley" <dewey.bradley at mchsi.com>
To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Judge finds blind people owed 30 million


>I don't mean to be a hypocrite. But That $651 on the 10th of every month 
>really is very helpful.
> But we have also have people who are not disabled who can't get help like 
> that.
> I think that if we want to be treated like everyone else we need to act 
> like everyone else.
> I used to make close to 16 bucks an hour, an I took the bus for half price
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
> To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2010 10:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Judge finds blind people owed 30 million
>
>
>> Can I be a "back dated" honorary Missourian?
>>
>> Dave
>>
>> At 04:26 PM 4/2/2010, you wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Posted: Friday, 02 April 2010 12:12PM
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Judge awards $30 million to blind Missourians
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>KMOXNews at kmox.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>ST. LOUIS (AP)  -- Missouri owes $30 million to 3,300 blind residents to 
>>>make up for years of shortchanging payments to them through the Blind 
>>>Pension Fund,
>>>
>>>a judge has ruled.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Cole County Judge Patricia Joyce determined the Missouri Department of 
>>>Social Services miscalculated benefits dating to 1992. She awarded nearly 
>>>$19 million
>>>
>>>in unpaid benefits and more than $11 million in interest.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>It wasn't clear Friday whether the state would appeal Thursday's 
>>>decision. A Social Services spokesman referred questions to the Missouri 
>>>Attorney General's
>>>
>>>office. A spokeswoman for the attorney general did not return messages 
>>>seeking comment.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Pensioners were underpaid for more than a decade, said attorney Deborah 
>>>Greider, who filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of the St. 
>>>Louis-based Missouri
>>>
>>>Council of the Blind and seven blind Missourians. After the lawsuit was 
>>>filed about five years ago, Missouri recalculated the pension and now 
>>>pays a fair
>>>
>>>amount, she said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>The average blind pensioner now receives about $651 a month from the 
>>>state, and for many, that is their only income.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"Most of these people are poor and unemployed, many are elderly," Greider 
>>>said. She recalled testimony from one blind woman who was asked what an 
>>>additional
>>>
>>>$40 a month would mean to her.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"She said, 'I could feed my guide dog better, I could get a pizza once in 
>>>a while,'" Greider said. "It was really heartbreaking."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Denny Huff, president of the Missouri Council of the Blind, said the 
>>>state shorted people who were already on tight budgets.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>"To be denied even a percentage of what they should have been receiving 
>>>may not seem like much to some people," he said, "but for a lot of 
>>>recipients, it
>>>
>>>affected them a great deal."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>The Missouri Constitution has required the General Assembly since 1875 to 
>>>levy an annual property tax to fund the Blind Pension Fund. But starting 
>>>in 1992,
>>>
>>>the state began using some of the money for other expenses, Greider said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>For example, some of the money goes to rehabilitation services for the 
>>>blind. But Greider said the pensions should be fully funded first, with 
>>>leftover
>>>
>>>money going for rehab services.
>>
>>
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