[NFBMO] Blind Pension Legislation

Wed May 23 18:27:36 UTC 2018

Increases, if they happen, occur annually in July with letters being
sent out in mid-June.  These letters should be kept , at least, until
the next letter adjusting  your benefit amount is received so that you
have proof of income for loan applications or other purposes. 
To Brian's prior query  if you submit a driver's license as proof of
identity under the new law they will reject or close your case.
Evidently FSD can look up driver's license records to determine whether
you have a non-driver's license or driver's license or both if they
suspect fraud. 
Gene

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMO <nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie McGinnity via
NFBMO
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2018 12:54 AM
To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBMO] Blind Pension Legislation

How often do they change the amount of blind pension?

I agree with Randy that the problem is we have laws no one takes the
time to enforce.  It's the same with the service animal laws we have put
in place.  Businesses don't know their rights, so we have fake service
animals all over the place.  But yeah, we were talking about blind
pension...  Even before we practice our little elevator speeches, we
need to figure out what we would like to say.

I had to educate myself quickly about blind pension and fear I still
don't know everything.  It seems to me that we should all be on the same
page regarding what we want to protect and what we can let go.  I think
the driver's license rule is a little overkill, but their sighted spouse
requirements seem to, like Gary said, prevent integration or promulgate
the idea that our sighted spouses (but not our blind ones) can take care
of us.  What's clear to me is that blind/disabled people don't write
these laws or design the systems that many of us live on.  There's
something wrong with that.  Ok, so we don't hold the purse strings as it
were, but we are citizens who should not be punished for being disabled.
SSI discourages people from saving, unless you want to save for
something very specific.  And now we're talking marriage and the
disadvantages to marrying as blind or blind and sighted couples...  It
seems to me that we should be discussing these things more often and
coming up with those elevator speeches Gary mentioned.  We can't change
these things unless we have a collective voice.

Julie

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On 5/22/18, Gary Wunder via NFBMO <nfbmo at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I think there are significant philosophical implications we should 
> think about with regard to the blind pension and especially the 
> changes. If you are a blind person who cannot work, your situation is 
> made even more desperate in your family by the fact that to that 
> family unit you are a taker rather than a giver. I believe in 
> marriage, and I think most Missourians do as well. But the fact of the

> matter is that it has been clearly demonstrated with seniors and 
> others: if you put me at an economic hardship, I will stay married in 
> the eyes of God, but I may seriously consider the legal arrangement 
> that says I'm married. Ask recipients of SSI.
> Ask recipients of pensions that say they are entitled until they
remarry.
>
> Under the blind pension law, as it exists now and as it exists when 
> the governor signs it, sighted people are placed at a economic 
> disadvantage when marrying blind people. Blind people are placed at 
> risk by marrying sighted people. This is not the kind of integration I

> want. I'm glad that the earnings of blind people remain exempt, but I 
> can't say there is any fairness in this, and as for the dignity of 
> blind people, I think it is considered not at all in the law and in 
> this legislation.
>
> I think that we better be preparing arguments about keeping the 
> medical benefits that blind people receive. That issue appears to have

> gone away, but it was not terribly unpopular when it was proposed. We 
> need to work on language that is persuasive and concise. Very often 
> when people speak of spin, they do so in a negative context, but spin 
> can be very effective and it has a purpose. When you deal with busy 
> people, you better be able to state your issue clearly and concisely. 
> They don't have all day to listen to your concerns. The spin must be 
> honest, but we should figure out how to positively get that message 
> out in a form that is easily repeatable, easily understood, and 
> completely verifiable. Our credibility is everything. If we can't 
> figure out ways to communicate our message in an elevator speech, we 
> are headed for the basement.
>
>
>
>
>
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>

--
Julie A. McGinnity
President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri "For
we walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Cor. 7

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