Quote:
Originally Posted by Perna
Social Security comes directly from the US Government and is based on one's work history; we pay into Social Security, we don't pay into supplemental housing allowances :-) With Section 8, HUD gives the State money and the state divides it up; they have some overall rules and get X amount because the Feds knows/has decided the State's share of all the Fed money for housing is X but then things get interesting because there's the "poor" but not disabled and the disabled but who aren't on Social Security (or get VA or Military benefits), etc. and they all may need housing assistance.
States may want money from anyone who they are giving it to, any "income" at all, so I can see that some states might consider "their" HUD-based allowance income but not be able to touch someone else's (VA's) similar program; it's not under their control. I think it is kind of like how most states subtract out of your total income a matching amount when you get food stamps under SSI? They control SSI monies the same way they control HUD monies (and hence, since SSI has the same disability tests as for SSDI and they are in charge of the tests, some states are "harder" to pass).
It's all a very complicated racket run by Government employees so very red tape and confusion bound but getting States to agree with "each other" (to do things the same) is next to impossible :-)
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We don't pay into Food Stamps, in the way that we pay into Social Security, but that doesn't give states any control over who gets Federal Food Stamps and in what amount. (Many states do add their own money to the federal program and provide an enhanced benefit to citizens. Basically, if you qualify for the federal food stamps, then you automatically get the state food stamps.)
Actually, what I've just said is not 100% true, and that could be the source of a lot of confusion. In order to get food stamps, you go to your local office of Income Support. That is a state agency. This state agency does decide whether, or not, you are eligible for food stamps. However, they
don't get to make their own rules. They simply apply the criteria as they are instructed to do by the federal government.
Money goes further in some parts of the country than in others. For instance, an income that would have you living in the Subway system in NYC would get you a pretty nice apartment in southern Missouri. So the Federal gov't doesn't say how much food stamp benefit goes with what level of income. Neither does the State! The federal government says that you qualify for food stamps based on how your income compares to the income levels in the area where you live. (e.g. how far below the median income are you?) The federal government gives the states formulas to use. The states just plug in the numbers to the formulas. The states do not get to create the formulas.
The states do not "control SSI monies." If you live in NYC, you do not get a bigger SSI check than if you live in southern Missouri. Neither the State of New York, nor the State of Missouri, decides what your SSI check is going to be. If you are 65 years old and sufficiently poor, you will get approved for SSI, regardless of which state you live in. The amount of your SSI check will be the same, regardless of which state you live in. However, most states have their own income support programs, which add to the amount of your SSI check, based on conditions in each individual state. West Virginia and Mississippi are two states that do
not do this. When a state
adds to your benefit, it is not increasing your SSI check. It is giving you an additional income benefit independent of your SSI. The states control the monies that they give out, if they chose to give any money out. The states do not control how much money the federal government gives to anyone receiving SSI.
Here's where I think the confusion comes from. If you are not yet 65 years old, and you believe that you are too disabled to work, then whether or not you get SSDI, or SSI, initially depends on a judgement made by the local Disability Determination Service, which
is a state agency. That DDS agency doesn't get to decide what the rules are for determining disability. They simply apply the rules set by the federal government. However,
applying rules is not an exact science. The DDS in one state might tend to look at things different from the DDS in another state. Two DDS examiners in
the exact same office might look at things differently. That is why the initial judgement can be so easily challenged. If you get denied by the DDS in your local area, you can appeal. The Administrative Law Judge that you end up going before (if you have to take it that far) is a federal employee and works for the Social Security Administration, not for any particular state.