Fran Cannon, a Californian who depends on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for her livelihood, has started an online petition to protest the recent reduction in Social Security disability benefits for SSI recipients in California.
With California being faced with a budget crisis, steps have been taken to reduce payments of benefit recipients in that state. While SSI is a federal program, many states supplement the monthly income benefit checks from their own budgets. Recently the amount supplemented by California has been reduced two times, to levels that were extant four years ago.
This is such a shame. A key characteristic of a mature political society is the willingness and ability of that society to support those who cannot otherwise support themselves. People who live on Supplemental Income Benefits (SSI) are already faced with financial difficulties that few Americans truly understand. These are people who have been declared wholly disabled and unable to earn a living, including people who are blind, elderly, or mentally disabled.
While economic downturns and budget shortfalls can be expected from time to time, one would certainly hope that our civic leaders and public officials would weigh very carefully all options, alternatives and consequences of such a decision, considering the social and economic ripple-effect impact across the spectrum. Decisions like this should be made after all other solutions have either failed.


A recent conversation with a middle-aged gentleman brought a dangerous situation to light. Apparently, he took an early retirement at age 50 from his former employer, and with his small retirement pension and his 401K accounts he was able to sustain a modest, comfortable standard of living. Unfortunately, falling stock values have cut his 401K and IRA funds down to about half of what they once were and his income has now fallen well below what he needs to stay afloat.