# I wish to live off the government dole. Tell me how **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681 "2021-05-22T06:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dinsdale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Dinsdale1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale1)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/82 "2021-05-25T23:50:12Z")
As usual, plenty of ss disab misinfo here - it my computer is fucked up and I’m not gonna write a treatise on my phone. If op just lost his job he likely is eligible for ssdi. Easiest way to build a case is start alleging and seeking treatment for a condition with no clear objective signs. Like migraines or anxiety. (Of course some folk actually are disabled by such conditions- but they can be faked.) Go to the ER saying you want to kill yourself due to your unbearable migraines and anxiety/depression/whatever. Get committed. Then build a record by seeking treatment, telling the same story to pain docs and counselors. Maybe make another ER visit in a month or 2. Then apply for SSDI. No, I won’t likely pay you, but one of the judges in our office pays 88% of the cases he hears, so if you draw him, your chances are good. If you lose, apply again. Figure out why you were denied, and make up some bs to address that. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/83 "2021-05-26T00:34:15Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Thanks for the gentle demurrer. I live to propose again same day. That’s fine if “same day” was a typo for “some day”. Otherwise it smacks of a certain unbecoming desperation. One cannot, as well, overlook the possibility that a claimed typo was in fact a subconscious Freudian slip. I myself refrain from passing judgment. I am a graceful and noble Bernese Mountain Dog. I leave judgments to others. I merely point things out. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/84 "2021-05-26T00:45:23Z")
I hear she’s hittin’ up all the Doper guys in the Central time zone. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/85 "2021-05-26T01:13:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I hear she’s hittin’ up all the Doper guys in the Central time zone. 😉 - You’re just trying to console yourself as to why she didn’t propose to you in your Eastern time zone. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/86 "2021-05-26T01:19:00Z")
I have it on good authority that she’s very discerning. Coastal scum need not apply. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/87 "2021-05-26T02:05:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale1](#): > > As usual, plenty of ss disab misinfo here - it my computer is fucked up and I’m not gonna write a treatise on my phone. > > If op just lost his job he likely is eligible for ssdi. Easiest way to build a case is start alleging and seeking treatment for a condition with no clear objective signs. Like migraines or anxiety. (Of course some folk actually are disabled by such conditions- but they can be faked.) > > Go to the ER saying you want to kill yourself due to your unbearable migraines and anxiety/depression/whatever. Get committed. Then build a record by seeking treatment, telling the same story to pain docs and counselors. Maybe make another ER visit in a month or 2. Then apply for SSDI. > > No, I won’t likely pay you, but one of the judges in our office pays 88% of the cases he hears, so if you draw him, your chances are good. If you lose, apply again. Figure out why you were denied, and make up some bs to address that. Remember, it’s against the rules of the SDMB to advocate fraud or illegal activities. A lot of this post crosses that line. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/88 "2021-05-26T03:21:18Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > myself refrain from passing judgment. I am a graceful and noble Bernese Mountain Dog. I leave judgments to others. I merely point things out. Thank you kind and noble Bernese Mountain dog, indeed it was a typo of the most hapless kind. Color me chagrined. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I hear she’s hittin’ up all the Doper guys in the Central time zone Nope, been there, done that. Can’t afford to update the t shirt. > [@needscoffee](#): > > You’re just trying to console yourself as to why she didn’t propose to you in your Eastern time zone. And she gets it right in one! > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I have it on good authority that she’s very discerning. Coastal scum need not apply. Discerning, yes. Coastal scum must submit supplementary essays and bonded character checks. Cads and bounders, fade away before the sardonic cackle of my screening committee reaches you. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/89 "2021-05-26T03:37:46Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Discerning, yes. Coastal scum must submit supplementary essays and bonded character checks. Cads and bounders, fade away before the sardonic cackle of my screening committee reaches you Could be a tough challenge for a self-described Florida man… ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Dinsdale1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/90 "2021-05-26T12:35:15Z")
Sorry bout that ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/91 "2021-05-26T12:42:13Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Could be a tough challenge for a self-described Florida man… True. … But at least I’m not _this_ Florida Man … > [@I believe I have discovered the worst “food” item in existence](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-have-discovered-the-worst-food-item-in-existence/942741/41): > > As gross as eating a live octopus sounds, I’d rather eat that than what this guy ate: ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/92 "2021-05-27T15:31:00Z")
Reporting someone for this type of fraud rarely works. I’ve tried as a test many times. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/93 "2021-05-27T16:02:11Z")
Often, that’s because what is clearly fraud to one person is legitimate disability to someone else. If the recipient has a doctor’s report that s/he cannot work regularly, then a report that the person occasionally does odd jobs carries little weight, because there aren’t a lot of paying jobs in the US economy where you can show up on good days and stay home on bad days. ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/94 "2021-05-27T16:44:15Z")
In some cases there are clear documents showing fraud. Perhaps this is a new problem since Covid? ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/95 "2021-05-27T17:26:22Z")
I don’t understand: what are you suggesting is “a new problem” since COVID? If you’ve just reported somebody in the last few weeks or months, well, the wheels grind much more slowly than that. Investigations and the administrative process of hearings will take many months, even years. Also, it is not obvious what “clear documents showing fraud” you possess. People get welfare or disability because of clear documentation showing a qualifying circumstance; a different document showing a different circumstance will have to be reconciled with the first. Was the first obtained by fraud, or is it that the medical or other factors have changed in the meantime, or is this just a difference of professional opinion, or what is the reason for the discrepancy? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Dinsdale1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale1)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/96 "2021-05-27T19:21:18Z")
Yeah - this is pretty much my experience. SSA has an OIG which loves to investigate allegations of fraud. But a lot of “disabilities” are of the “invisible” or “intermittent” sort. As a matter of course, adjudicators are prohibited from checking claimants’ social media and such. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681/97 "2021-05-28T00:51:58Z")
What do you mean “as a test”? Are you saying that you reported someone even though you had no proof, no evidence, of fraud on their part? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-to-live-off-the-government-dole-tell-me-how/942681.md?page=4)