Taking "tax money" from the Gov't while disabled

[Hazmatac]

Hi my name is Rob. I'm sure this will be the first time anybody in the forums have heard of me. Basically I am white, live with my parents and little brother, and have been batteling a mental illness for about three years.

The reason I am posting is because I want to know if it is wrong for me to take money from the government. My handicap being schizofrenia, it sometimes rob's my attention and causes me to work slower and makes it hard for me to listen to a person talking right in front of me. In essence I am unable to have a job at this point.

My dad is always pushing for me to take the money, his argument being that in the great vastness of all this government spending what they will give to me is like giving me a speck within an ocean (meaning only a little bit, about 1000 a month).

My question is: Is it OK and right for me to take disability money until I'm better? Thanks for your time.

Rob

[K-Mac]

Perhaps this previous thread will be helpful to you... http://forum.ObjectivismOnline.com/index.php?showtopic=8753

[TheEgoist]

Hello Rob, and welcome to OO.net.

First, let me say I'm sorry to hear about your mental illness. I know little else about it's nature, but I'm sure it's been a terrible burden.

Rand actually mentioned your dilemna in an essay that can be found in " The Voice of Reason " collection. Essentially, her position was thus; Good people should not have to suffer because their money had been taken from them by gunpoint. The morality of taking money back from the government in situations such as yours is totally permissible, evne moreso in your specific case since your very life may be in danger. To live as a welfare-bum is another story. But if you are using the money that has been stolen from you and your loved ones to treat a disease of yours, and you realize you cannot depend on this money for needs such as food and life support forever, and you are actively trying to get off the government-dole, than all the power in the world to you.

You shouldn't have to suffer because bastard bureaucrats relinquished you of your wealth.

[Zip]

Hi Rob, and welcome.

Although I agree with TheEgoist I would like to know if you have tried to find non-typical work that you can do? I'm thinking of something that doesn't involve interaction with customers or a boss on a regular basis. Something done from home perhaps?

Just a thought.

[Benpercent]

Yes, because with the nature of taxes, you're just taking back money that was yours to begin with. However, as others have said above, it is not acceptable to be a freeloader and try to make a living out of this. So long as you're working (and I don't mean in the sense of employment, but of self-betterment) to get out of your condition, it's moral.

[Clawg]

In a tax-free society similar programs would exist that you would have to apply for and show that you are trying to improve yourself.

The only differences between a private social system and a social system controlled by the government through taxation are that it is probably easier to fool and that you can use force (through the political process).

Assuming that you are telling the truth, that you don't advocate a government controlled social system and that you try to use the time you have for useful skills, you are acting morally by taking government checks.

[Scott_Connery]

The government owes you more than it can ever pay. If it weren't for their meddling, a cure for your problem might already exist. If not for their taxation, you and your family could easily support you through your hardship.

As long as you do not support statist politicians or policies, you are absolutely right to to take (or steal) whatever you can get from the government.

[themadkat]

The government owes you more than it can ever pay. If it weren't for their meddling, a cure for your problem might already exist. If not for their taxation, you and your family could easily support you through your hardship.

As long as you do not support statist politicians or policies, you are absolutely right to to take (or steal) whatever you can get from the government.

This is why I never feel guilty that I have federally subsidized student loans (government paid the interest while I was in school), nor that we as a family accepted state aid for my sister's disability.

[Thomas M. Miovas Jr.]

I agree in general with those saying it is moral to take government money, so long as one has paid into the system -- i.e. worked and paid taxes -- and you can always take the position that your parents have paid a lot of taxes over the years, and part of the rationalization for having high taxes is having a safety net for people in your position of having a disability.

On a personal level, however, I think you ought to go through the effort not to be an invalid even though you have schizophrenia. I have known schizophrenics, and the best thing they have done is to stay on their medication and become interactive with the world once again. A recovery is possible, but only if you don't stay home and mope around all day. Get out into the world by perhaps walking around the local mall, with say your parents or a trusted friend, and then try to get at least a part-time job. Unfortunately, schizophrenia is often brought on by too much psychological stress at one time, and it even leads to parts of the brain not functioning normally, which is why the medication is helpful because it boosts brain functioning. So, it may seem counter intuitive to do things that are at first stressful, such as getting back out into the world, but if one does this gradually, one can recover.

I knew one schizophrenic who stayed at home locked up in her kitchen watching only the news, and so she got the impression that the whole world was coming apart and that it was dangerous out there. I encouraged her to stop watching the news, maybe watch some good movies instead, and to get out of the house every once in a while, and this was beneficial to her psychologically.

So, keep in touch with both a psychiatrist for the medication and a psychologist to help to overcome the psychological effects of schizophrenia.

I wish you well, and on this topic this is one thing I definitely disagree with Dr. Peikoff. In his DIM course he says that once someone has schizophrenia there is nothing that can be done for them. He is tragically wrong. Staying on the medication and being cognitive about the world by getting out there and becoming interactive with it and not going by one's subconscious urges is very beneficial.