I have talked about this before and I will say it again, one of the major disservices the government does to those with major mental illness is put them on entitlement programs.

They put them on SSI and their livelihood becomes being a mental patient. Their bread and butter is their illness and their non performance of work skills and abilities. The sicker they stay the more secure their income is. The state reinforces their disfunction! It rewards them with money and housing for not working. Talk about a disincentive to getting a full time job!

In fact if they even get a part time job the state keeps more than half! Talk about regulations meant to keep people dependent on the state, geesh.

Give a person ~$ 400- $450 per week each week ($11 per hour TAX FREE based on a 40 hour work week) for a guarenteed permanent vacation 52 weeks a year for life and then set up programs to 'assist' them in 'finding and keeping jobs' where they can get a starter job for maybe $8 per hour where the state takes back ~ $4.50 or $5 an hour
leaving them with a job for $3.50 per hour. And with employment their bread and butter (their disability) is a little bit more at risk than it was before. After all if sweeping cuts take place in government THE LAST PEOPLE TO BE CUT will be the ones that are the ones who exhibit the least independent living skills. They are the most secure and each step towards independence is going against the natural grain of protecting your bread and butter.

So what his helpful in paying someone $11/hr to sit on their couch and then offering them a crappy job where they will only make 1/2 of minimum wage and telling them it is for their own good and funding programs to institute this???

Talk about a sick joke!