The functionally poor – where do they fit in?

With the elections over and the welcomed realization that President Obama will be in office for yet another term, I found myself thinking about what that meant for a segment of the population which I found myself as an “unwilling” temporary member – the functionally poor. In the months leading up to the election, media coverage seemed to focus mainly on either the “rich” or the “middle class”, but almost nothing geared towards the “poor” or “working poor”.  Even today, during his fiscal cliff road trip speech, President Obama made mention of raising taxes “slightly” for the “rich” and lowering taxes for the “middle class”, but what about the “poor”?  In the past, it used to be the “rich and the poor”, but now a days it’s the “rich and the middle class”. What happened to the “poor” or as I like to say, the “functionally poor” – where do they fit in? I’m not sure why this seemingly forgotten segment of the population receives no consideration/attention anymore, could be that it is no longer politically correct to mention them, but whatever the reason; it may behoove future presidential candidates to remember them, as they represent a large part of the voting public. From what I can tell, this is a growing population which may eventually account for more than the “rich” and “middle class” combined. As such, they need a voice.

I first became aware that I was a participant of this segment of the population when I found myself unemployed last year and faced with the realization that I would not be re-entering the workforce anytime soon as a result of an unexpected car accident 10 months thereafter. Like so many who found themselves unemployed due to no fault of their own, I applied and received unemployment benefits; however I quickly became painfully aware that the weekly benefits, while not designed to replace my regular income, nowhere covered my living expenses. So I made no qualms about seriously stepping up my efforts to finding and securing a job. Unfortunately, with the state of the economy as it is and the job market being so saturated, I found it very difficult to secure employment. Then if that was not bad enough, I was rear-ended by a tow truck 10 months into my unemployment status.  Luckily I had made the decision to put something away for a rainy day and was able to supplement my income with my savings, however that quickly went south as my unexpected medical bills quickly put a dent in that reservoir. 

Faced with the prospect of possibly losing everything I had worked so hard to secure over the years, I did the only thing I knew how to do – I did an assessment of my situation to determine my “next best” steps.  I did research on what options were available to me and was dumbfounded at the results. First on my list was to secure some sort of medical coverage for my son and myself to ensure that our pre-existing conditions were not left untreated, as well as cover any new medical issues as they arise. The only option I knew that was available immediately after becoming unemployed was COBRA and while I opted to enroll in that program, it proved to be unfeasible, as the exorbitant monthly premium threatened to wipe out my entire savings within a matter of months should I continue the coverage. So my next option was to apply for public assistance - Medicaid.  I was deemed ineligible because my monthly income was; get this, way over the $300/month allotment by the program’s standards for a family of my size. I thought maybe I heard wrong and asked the representative to repeat the information again. She confirmed that for a family size of 2, the maximum amount of income I can have per month was $300 unless I was disabled, blind or over 65. Wow!

Ok, so what about Obama Care? Good question, but that had not been passed yet. So what other options were available to me? I did a quick search on the Internet – my new best friend – and I found a website that offered low monthly premium for people who had lost their job and had pre-existing health conditions. “Great!” I thought, but that quickly proved to be false hope on my part by the end of the application process.  Turns out my monthly premium were a mere $565/month, but guess what? While significantly less than COBRA, I couldn't afford it. Not when you take into consideration that I had other pressing expenses that made a demand on my current income, i.e., mortgage, 2^nd mortgage, car insurance, utilities, food, gas, and other living expenses.  So like so many who found themselves in my situation, I opted to forego medical insurance coverage and hoped for the best. No medical coverage was top on my list of reasons for me to find immediate employment.

Next on the list was housing assistance. While I was two months ahead on my mortgage payments, I did not want to risk waiting until I missed a payment to take steps to find assistance. I had tried once before when I was still employed to refinance my house but that proved to be futile as the housing market was so far south that I would need a submarine to find the bottom. Seriously though, the bank told me that the houses in my area were selling for anywhere from the low $14,000 to the high $27,000. I was flabbergasted. Who determined how much my house was worth especially since I had kept it up and it looked just as pristine as it did the day I moved in? Turns out there is some guy out there who makes a living surfing the internet and making a determination of the value of my house based on what the last person in my neighborhood sold their house for. No consideration was given to the fact that my neighbor may have been in a desperate situation which was a major factor in their decision to “give” their house away at that low price. So rather than throw good money after bad, I opted to forego the refinance option at that time. As luck would have it, or as I like to think of it as answers to my prayers, I came across a program that offered 18-month mortgage assistance for which I qualified for based on my financial savvy decision to keep my mortgage up-to-date. One of the evaluating eligibility criteria was to be current on your mortgage payment. Lucky for me I was, but what about others who were not current or who had filed for bankruptcy? While this assistance offered some immediate relief for me, what happens when that assistance runs out in May 2013 and I am still unemployed? Your guess is as good as mines. One thing I do know is that there is no re-applying for this program once the eligibility period expires. The possibility of losing my home is yet another reason for me to find immediate employment. 

Finally I thought, maybe if I could get some assistance with food. Surely that would help elevate some financial pressures and free up some money I can then apply to other bills. At first, I was approved for $89/month based on my unemployment benefits – not much when you take into consideration that my grocery bill can run anywhere from $250 - 300/month (I’m a vegetarian and I have teenage boy who is a vegan). However, all things considered, I was happy to have received anything at all. After all, this meant that I now had $89 that I can re-direct to another bill.  My son, feeling like he needed to secure money for his personal expenses, sought and found employment at the local park just as my 6-month re-certification period came about.  As a result of his “sporadic” income of less than $150/month we were deemed to be ineligible for continued assistance. Thus, keeping food on the table became yet another reason for me to find immediate employment.

It’s been almost two years since I lost my job and despite my active search, I have not yet been able to secure full-time employment.  To add more pressure to my search, I recently received a notice from the local unemployment office indicating that while Georgia qualifies for the fourth-tier “emergency” compensation of the unemployment benefit program, my benefit period will end on December 29, 2012 even if I have funds remaining.  As a result, my unemployment benefits will be reduced to 39%, whatever that means. What I do know is that unless I find employment soon, I am facing the possibility of catastrophic events, the likes of which I have never experienced. These events may force me to enter a status I have fought all my live to avoid – that of being considered “poor”.  The sad thing is that while I have faith that God will bail me out before it gets to that point, because I believe that my faith moves God to do for me what I can’t do for myself and I have mad faith that God will soon deliver me from this temporary situation; I am forced to face the fact that there are literally thousands of people in this nation who are in this same situation. They are faced with the threat of losing their homes, their cars, have no health coverage, and/or receive no food assistance all because they are one unemployment check or a car away from being deemed “poor”, which would qualify them for basic public assistance.  At first glance the social system has an air of “helping the under-privileged”, however the truth is it is designed to keep the poor “poor” and does nothing to assist the “functionally poor” – the ones who are down on their luck and just need a little assistance to ensure they can stay on their feet without losing their dignity.

Where are the programs to help people who are “borderline poor” – one paycheck away from losing their house or being able to put food on the table? The system looks at whether or not you have a car, have a savings, among other things, as criteria to determine whether or not to offer assistance. Why do you have to have “nothing” rather than being on the verge of losing “everything” before you can receive assistance? While it appears to be a popular campaign platform to focus on the “rich” and the “middle class” I offer that the poor and functionally poor deserves just as much attention, if not more. Where are the financial assistance programs to help people down on their luck so that they can maintain/manage what little income they currently have to ensure “recovery” and not “flat line”? We are quickly becoming a nation of unemployed citizens and if something is not done to help stabilize this portion of the population; we may very well witness the demise of an era that we may not soon recover from.  I’m just saying – I have issues. What about you? )i(

© Copyrights All Right Reserved

 The views and opinions shared here are by the Author and are the property of Todos Escribe.