Biff_Poindexter
Diamond Member
Supreme Court to decide on Puerto Rico access to Supplemental Social Security Income
Older, disabled and blind Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia can have access to SSI benefits but not in Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory.
www.nbcnews.com
"Older, disabled and blind Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia can have access to SSI benefits but not in Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory. The justices said they would hear an appeal, first filed by the Trump administration, of a lower-court ruling that held that residents of the U.S. territory should have the same access to SSI benefits as older, disabled and blind Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The administration argues that a pair of 40-year-old Supreme Court decisions already upheld the federal law that created SSI and excluded Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories from it."
When you already hate a government program like Social Security but don't have the will of the American people on your side to end it; because of how popular that program is -- next best thing is to try to prevent as many people as possible from receiving it. Who are the majority of those caught up in this mess?? -- People who lived in the states; paid into SS; have full eligibility for benefits...then retire to places like PR and suddenly, they don't deserve benefits they themselves paid into? And for what? Some arcane remnants of colonialism that punishes US territories....
If the Supreme Court decides to side with the government and cut off SSI benefits for residents in PR; this will definitely add more fuel to the fire for Puerto Rico and DC statehood. Hopefully this prompts Congress to write some legislation to correct this problem -- unless the GOP fearmongers about this and tries to convince people that "brown illegals in Puerto Rico are stealing tax dollars in the form of SSI benefits"