People who graduated HS in the mid 80's - Do you remember this Reagan move

[LynneSin]

One of the benefits of Social Security was that you would receive SSN if your spouse passed away and you had kids under the age of 18 OR in college (they would be extended for undergrad).

These checks were a big help to our family when my father passed away. My mom was a stay athome mom, it took awhile for the estate to settle (there was some money but my father had no will) and my brother was a freshman in an expensive college.

But in order for Reagan to pay for his massive defense spending he had to make cuts and one of them was the SSN money given to children like myself who had lost a parent AND were extending their education to college. In 1982 was the cutoff and anyone who turned 18 after that year would no longer receive any money if they decided to go on to college. It was grandfathered, so if you were in college already you would continue to get the money until you graduated

Believe me, it wasn't much. I think my brother and I each got about $250-$300 each and if I remember, my brother actually got his check whereas mine went to my mother (brother was in college and over 18 and I was probably around 14-15).

The reason I ask is I remember in 1982 about a half dozen people who I knew including one person I was close to (This guy who was eventually my first boyfriend but we were good friends beforehand) all dropped out of school and enrolled in the local community college. They were HS Seniors and I was never quite sure how they worked out their HS diplomas, but they all had the grades that they could skip their final semester of HS and start taking college classes so they could keep their SSN (they too had all lost a parent at some time).

Does anyone else remember this, knew someone who went through this or maybe this happened to you.

Just another example of bad policies from the Reagan administration. What's ironic - my brother got to keep his check since he was a sophmore in college and he's a big neo-con.

Edit note: It was 1982 and I was actually 16 when it passed so I got the benefit until I was 18. I could be wrong that was half my lifetime ago. But I'll never ever have any respect or compassion for that horrible old man who is probably braindead by now. I hope he lives 20 more years in his horrible state (that's reagan my friends)

[Throckmorton]

1. It is the SSA Survivor Benefit,

and today it ends at age 16. Thanks Ronnie Raygun.

[LynneSin]

2. And I also have my years off - it was 1982 that it ended

And it was grandfathered for everyone because I turned 16 before it actually was cut off so I got the money.

I'm getting old so the memories are slightly faded.

:mad:

And they want to put this asshole's face on a $10 bill??



I DON'T THINK SO!!!!

[patmacsf]

3. Yes, I remember ...

I graduated H.S. in 1982 and a few of my classmates had to do just what you described ... specifically, start taking classes at the local community college. But at the same time, they were still attending classes at H.S.

Yeah, Republicans are all about screwing women and children. Don't let yourselves be fooled.

[BeatleBoot]

4. I was one

My mom died when I was in kindergarten (1969) and I'll never forget the day the high school counselor called me to his office and told me about the Reagan SS cuts.

I continued going to high school full time and attending college classes at night at the local community college. Yep, my junior and senior years of high school were spent taking college classes just so my family could continue receiving the benefits. When I graduated from high school I was like almost a sophomore in college!

Its weird because I was just explaining this to a friend and he didn't remember me attending college back then.

Thanks for letting me share this LynneSin. I always bring this story up when people ask me why I'm a Democrat.

[tsipple]

5. Reagan Also Introduced Taxation of Scholarships

My father grew up with Social Security survivors benefits paid to his mom. Somehow they got by. As you say, it wasn't a lot of money, but it kept them going (along with his mom's -- my grandmother's -- modest salary as a school kitchen worker). His dad (my grandfather) died in his mid 40s of a heart attack.

Reagan also introduced taxation of college scholarships. Any amount of money over your educational expenses (tuition, books, etc.) was (is) taxed starting in the 1980s. This taxation hurts graduate students in the arts and sciences, especially, some of whom receive modest stipends to pay for very modest living expenses. I was getting $8,000 to $10,000 above tuition in graduate school, and it was enough to get by, but only just. But a chunk of that was wiped out in taxes.

President Clinton somewhat compensated for Reagan's policies by boosting student aid and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

[geebensis]

6. I was affected...

The rule was that students had to be enrolled full time in college in the spring of 1982 if they were to ever receive payments. The local community college hastily set up a "mini-mester" for high school seniors, and about 50 from my county attended.

The benefits were also reduced 25% a year until they disappeared.

My family had always counted on that money to send me to college, and when it disappeared I wound up having to transfer to a cheaper school and working 40-50 hours a week to afford tuition.

[Lars39]

7. I saw many friends affected by this. Also by massive student loan cuts.

Just terrible. You'd see so many hard-working folks one quarter and the next they'd be gone because of their financial aid drying up. :(

Wish this was posted in the GD so more people could read it....