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Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

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Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#181

Post by zackmorris »

Here are some tangible options, depending on whether your disability status allows them:

* Donating plasma: up to $900/month in my city, note that they may be able to work around medication(s), but it might be considered taxable income: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-credits-deductions/dis...

* Bacon (no affiliation): usually temp and handyman work, but it's worth signing up to see if they offer clerical/remote work as part of an anti-discrimination effort for the disabled: https://www.baconwork.com

* Support others in your situation: your technical skills are in high demand at agencies that advocate for the disabled, perhaps you could contact someone at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employm...

I would add that I struggled for many of the last 20 years under a scarcity mindset. But reconnecting as part of a community really helped me see that we all have equal dignity and a desire to be of service. For me, mustering the faith to try new things for a couple of weeks, while being mindful about setting boundaries and having fallback options, really helped get me back to healthy and sustainable work.

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#182

Post by ABCLAW »

reaperducer wrote: post #130
foxyv wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It strikes me as unfair that somebody who is "lawyered up" can find loopholes to protect their income whereas for many disabled people the process of applying for disability is like going to the moon or becoming a Navy Seal. This has been an inherent flaw in our legal system since the inception of our country. We do not have a right to equal representation. The right to have representation at all is barely even a t…

We do not have a right to equal representation. I'm not sure that's the case here. It's a matter of knowledge transfer. Lawyers know things. People with money can afford to get knowledge from lawyers. People without money cannot afford to get knowledge from lawyers. It's not a problem with the "system" that mathematicians know more about math than the general public, and that people who have the money can hire a math…

>It's not a problem with the "system" that mathematicians know more about math than the general public

One of the historical high watermarks in legal history is the existence of the twelve tables, a highly condensed, shortened version of roman law which was prominently displayed in public market places and other easily accessible fora - specifically to allow non-patricians to understand and have access to the law.

Other moments in legal history have ruling classes enacting legislation in languages which the common-folk don't even speak.

We exist along a spectrum between 'everyone knows and understands' to 'nearly no one knows and understands', but don't take the difficulty of fixing the issue with the idea that it isn't a problem in the first place. It is a problem, and it's a large one.

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#183

Post by lief79 »

ROTMetro wrote: post #157
foxyv wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However, if say you wanted to offer your help to someone else, you would in fact be breaking the law. You cannot represent other people or offer legal advice without first spending 200 grand on a degree. I agree that the US should offer an equivalent alternative to Lexus Nexus. The law should never be behind a paywall.

The prisons and terms of my supervised release were required to allow me to continue helping inmates I had been helping previously (making an acception to the condition that I not associate with felons and requiring the prison to allow such correspondence). I wonder if that small crack that gives court recognized and enforced legal protection to me continuing to practice law without a degree could be used to break th…

You weren't representing yourself as a lawyer, with them or in court. I'm assuming that's both the potential problem and the work around.

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#184

Post by admax88qqq »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #121
PaulHoule wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It bugs me that almost all the people I know that have gotten on disability have come from upper-class families, frequently the parents are part of the "business class" and work with lawyers on a regular basis. Conversely I've known many people who come from lower class or middle class families that have hit hard times who are seriously mental ill (e.g. addicted to cigarettes but so thought disordered that it takes t…

There are a lot of aid groups that advise on this stuff. In fact I’d never heard of special needs trust and kagi’ed for it and a lot of the results were aid groups offering help in setting them up and understanding them. It doesn’t require you to lawyer up. But it requires you to seek help. A problem with mental illness is you often are unable to seek help on your own, and if your support network is ignorant of the f…

Benefits shouldn't have this cliff where you lose them if you start doing too well.

It's an poverty/low income trap. If you're on disability/welfare you should still be incentived and rewarded for making money outside of your government payment.

It could be a constant thing like UBI or a gradual reduction like income tax brackets where more money earned is always more money in your pocket.

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#185

Post by fnordpiglet »

admax88qqq wrote: post #184
fnordpiglet wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of aid groups that advise on this stuff. In fact I’d never heard of special needs trust and kagi’ed for it and a lot of the results were aid groups offering help in setting them up and understanding them. It doesn’t require you to lawyer up. But it requires you to seek help. A problem with mental illness is you often are unable to seek help on your own, and if your support network is ignorant of the f…

Benefits shouldn't have this cliff where you lose them if you start doing too well. It's an poverty/low income trap. If you're on disability/welfare you should still be incentived and rewarded for making money outside of your government payment. It could be a constant thing like UBI or a gradual reduction like income tax brackets where more money earned is always more money in your pocket.

Agreed

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#187

Post by lukewrites »

nelsonenzo wrote: post #186

Teaching conversational English online can easily earn $15-25/hr, especially if you have an American accent. The hours might be weird but once you have some students, they become consistent.

To follow up on this, something completely overlooked in "teaching English" is being able to do language instruction in a specialist field. I did this for Lenovo employees in Beijing and earned much more per hour than any contract work recruiters shovel my way...and that was 12 years ago.

As with anything, the hard work is finding the first jobs. Connect with China or Japan based folks and go from there. OP feel free to email me (my hn handle at icloud) if you'd like to talk more about this.

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#188

Post by ROTMetro »

kanzure wrote: post #160
ROTMetro wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who became a 'jailhouse lawyer' I disagree. Once you understand the basics it's pretty understandable, and it's self documenting with our use of case law. Now, the fact that to read the cases, which are the texts of 'the law' since we use case law and you have to pay a fortune to Lexus Nexus should be illegal. If the text of the cases ARE the law of the land (which the whole case law thing demonstrates is…

... do inmates get free access to LexisNexis?

In the Feds yes.

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#189

Post by roundandround »

The semi-tech-savvy small business people I encounter tend to manage CMS, WordPress, etc, sites for less tech savvy small businesses as a kind of support contract.

I think it has similar downsides as consulting except that it can provide a very fixed income while the amount of work to do varies instead of having income swings.

Re: Ask HN: Disabled and out of work for years, but need some side income

#190

Post by ROTMetro »

lief79 wrote: post #183
ROTMetro wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prisons and terms of my supervised release were required to allow me to continue helping inmates I had been helping previously (making an acception to the condition that I not associate with felons and requiring the prison to allow such correspondence). I wonder if that small crack that gives court recognized and enforced legal protection to me continuing to practice law without a degree could be used to break th…

You weren't representing yourself as a lawyer, with them or in court. I'm assuming that's both the potential problem and the work around.

I wrote their motions to the court, helped them file them, etc. I got a dozen people released during COVID, and those with lawyers adopted some of my work for their other cases. Sure seemed like 'lawyering' :)
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