This page was last updated on July 9, 2015.
Bill is an oxymoron; Jay Sudak; Beaver County Times; July 7, 2015.
Of his three previous letters, I critiqued only “Bush’s absence speaks volumes.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“For the Republican state Rep. Jim Marshall, who introduced a bill that proposes for those on disability to no longer have their savings accounts subject to taxation, I have important news: Those on disability have no savings.”
“They live from disability check to disability check. The proposed bill is an oxymoron.”
[RWC] Everything Mr. Sudak wrote is wrong.
Has anyone seen a similar letter Mr. Sudak wrote about the bill this bill (HB 1319) is patterned after, “the federal ABLE Act [HR 647 of 113th Congress], sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., [that] became law late last year?” (BCT 6/25/15) No, neither have I. It appears Mr. Sudak just wanted to bash a Republican and didn’t care about the facts.
Mr. Sudak failed to mention a state must enact a bill like HB 1319 for its citizens to benefit from the federal ABLE Act. The PA ABLE Act passed the House 193 – 1 so it wasn’t a Democrat vs. Republican issue.
Mr. Sudak seems to think “disability” is only for the poor. SSDI is not a means-tested benefit, though “Supplemental Security Income (SSI) based on a medical condition” is.
As for HB 1319 “proposes for those on disability to no longer have their savings accounts subject to taxation,” not true. The tax-free status applies only to “ABLE accounts” “opened through a contract entered into by an account owner and the [PA Treasury] department.” The PA Treasury Department is the “banker.” The funds in an ABLE account may only be withdrawn for “qualified disability expenses.” “Nonqualified withdrawals” are subject to taxation.
In both bills, ABLE stands for “Achieving a Better Life Experience.” I don’t think Mr. Sudak knows what oxymoron means.
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