Smith: Is it better to be kept on SSDI than to work?

By Brian Smith
Published: February 12, 2010

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Morganton, NC --

I am a 51-year-old man who has been on Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) for over half my life.
I have tried different careers to further my existence. I sold real estate and tried selling life insurance, but both were taxing on my nerves and abilities to cope.
The real-estate program I attended in school was funded by the government and the funding for my continued education is also funded by the government and student loans. I am now enrolled in a well-known on-line college in order to further my education.
I previously received an associate's degree from The Western International University, a subsidiary of the University of Phoenix. Getting that degree was no easy feat for me. I was diagnosed with cancerous brain tumors in 1980 and told I would either be dead soon or a vegetable within six years. I have proved the doctors' predictions to be inaccurate. I finished the business degree in 2007, giving me the first degree in my family.
The next year, I went on to seek a bachelors degree in human resources from the University of Phoenix. Due to its being a fast-paced program, I was unable to finish. I asked for more time, but was failed out of the program. And I was told I owed them $2,323 for tuition that they were not able to collect from the government. No matter that the classes were the cause of two mental breakdowns and numerous panic attacks, I still owed them.
Now I have transferred to a different university, but the University of Phoenix refuses to send them the transcripts I need to continue my education. The classes for the associates degree have been paid for in full and I only owe for a few classes for the bachelor's attempt, but the University of Phoenix will not send any transcripts as per their policy.
I wonder if it is more profitable for me to continue receiving SSDI for the rest of my life than it is for the University of Phoenix to get what government money they want? I cannot pay them back without an education.
Earning the bachelor's degree will allow me to become a viable, taxpaying citizen again. So far I have got the run-around from many government departments who are sworn to be advocates for the disabled. It seems to me that if education is so important, then something will be done to regulate these major universities from holding people's transcripts and educational advancements, making the government pay through the teeth just to help these universities grow, and stealing people's livelihoods, like mine, just so they can make a buck.
I just want to work and go back to helping this country be better and more prosperous.