How Asking for a 10,000 Raise Started Sinking My Ship

I didn't get the raise, and I didn't expect to.
But by coincidence, extra work and unexpected fortune, my income did rise by about $10,000 in the last year. And it turned out that while I knew that sum would be the first step to growing out of a very particular income bracket into which I had arrived and was just a hair beyond public assistance territory, I didn't imagine it would be as staggeringly paralyzing as it turned out to be.

You see, it is the case that between a dollar and the next lies the qualification for $350 in food assistance each month. Imagine the impact. The difference of a dollar adds up to the difference in thousands of public assistance. So that happened. Money that might be sparingly saved literally got eaten at the table.

There was an actual raise, a carefully crafted number that would preserve qualification for public health assistance or affordable health care. Neither change reared immediately, rendering a false sense of security.

And there was a surprise bonus. That was great fortune at the time, as it eased the burden of a pay drought and accommodated a change in work availability. Between the food and typical monthly expenses, it kept everything afloat.

When it all added up, there was the nearly $10K. The magic number that erased the magic.
I never foresaw it would erase the glorious and welcome ritual of a tax return. I certainly never anticipated it would require tax be paid. I failed to consider that sustainable income would quickly convert a few comfort dollars into a burden to be paid. In taxes alone, my $10,000 gain cost at least $2000.

Having more money, even just a bit more, costs more.
Enough more that I can only expect to keep having less.

Currently, I can't afford health insurance, as in I don't have the income beyond my existing expenses to pay that bill each month.
To be more specific, I could 'afford' health insurance if my daughters didn't wear braces or need an educational boost or cultivate musicianship, or if I didn't financially contribute to having those things.
If I don't pay for those things, who would?
Uniquely, I actually had all of those things along with health insurance until my income was deemed to high to qualify for the insurance. Subsequently, my income has been deemed grand enough to spare 40% of what is left after paying typical bills (housing, food, gas, utilities) for health insurance. With 92% of that income on the child-rearing ship, I'm sunk.