Hello friend!
I want to remind you of two key free upcoming calls/webinars we are hosting.
The first is on Oct. 1st at 1:30 PM EDT with Republican pollster Whit Ayres,
PhD and Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, PhD. We will be releasing a major
poll of the 12 battleground Senate races with key facts about disability
issues and voters. This is important for candidates as the majority of likely
voters either have a disability or a family member/loved one with a
disability. On Oct 7th we also have a very important call with experts
from the think tank Mathematica on what really works to enable people with
disabilities to get and maintain employment. Following best practices can
help save billions in tax dollars, and improve the lives of millions.
I also want to draw your attention to the oped below which I just published in
Huffington Post. It's stunning that this issue has not gotten more attention
yet! The SSDI trust fund will literally have a financial crash in 2016 when
it will only be able to pay out 8 out of 10 cents owed if nothing is done. My
view is that every big crisis is an opportunity for better solutions. So
please take the time to see the new ideas below as REAL change is
needed.
Warmly,
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
President, RespectAbilityUSA.org
P.S. I really need to hire someone full time to be my right hand in working
with leaders. We have identified the right person (a highly talented
self-advocate who I really trust) but need to raise $40,000 fast to make that
happen. Policy changes must happen quickly under the new WIOA law and I
really need help to follow up on these historic opportunities. Please go HERE to make your tax deductable donation now. Thanks in
advance for your help!
Modernize
Disability Benefits So People With Disabilities Can Work
So much of our society has changed over the past 60 years. We have made
tremendous progress in technology, medicine, education -- and in the
recognition that all people must be treated equally. Why is it, then, that we
continue to impose an outdated system on people with disabilities (PwDs) that
restricts their ability to work and earn a living?
Our current system was written for another time - back in 1956, when we
assumed people with disabilities would live in institutions or with their
parents, were denied access to school, and were largely dependent on others
throughout their lives. The federal government actually titled one of these
programs "Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled." They were
set up before basic civil rights laws were passed, including the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), which gave people with disabilities access to public schools and
spaces.
Under current law, there are two main benefits programs for providing income
support for people with significant disabilities. The first is Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) which is a social insurance program
designed to replace a portion of a worker's wages should that worker become
unable to work due to disability. The second is Supplemental Security Income
(SSI), which is an entitlement program that is not financed by a dedicated
trust and what tends to be people with developmental disabilities who require
services and supports to enter and stay in the workforce. They were designed
to help people with disabilities injured on the job or facing poverty, as
well as for children with significant disabilities, helping their families
offset the higher cost of raising them. However well intentioned, they often
prevent people from working.
In 2016, SSDI will have a financial shortfall, and this new fiscal cliff
provides an urgent and needed opportunity for new thinking. Currently, to get
benefits under SSDI or SSI, individuals must meet the disability definition
of "the inability to engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason
of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment expected to last at
least 12 months." They can have a job, but the monthly SGA earnings
limit to get SSI in 2014 is $1,070 for non-blind individuals and $1,800 for
statutorily blind individuals. It is extremely difficult to live off these
funds, yet millions of Americans do so because being in these programs gives
them access to something far more vital than cash payments - health insurance
and other supports through Medicare and Medicaid.
Indeed, polls show that for millions of Americans with disabilities, it's not
cash they want. It's the opportunity to work. It's access to a personal care
assistant (PCA) to help someone who is quadriplegic get out of bed, dressed
and transported to work and to live independently.
Someone who is newly blind or deaf may need cash benefits temporarily while
they get training in how to function independently and use assistive
technology. They may also need free access to computers that will
"talk" to or for them as they read or type at work. But then they
will be ready to work and may not need a cash stipend.
For someone with cancer or recovering from a stroke, it may be access to
healthcare and flexibility in the workplace to allow him or her to go to
doctor's appointments or to telecommute. But today's system is all or
nothing, and to get those vital services people with disabilities on SSI
can't have more than $2000 in liquid assets. This undermines two basic
American values -- hard work and savings - and promotes isolation and
poverty. It victimizes people with disabilities. It traps people with low
expectations, when they would rather pursue their dreams of work, savings,
dignity and independence.
Congress is due to vote soon on the bipartisan Achieving a Better Life
Experience (ABLE) Act that presents a part of the solution. It has an
impressive 379 cosponsors in the House and 74 in the Senate. If the ABLE Act
becomes law, SSI/SSDI recipients who acquired their disabilities at a young
age will be able to maintain services while working full-time and/or in
better- paying jobs, while building some savings for disability-related
expenses that exceed the current outdated limitations. Isn't this what we all
should want?
However, while the ABLE Act would be a massive improvement, it would not help
the millions of Americans who received their disabilities after the age of
25. And it is still too small for people with more involved disabilities who
need a personal care assistant to get dressed and to work. We need to modernize
the system and increase the limits placed on income and saving for all
working-age people with disabilities receiving SSI/SSDI. This will allow them
to build a safety net with their own earningsrather than with government
benefits.
While keeping a solid safety net for those who need it, we should enable
people with disabilities to work, and have procedures in place to allow them
back on SSI or SSDI quickly if they lose their jobs. After all, workplace
discrimination still exists and realistically it can take them longer to find
new employment. We need to do some short term fixes to deal with the
insolvency of SSDI. However, the long terms solution is to stop punishing
people with disabilities who dare get jobs and become taxpayers.
It's time to embrace the unique characteristics and talents that people with
disabilities bring to workplaces, which benefit employers. As companies like
Walgreens, AMC, EY and others have found, employees who have disabilities are
extremely productive, highly loyal and less likely to quit. If we find the
right jobs for the right people, it will boost companies' bottom line.
Modernization of the full disabilities benefits system would be good for
taxpayers, who will not be required to foot the entire bill for a lifetime of
dependency; good for businesses who find loyal, reliable, and motivated
employees; and good for people with disabilities, who will be happier,
healthier, and lead fuller lives when they are able to work. Updating the
benefits system and increasing employment among people with disabilities is a
win-win-win.
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