There is a bill working its way through the legislative sausage process in Washington, DC that, if successful, will have profound positive impact on millions of people with disabilities. It is not a new layer of complex regulations, or a swath of new dependency inducing benefits. No, it is an opportunity for the government to simply get out of the way, and afford people the opportunity to help themselves without losing a critical safety net that many of them will still require. Proponents are calling this the most significant legislation for the disabled since the passing of the ADA.
Just about everyone should be able to stand firmly behind this bill – everyone save for a few old geezers, whose free Medicare provided vacuum erection systems (penis pumps) have been scrapped in a cost offset maneuver to pay for this bill. Interestingly, polling indicates overwhelming support for this move by old geezers wives. More on that in a moment.
The problem with many well intentioned government assistance programs is that they often get in the way of people who prefer to, wherever and to whatever extent possible, help themselves. These programs punish any semblance of independence, dignity and self respect by commanding complete reliance in exchange for assistance – or the person risks getting no help at all.
Years ago, in “another life”, I had minimum wage and near minimum wage employees who worked hard to support their families. Still, the economic realities of these unskilled positions meant that it was very difficult to go it alone on the wages their skill sets could command. Subsistence at these levels meant government support would be very helpful to these people. Despite the many grumblings about welfare and social support in our society, there are many of us who do not begrudge a helping hand to those who are trying to help themselves.
But the government often does not work that way; its policies often demanding complete subservience and offering assistance only to those who provide no effort or support of their own doing. I will never forget the day I learned that two of my employees had gone to inquire about food stamp assistance, and were told by a government employee that they should quit their jobs. They were not told to quit because working was beneath them or because their boss was a jerk. No, they were told they should quit in order to then get full access to a broader range of benefits; benefits unavailable to them as long as they continued to attempt to support themselves. And these are not benefits that would make them rich, rather those that would keep them dependent and permanently poor.
It is as perverse a notion as it is wrong. Welcome to modern day economic enslavement in America.
Our nations disabled are not exempt from this dilemma. However, for many of them, help may be on the way.
Currently this nation's tax codes say that persons who are disabled cannot have accumulated assets of more than $2,000 and still receive government assistance. This means that individuals with conditions like Down Syndrome are not able to work, to save or participate in our economy – since doing so would potentially remove critical support they need, while any income they earn could not fully accommodate the loss. It is a conundrum for many, and simply not fair to those confronting this issue.
Last week, the ABLE Act, which stands for Achieving a Better Life Experience, passed the House of Representatives with a whopping 404 votes. Only 17 dunderheads opposed the measure.
The bill will allow people with disabilities to set up tax free savings accounts, similar to 529 college savings accounts. They will be able to save up to $14,000 a year in these accounts. The funds will be available to cover housing, transportation and other expenses. The savings they build in these “ABLE accounts” will not jeopardize their eligibility for Medicaid and Social Security benefits.
Currently, to qualify for those benefits, people with disabilities cannot have more than $2,000 in assets and cannot earn more than about $680 per month.
This bill has been a central effort of the Mast family for the last several years. Jonathan Mast, Social Media Director for TPA Sedgwick, and his wife Jawanda have been working for years to help achieve this result. The Mast's young daughter Rachel has Down syndrome, and both she and her mother have traveled to DC every year to help lobby for this bill. Jonathan said of this effort, “We don't want Rachel to take handouts necessarily. We want her to earn a living, be like anybody else, and have a job, but also be realistic and understand that as she grows, there will still be things that she needs and even if you have a fairly good income, that can be fairly expensive.”
I applaud them for their efforts. Millions will live a better life as a result.
The bill now heads on to the Senate, where it seems to have ample support for passage. In its current version the new rules will not apply to all disabled people; only those who develop or are diagnosed with a disabling condition by the age of 26, but it is a start.
If this bill manages the legislative maze of the Senate and is signed into law by the President, it will represent boundless new opportunities for a segment of our disabled population. They will be able to work, pay taxes and contribute to Social Security. They will be more independent, relying more on their own abilities with less dependence on the social safety net. Everyone wins in this scenario.
Except, of course, for the old geezer contingent, who will lose those treasured penis pumps. You see, Washington looks at the potential loss of tax revenue as a “cost”, thereby requiring that spending offsets be found to “pay” for this new non-benefit benefit. One thing this bill does is ban Medicare from spending $440 million a year in providing Vacuum Erection Systems. That is a peck of penis pumps, people. I suppose for people in this category this should be called the “No Longer ABLE” act.
At any rate, it is a trade off in support of a very worthy cause. Disabled people who need help will no longer be required to sacrifice their dignity or independence in the process. It is a concept that everyone, or almost everyone, can stand firmly behind.