A short post for once

Before you begin: I have not proofread this at all, it's too freaking long! Also, this isn't a financial examination; I am not trained for that sort of thing. This is a social examination.

There are many reasons I voted for Barack Obama in the Texas primary. One of the main reasons I voted for him is his stance and detailed plan for people with disabilities. I realize that most people don't think this is an issue that affects them (though it does, intimately), but it means a great deal to me. Barack Obama seems to be the only candidate who views people with disabilities as important enough to address.

Why do I think he's the only one? Two months ago Disaboom.com was in talks with the three campaigns about being a part of the website to take an active, communicative role in the disability community. Only one of the campaigns chose to do so; you know which one, right? Also, the Obama website is the only one of the three that includes a page for people with disabilities. These things may seem small to you, but they are extremely important to us. Why? because we're used to being overlooked, ignored and trampled upon by so many people in this world. The inclusion as a sign of importance in the Obama campaign means that we have taken a step in the direction of equality that is long, long overdue. We have been recognized. We have been given hope. When I told my brother that I was voting for Obama he kept repeating that Obama did not have a way to implement the promises he was making. With that in mind, I'd like to look at his plan for inclusiveness and rights for the disabled, point by point. Come on, you know y'all love my point by point posts! (ahem)

Obama intends to make the United States a signatory of the U.N.'s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The United States did eventually sign this convention. A bill was just recently introduced into the House in part to ratify the signing of the convention. There are 39 co-sponsors of that bill, all democrats. That actually surprises me and it makes me wonder if we have come as far as I thought we had in bridging the ideology gap. Oh well.

PROVIDING AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Fully Funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Barack Obama has been a strong and consistent advocate for fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Congress promised to shoulder 40 percent of each state’s “excess cost” of educating children with disabilities, but it has never lived up to this obligation. Currently, the federal government provides less than half of the promised funding (17 percent). Children are being shortchanged, and their parents are forced to fight with cash-strapped school districts to get the free and appropriate education the IDEA promises their children. Fully funding IDEA will provide students with disabilities the public education they have a right to, and school districts will be able to provide services without cutting into their general education budgets. In addition to fully funding IDEA, Obama will ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the Act.

I admit, living up to the promise of funding 40% of IDEA is going to be pricey. I am sure taxes will be raised. However, we cannot call ourselves equal if we do not have the same access to education that "normal" children have and can easily access. While it would be wonderful if the states could find the money for these programs, that isn't going to happen any time soon. All you need to do to see the inequality of school funding is compare schools and school equipment in wealthy areas to schools in poor areas. I remember when this scandal broke in L.A. I tried to find pictures but was unable to find them. They were disgusting. I can't remember if I saw it on the news or in the paper, but I do remember seeing the pictures of the sewage clogged bathrooms, filthy and unusable classrooms and antiquated equipment. It was shocking, then it was shocking that I would find it shocking. Of course the schools in south central were in deplorable condition! Of course the schools in Beverly Hills were top of the line! They are funded by property taxes. Less property value=less educational value. Dur. So, the question is: how is that working out for us as a country? Yeah, not so well. If you have a child with special needs or know people with children with special needs, you know that the school districts who have adequate access and services are few and far between. You literally have to move to get into a district that has those services. And that only addresses the children with special needs. What about everyone else? What about the kids in lower income neighborhoods who do not have the benefit of those higher property values? What happens to them? The reality will remain, if we do not fund education for everyone, our society will continue to suffer from higher crime rates and higher social welfare need. How is that good? How is it good that you have to come from money to get a proper education in this country? How? The federal government stepping in with funding is our hope, now. That is why Obama endorses the idea for federal funding for education. Oh, and before anyone brings up re-allocation plans, we tried it; it was a disaster.

Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities: Children's ability to succeed in school relies on the foundation they build in their first three years. Pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds is important, but it is not enough to ensure children arrive at school ready to learn. This is particularly so for children with disabilities and/or special health care needs, who already face challenges in the early years that can set them behind their peers before they ever enter school. Barack Obama will invest $10 billion per year in early intervention educational and developmental programs for children between zero and five. His plan will help expand Early Head Start to serve more children with disabilities, and will spur states, through programs like Early Learning Challenge Grants, to expand programs for children with disabilities, such as IDEA Part C, and integrate these programs with other early childhood programs.

Again, this will be pricey. I think it comes down to whether we want children to lead productive lives in society and attempt to learn in school or if we want to pay for them to be wards of the state once they either reach the age of 18 or their parents surrender them to the state or die. Either way, we'll be paying for them. If we attempt to allow them a better shot at education by early intervention, we might save money for society in the end.

Support Universal Screening: Roughly 90 percent of infants in the United States are screened for various potentially disabling or life-threatening conditions, but fewer than half the states screen all infants for the American College of Medical Genetics’ full recommended panel of 29 disorders. Many of these conditions, if caught early, can be treated before they result in permanent impairments or even death. And parents are often unaware that the tests are available. Barack Obama believes that we should ensure that all states have comprehensive newborn screening programs. In addition, Obama supports setting a national goal to provide rescreening for all two-year-olds – the age at which some conditions, including autism spectrum disorders, begin to appear. Part of Obama's early childhood intervention plan will be directed at coordinating fragmented community programs to help provide parents with information about screening for disabilities as infants and again as two-year olds. Achieving universal screening is essential so that disabilities can be identified early enough to help children and families get the special supports and resources they need.

This one is tricky. I can see that it is a good idea in order to treat certain conditions before they cause permanent damage or money wasted on needless tests and ineffective treatments. However, this scares me a bit while we still have so much discrimination in our society and while our insurance is tied to employment. For example: if we had known that I had APS before Jon qualified for benefits through his current job, I would not be covered. If I had been tested as an infant (and if the tests had existed back then), I would never have had insurance and would not be alive today. I don't think this problem is a rarity. With that in mind, until we find some other way to offer insurance than a way that can and does cause a great deal of discrimination and corruption, genetic screening in infancy is a little too frightening for me.

Support Vocational Rehabilitation Programs: Students with disabilities who graduate from high school face unique challenges that often serve as barriers to college matriculation or entry into the workforce. Vocational rehabilitation programs currently exist in every state that have provided successful counseling to help high school students with disabilities and high school graduates with disabilities to develop the life skills necessary to move on to college and into independent lives. Obama supports vocational rehabilitation programs and will assure there is sufficient funding to empower Americans with disabilities to succeed in college and beyond.

Vocational rehabilitation is essential for the above mentioned idea that we want people with disabilities, especially cognitive disabilities, to have a chance at leading productive lives in society. Pay now or pay later (and pay more); it's our choice.

Improving College Opportunities for High School Graduates with Disabilities: If they are to succeed to their fullest capabilities in the labor market, students with disabilities need more opportunities to obtain a college education. Today, however, students with disabilities are less likely to attend college than their peers and are less likely to complete a degree program when they do attend. When students with disabilities do graduate from college, the first year of their participation in the labor market is roughly equal to their classmates without disabilities. This is essential. I am sure it has changed significantly when I was in college, but I had a hell of a time trying to get my learning disabilities recognized and accommodated. In the end, I gave up. Imagine how much harder it would be for a student who hasn't had as much opportunity as I have had or as much of a support system. The fact is, we must give students with disabilities an equal chance at college as everyone else. We benefit as a society when our population is more educated. Come on, we all know that education is never a bad thing. This section continues: o improve college opportunities, Barack Obama will: • Make College More Affordable: Obama will help make college more affordable and accessible by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two thirds of the cost of tuition at the average public college or university.

I can't even begin to understand how this would be a bad thing. People think of college and they think of the cost of tuition, maybe room and board. But they forget that kids have to buy very expensive textbooks and have to spend time going to class and studying. That is time they can't spend working and making money to pay for all of this. It puts a severe stress on students and causes the majority of them to make grades that are not indicative of their abilities. Yes, some do well, I am not disputing that. However, the vast majority do suffer from the lack of time to prepare for class. The lower grades lead to less opportunity in the long run; the circle goes back around.

Just for comparison, let's look at the textbook I use for my class. I chose an anthology because I think it is unfair to ask my students to buy a whole bunch of books for my class. The twelfth edition came out in 2006, so you'd think it was new and improved. But let's be honest, there isn't any new research in philosophy that necessitates constant updates to the anthology. The difference was in adding a few excerpts, taking a couple away and changing the excerpt they chose for Pascal (which really pissed me off). The current edition's list price, $78. Now, it's not all that more expensive than the 11th edition, but here's the catch: when you order the book for class, you have to order the latest edition. Since no one has had it, there aren't any used copies for students to buy; they all have to pay the full price for this one book for one class. Hmmm, might that be a reason for the latest edition? I don't begrudge textbook publishers from making a good living; however, there is no excuse for gouging students simply because they can.

• Strengthen Community Colleges: Almost half of all college students with disabilities attend public two-year institutions, particularly community colleges. Obama will create a Community College Partnership Program to strengthen community colleges by providing grants to (a) conduct more thorough analysis of the types of skills and technical education that are in high demand from students and local industry; (b) implement new associate of arts degree programs that cater to emerging industry and technical career demands; and (c) reward those institutions that graduate more students and also increase their numbers of transfer students to four-year institutions. These efforts will ensure that community college students are able to directly use their skills in the workforce following graduation, and be prepared to continue their higher education. And the grants will support programs that facilitate transfers from two-year institutions to four-year institutions.

You already know I will be all for this one. Community colleges offer a vital service to society in their affordable education and inclusive learning programs. The should be offering core classes that are as good as the classes you would take at many four year universities. I realize this is not always the case, but I am biased since I work at what is considered the top community college in the country and in Canada. My dean did her doctoral dissertation on my school (long before she worked there) because it is such a remarkable school. I know I am extremely lucky to work there. Anyway, community colleges provide students who may not have had the most traditional or easy road to education access to higher education in a safe and more familiar environment. They aren't assaulted with campus cliques or forced to find a new life for themselves in a university. Chances are, the college they choose is close to home and more comfortable. It allows them to get their feet wet, in other words. It also allows for those nontraditional students to start slowly and learn the basics necessary for a successful college career. Community colleges offer courses in writing for college, math for college, etc. They offer these classes so that students aren't dropped into classes like mine where they are expected to be able to write college level papers and to understand how to read a text. These classes are more necessary than I can possibly explain.

The other important service community colleges offer is cheaper tuition for the same education. We offer "core" classes that transfer to any university or college and should be commensurate with their classes. I know that my class passes the rigorous standards for any university in the United States or Canada. This allows students to leave college with less debt and to spend those first two or three years in college learning how to be a college student. We all makes mistakes, and learning to be a serious college student is no easy task. Community colleges offer an excellent opportunity to find your way in college.

Authorize a Comprehensive Study of Students with Disabilities and Transition to Work and Higher Education: There has not been a comprehensive study of evaluating access to higher education or transition to the workforce by students with disabilities. As president, Barack Obama will initiate such a study and task his Secretary of Education with researching: the barriers that keep students with disabilities from seeking and completing higher education; the barriers that prevent students from making a direct transition to work; the extent to which students with disabilities are able to access loans and grants; reasons college students with disabilities drop out at a higher rate; and best practices from schools that have effectively recruited and graduated students with disabilities that can be implemented more widely.

More priceyness, I know. But also something we must know. We can't set up a society in which people are allowed to be productive and contributing members if we don't understand the challenges those people face on the road to productivity and success.

II. ENDING DISCRIMINATION AND PROMOTING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Restoring the Americans with Disabilities Act: As a former civil rights lawyer and a strong advocate for workplace diversity, Barack Obama understands the critical importance of reducing workplace and labor market discrimination against people with disabilities, including by expanding employers’ provision of workplace accommodations. The Supreme Court has severely restricted the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by narrowly defining what it means to have a “disability.” As a result, lower courts have held that people with epilepsy, diabetes, heart disease and cancer can be fired from their jobs because they have those conditions. Obama strongly supports Senator Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) ADA Restoration Act, which would overturn the Supreme Court decisions that limit the ADA’s coverage and effectiveness and will sign it into law as president.

Most people don't know about the gutting of the ADA by the Supreme Court. They have created this weird catch 22 that forces people to be so disabled they cannot work or not disabled enough if they can work. In other words, if you still want to work but need accommodation, you're obviously not disabled because you're still able to work. If you're not disabled, then employers can fire you without prejudice for having a disability. Yup, it's absolutely true. Isn't that outrageous? It basically invalidates the ADA and strips it of any of its employment protections. The ADA Restoration Act is necessary.

Appointing Judges and Justices Who Respect Laws Designed to Protect People with Disabilities: Barack Obama will appoint judges and justices who respect Congress’ role as a co-equal, democratically elected branch of government and who exhibit empathy with what it means to be an American with a disability. The Supreme Court’s interpretations of the ADA have shown disrespect for Congress’ intent and frustrated the law’s goals of fully integrating people with disabilities into society.

This is kind of a no brainer. It just assures us that he will be mindful of the ideology of the justices he appoints. That's not something anyone else wouldn't do, it just depends on the ideology in question. It's nice to know that Obama will be paying attention to the judges's views on disability; most people sort of forget about us.

Increasing Funding for Enforcement: The Bush Administration has cut funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the agencies tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws that protect workers with disabilities. Staffing for these agencies has also been significantly reduced. As a result, while the number of complaints filed with those agencies has remained steady, the number of charges resolved by the EEOC has declined. More than 100,000 charges were resolved in FY 1997 and FY 1998 but in FY 2006, fewer than 75,000 were resolved. Barack Obama will fully fund and increase staffing for the EEOC and the OFCCP to reduce charge backlogs and to prosecute efforts to remedy systemic discrimination. To assure that the federal government holds itself to a high anti-discrimination standard, Obama will appoint a Chair of the EEOC and nominate commissioners who are committed to enforcing anti-discrimination laws.

As we have seen with this recent scandal, the Bush administration has held a policy of exclusion when it comes to anyone that is not of the same ideological frame that they hold. Why would we fund the office of the EEOC when the people who would benefit from it are unimportant, right? The problem with that is that it creates a suck on society in that the courts are backlogged, people are forced to use more government services to live and employment goes down because of the cost of dealing with these cases. For example: let's say that a particular Wal-Mart store has had several complaints filed against it for discriminatory practices. Nothing happens, so the people who filed the complaints file a law suit. Wal-Mart is then forced to go to court to fight these suits and must then either raise prices or pay their workers less, even if temporarily. The courts are then inconvenienced and the people who were victimized are still without jobs and in need of government services. Now, what would have happened if the EEOC had had the funding necessary to investigate? Let's say it was the general manager of that particular store; they could deal with the problem, remedy the discrimination, problem solved. The vast amount of money and resources necessary to take the other route to "resolution" would be better spent elsewhere. How is that not preferable?

Supporting the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act: With medical advances in the field of genetics, getting genetically tested can be of increasing usefulness in diagnosing and treating certain health conditions. In order to take advantage of those advances people need to be assured that their genetic code will not be used against them in a discriminatory way. Barack Obama is a cosponsor of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information by employers and health insurers. The Act also applies health information privacy regulations to the use and disclosure of genetic information.

This deals with the one hesitation I had above. This is essential even if we don't implement genetic testing for infants and children. We live in constant fear that my genetic disorders being known to a potential employer could cause one or both of us to lose or not be hired for jobs. That would be utterly unfair. Some will say, yeah, but they are just making sure their company doesn't suffer for hiring an employee who may be sick. But you realize that you're not hiring someone based on a genetic difference, right? It is no different from not hiring someone based on the genetic difference of skin color. If the person is qualified and does not give any indication that the condition has caused problems, the discrimination inherent in using that as a reason not to hire them or in firing them is appalling.

Guaranteeing Health Care Coverage: Many people with disabilities do not seek work or leave the workforce because they need the guaranteed health insurance that the federal government’s benefit programs provide. As a result, many stay on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which include Medicare or Medicaid coverage, rather than take a job that might jeopardize their health care coverage. Barack Obama has pledged to sign universal health care legislation by the end of his first term in office that will assure that Americans with disabilities will have quality, affordable, portable coverage that will allow them to take a job without fear of losing coverage. People with disabilities who lose their Medicare or Medicaid eligibility by taking a job, but still cannot afford coverage, will be provided a subsidy in order to purchase coverage. Moreover, under Obama’s plan, insurers will not be able to deny coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions.

Yes, yes, I know. I don't know how this will work. I hope Obama has an idea. The problem that does exist for people on SSI is very real, though. It is never enough to live on, but they can't take any work if they want to retain their benefits. That's just dumb. If someone can work from home to supplement their income, what's the harm? We're not talking about able bodied people working and collecting SSI; these people need more help and yet are not allowed to also help themselves. Doesn't make sense, does it? The pre-existing clause is very, very important. It is appalling that insurance companies can deny coverage to people based on what they might consider pre-existing conditions. If I once sprained my finger, would all things having to do with my fingers be excluded? Don't laugh, it falls within the realm of "pre-existing conditions."

Improving Mental Health Care: Mental illness affects approximately one in five American families. Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home with record levels of combat stress. The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that untreated mental illnesses cost the U.S. more than $100 billion per year. Barack Obama is a supporter of the bipartisan Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, and, as a state senator, Obama helped pass a mental health parity bill that requires coverage for serious mental illnesses to be provided on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to other illnesses and diseases. As president, Obama will support mental health parity so that coverage for serious mental illnesses is provided on the same terms and conditions as other illnesses and diseases. For veterans, Obama will improve mental health care at every stage of military service—recruitment, deployment, and reentry into civilian life.

I've written about this extensively. It is completely wrong to treat mental illness any differently than we treat illnesses of the kidneys or any other biological or system. The brain is a part of the human body, the processes that cause disease in the brain are no less biological than any other form of disease. Yet, we still stigmatize mental illness and we declare that covering it in the same way is not valid. That is complete horseshit, as anyone who has dealt with mental illness can tell you. Mental illness is of the body.

III. INCREASING EMPLOYMENT RATE OF WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES Increasing Executive Branch Hiring of Workers with Disabilities: Barack Obama believes the federal government should serve as a model for other employers in hiring and accommodating employees with disabilities. The federal government is the United States’ largest employer. Obama believes the federal government must recruit, hire, retain and advance workers with disabilities. To achieve this end, Obama will reinstate Executive Order No. 13173 which President Clinton issued just before he left office. Executive Order No. 13173 failed to achieve its mandate of hiring an additional 100,000 federal employees with disabilities within five years. Obama will issue this executive order early in his first term and designate a senior White House official to assure that all federal departments and agencies meet the mandate. That official will also be responsible for integrating disability policy into major presidential initiatives. Obama will also ensure that all electronic and information technologies employed by the federal government are fully accessible to federal employees and members of the general public with disabilities, as required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. In that spirit, Obama has taken steps to make his campaign website consistent with Section 508 standards.

This seems reasonable to me. It’s akin to a CEO deciding that he wants to set an example for other CEOs to go green, so they begin to support green company practices. I think the idea of hiring 100,000 people with disabilities to work in the federal government is a good step. It doesn’t require anyone else to do it, it just puts into practice the ideas we say we uphold when we support equality. Also, 100,000 isn’t a huge number in terms of the size of the federal government. It’s not going to cause people to be hired who are incompetent or less competent than others.

Effectively Implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act: Barack Obama will direct all of his department and agency heads to bring their agencies into full compliance with all aspects of the Rehabilitation Act and adopt regulations which assure that result. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the federal government and employers who are federal contractors to “take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.” Yet, affirmative action in employment for adults with disabilities is not enforced with goals and timetables like the affirmative action requirements for people of color and women found in Executive Order No. 11246 and its progeny. As a result, affirmative action under the Rehabilitation Act is largely ineffective. Barack Obama will direct his Secretary of Labor to make changes to the regulations implementing Section 503 so that they more closely resemble those implementing Executive Order No. 11246.

I know there are many people against affirmative action. However, it is one of those necessary programs that were created when we decided to enforce equality, not just give it lip service. The stigma that has attached itself to affirmative action is one of being forced to hire incompetent people. This is just an unfortunate stereotype and one that is most often used when people want to object to affirmative action because they feel discriminated against (please!) or because they did not get a job or scholarship or entrance into a university. Chances are very good that person didn’t get the job or whatever because they were not the right fit. Really, none of that matters; the point is, until we have natural and actual equality, we must enforce it. It isn’t until people are around disabled people regularly and understand the benefits first hand of inclusion that attitudes will change. If we keep up this segregated living, people will never learn.

Providing Private-Sector Employers with Resources to Accommodate Employees with Disabilities: Several large employers, such as Walgreens, CVS, and Marriott, have led the way by establishing systems for recruiting, hiring, accommodating, retaining and promoting employees with disabilities. As president, Barack Obama will direct his Secretary of Labor, the Labor Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, and its Job Accommodation Network to bring together employers, employer associations, human resources professionals, disability advocates, service providers, and the labor movement to identify, promote, and disseminate best practices in accommodating workers with disabilities.

It’s hard to see how this is problematic or even all that costly. It makes sense that the government should take an active role in providing the way and the how for people with common needs and interests to get together. I wish this was unnecessary, but it remains so.

Encouraging Private-Sector Employers to Use Existing Tax Benefits to Hire More Workers with Disabilities: The tax code already contains several provisions designed to encourage employers to hire employees with disabilities, including the Disabled Access Tax Credit, a Tax Deduction for Architectural and Transportation Barrier Removal, and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Yet, very few employers actually take advantage of these credits. Barack Obama will launch an aggressive effort to educate employers about these tax benefits so that more employers use them to hire greater numbers of employees with disabilities.

This seems pretty easy to understand and something we can all agree upon, right? I mean, we want people to take advantage of tax credits, don’t we? Isn’t that part of the idea that we spend less in taxes in order to enforce inclusion?

Establishing a National Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment, and Social Security: As president, Barack Obama will announce the creation of a National Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment, and Social Security which will include presidential appointees, congressional appointees and the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration and the Secretaries of Labor and Health & Human Services as ex officio members. The President’s charge to the commission will include:

About freaking time. Seriously.

• Examining and proposing solutions to work disincentives in the SSDI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid programs. • Revisiting the Ticket to Work Act to assess how it can better provide SSDI and SSI beneficiaries with the supports they need to transition into work. • Considering opportunities to improve the results produced through the relationships between the SSDI and SSI programs and the workforce investment and vocational rehabilitation systems. • Examining the sufficiency of SSDI and SSI benefit levels in light of available work opportunities for working-age people with disabilities. • Determining the sufficiency of the “substantial gainful activity” level in the SSDI program and whether it should be indexed to average hourly wages or some other measure. • Studying programs that would help young people join the labor force rather than the SSI rolls.

All of these things relate to people on SSI or Medicaid and Medicare who would also like to work. There is this picture of “welfare queens” that has unfortunately translated to all people who receive government benefits. Not only is the stereotype false, it provides an escape clause for people who wish to stop paying for people who cannot take care of themselves. In other words, it seeks to get rid of a thing based solely on the abuse of it. That isn’t a reasonable response; the logical thing to do in that case is to examine the thing and find out how it is being abused and how to stop the abuse. It seems to me that this is what Obama is calling for in the above bullet points.

Supporting Small Businesses Owned by People with Disabilities: Despite the challenges that individuals with disabilities face in starting their own businesses, they are not currently considered “disadvantaged” for purposes of federal contracting provisions that seek to aid disadvantaged business owners. Barack Obama would direct the Small Business Administration to amend regulations under the Small Business Act that provide preferences in federal contracting to small businesses owned by members of socially and economically disadvantaged groups to include individuals with disabilities.

This isn’t something will require all that much federal funding, and it is something that I am not quite decided upon. While I do think affirmative action is necessary for the disabled and other minorities, this might be one step too far. I haven’t thought about it enough to make up my mind. Anyone want to try to convince me one way or the other?

Assuring Workers with Disabilities and Family Caregivers Get the Flexibility at Work They Need: Some workers with disabilities are unable to take or keep jobs, or even to remain in the workforce, because they don’t have the scheduling flexibility to tend to their health care needs. Scheduling flexibility, including time off from work, can be an appropriate – even an essential – “accommodation” for many employees with disabilities. In addition, more than 50 million “family caregivers” provide support to older people or to people with disabilities. These families spend an average of twenty-one hours per week caring for a relative with a disability or illness and paid thousands of dollars in extra out-of-pocket expenses, on average. These added responsibilities expose family caregivers to a substantially higher risk of physical and mental health challenges ranging from stress, alcohol abuse, and depression, to heart disease, high blood pressure, and arthritis. Approximately 60 percent of family caregivers are women, and more than half are employed. Family caregivers also need the accommodation of workplace flexibility to help them navigate work and caregiving while also struggling to pay their bills and maintain their households. To provide greater workplace flexibility, Obama will:

• Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees of larger employers (i.e., 50 or more employees) with 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a family member’s or their own serious health condition. Barack Obama will guarantee that millions more workers have access to FMLA leave by reducing the threshold for which employers are covered from companies with 50 or more employees to those with 25 or more.

Obviously, people sometimes need time off to deal with the crap that life throws at us. It happens to all of us in one form or another. If you are wealthy, it isn’t an issue because you can easily hire people to take care of the things the rest of us have to do ourselves. My husband, for example, has take time off of work under FMLA to care for me a time or two. This was necessary after my second round of strokes since I was unable to care for myself. He has also taken a day or two here and there when I’ve been in the hospital or been especially sick. It certainly hasn’t harmed his company since he is the only at the company who does his job and he works especially hard to ensure that all that he does gets finished in a timely manner. Why wouldn’t we allow people some time to deal with the hardships that befall us in life?

• Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 78 percent of employees covered by the FMLA who have needed leave but have not taken it report that it is because they could not afford to take unpaid leave. Of those employees who could not afford leave, nearly 88 percent report that they would have taken leave if they had been able to receive some pay while away from work. As president, Barack Obama will initiate a 50-state strategy to encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers. Obama’s Department of Labor will also provide technical information to the states on how to craft paid-leave programs consistent with their local needs.

If you are going to allow people to take time off to deal with their hardships, it has to be actual time off. If these people are not also being paid as if they are still an employee of that company, what’s the point? As I already stated, if you are wealthy this is not an issue for you; however, if you are like the rest of us, these things are necessary duties and we cannot afford not to work. It’s a catch 22 that nicely exempts employers from actually having to adhere to FMLA.

• Mandate A Reasonable Amount of Paid Sick Leave: Half of all private-sector workers have no paid sick days. The problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. But sick days can be critical for workers with disabilities. For example, employees with cancer may need to attend chemotherapy sessions or seek other intermittent treatments for their physical or mental impairments. Barack Obama will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year – which may be taken on an hourly basis – so that Americans with disabilities can take the time off they need without fear of losing their jobs or a paycheck.

This is a no-brainer, right? I mean, no one is healthy 100% of the time and there will be times when we need to take a day off of work to either get healthy, or not infect the rest of the company or go to a doctor’s appointment. How will people get physicals to stay healthy if they can’t take any time off of work? We want people to stay healthy, right? Less sickness means less taxes overall and more productivity. Again, it’s paying something now for long term success.

• Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. This is a growing problem, as evidenced by the skyrocketing number of discrimination suits being filed: there has been a 400 percent increase in the number of family responsibility discrimination lawsuits in the last decade. Obama will prevent family members from being discriminated against because of caregiving responsibilities. Barack Obama will commit the government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination.

This scares the panties off of me. I don’t really know the statistics and realities of this statement, but it scares me to think that my husband could lose his job, be passed over for promotion or not receive a raise because he has caregiving duties that have forced him to take FMLA days. What is the alternative? Caregivers lose their jobs and are forced to use government services? More money for all of us. Caregivers are forced too put their charges in public homes? More money for all of us. Short term spending for long term saving, again.

IV. SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT, COMMUNITY-BASED LIVING FOR AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIESAssuring the Rights Affirmed in Olmstead v. L.C.: Barack Obama believes we still have considerable progress to make in ensuring that the rights affirmed to Americans with disabilities in the Olmstead v. L.C. decision, which required states to place people with mental disabilities in community settings rather than in institutions when treatment professionals determine that community placement is appropriate. In addition to supporting the Community Choice Act of 2007 and the CLASS Act of 2007, Obama believes that we should further incentivize states to provide Americans with disabilities the ability to choose the most appropriate care for their individual needs. Obama believes the federal government should help states increase the supply of high-quality community-based settings for individuals with disabilities by providing additional grants for new communities and community expansions. And he believes the federal government needs to be diligent about making sure the states enforce the rights affirmed by the Olmstead decision.

Again, this speaks to the idea that people who are part of a community in a meaningful way are more productive and less of a drain on the community than people who are stored away without the benefit of productivity. How do people in state homes support the community? They provide jobs for the workers in the homes, but they do not themselves add anything to the community. If they are able to do so, why wouldn’t we support such a thing? Yes, it will cost more to implement this idea; there’s nothing wrong with that if it has the potential for a larger pay off for society in the end, as this program clearly does.

Supporting the Community Choice Act and Direct Care Workers: Barack Obama supports Senator Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) Community Choice Act of 2007, which would allow Americans with significant disabilities the choice of living in their community rather than having to live in a nursing home or other institution. The legislation would expand community direct care services, with the goal of ensuring high-quality care for Americans with disabilities. The current shortage of community direct care attendants is related to shortages in other sectors of the economy – low pay, limited or no benefits and inflexible working hours. Obama supports the Fair Home Health Care Act, which would extend minimum wage and overtime protections to direct care attendants, and why he also supports raising the minimum wage and providing these workers – along with all other Americans – access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. He also believes that we should strengthen ties between community direct care settings and federal, state and local job training programs to ensure that individuals receive information about job openings.

I don’t want to repeat myself, so let’s just say this has been addressed in other sections.

Supporting the CLASS Act: Currently 10 million Americans require long-term care, and that number is expected to increase to 15 million by 2020. These Americans are often forced to give up their homes or communities in order to receive the care they need. Barack Obama strongly supports the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act to create a voluntary, budget-neutral national insurance program to help adults who have or develop functional disabilities to remain independent and in their communities. Employees would have the option of enrolling through monthly $30 payroll deductions. Individuals over 18 who had contributed premiums for five or more years would then be eligible for benefits if they are unable to perform two or more activities of daily living (e.g., eating, bathing, dressing). Those benefits could be used for housing modifications, assistive technologies, personal assistance services, transportation or other supports to increase the ability of those with disabilities to find and keep jobs, and remain in their homes and communities.

I know many people will see this as unnecessary; it’s interesting to me that people often don’t understand the things people with disabilities must do in order to access their homes, cars, and the public. Often, these modifications are too costly to be done so people end up either becoming shut ins or having to leave their homes. This is on top of the already dire problem of people losing their homes when they become disabled due to their inability to work or make enough money to pay their bills. So, what are our options? We can do nothing and allow these people simply to die on the streets. We can do something small, like put them in state run nursing homes with the barest minimum of care, no oversight and no palliative care. We can help these people continue to live in their homes with access to medical care and basic necessities. Of course, there are in between levels amongst those three options, but the basic outline is there. You must ask yourself which option you think is best for society and which option you can personally live with. I couldn’t live with myself if I knew I could prevent pain, suffering and the loss of respect in people who cannot care for themselves. What kind of a person would I be? Yes, this will be pricey. What is the true cost, though, if we do not do this? We will all find out eventually. Are you sure you are prepared to be that person?

Streamline the Social Security Approval Process: The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been consistently under-funded, resulting in unconscionable delays in initial claims determinations and hearings for individuals applying for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Social Security Supplement Security Income (SSI) programs. The SSA's disability claims backlog has reached a record high of 755,000, up from 311,000 in 2000. The average wait time for an appeals hearing averages 505 days and, in some cases, can exceed three years. Barack Obama believes that it is unacceptable to have a system in which individuals lose their homes or are forced to declare bankruptcy because the federal government cannot process their claims quickly enough. Obama is committed to streamlining the current application and appeals procedures to reduce the confusion that surrounds these important programs. As president, Obama will also ensure that the SSA has the funding it needs to hire judges and staff and to invest in technology to expedite final decisions. Obama supported the $150 million increase in the SSA's budget that was vetoed by President Bush this year. As president, he will continue to work to ensure that the SSA has the resources it needs for hiring and to more effectively process its caseloads.

If you or someone you know has been through this process you are well aware of the horrors involved. Anecdotally: I know a doctor who sits on the local SSI board, one of the ones who reviews cases. He’s the doctor who initially told me, 15 years ago, not to worry about a positive blood test. That’s the test that could have prevented all of the strokes, the years of excruciating pain, perhaps even the hysterectomy. Why did he tell me to ignore it? He doesn’t believe disease is something to worry about. Ever. It’s just a part of life. No, I am not exaggerating. It also didn’t help that I am a woman and women, to this doctor, are hysterical. I would imagine this retired doctor is exactly the kind of doctor SSA looks for; he will almost surely deny every claim that comes his way. Disability? Doesn’t exist to this doctor. My point is, the SSA seeks to deny the claims of almost everyone who applies because it is underfunded and ill equipped to actually help the people who are seeking help. Not only that, it is mired in red tape and puts an incredibly harsh burden on people who are unable to support themselves. What do you think happens to these people while the appeals grind their way through? I suspect the SSA counts on a portion of those people dying before they are through the process. Again, is that the kind of society we want? Is that the kind of people we want to be?

Protect Voting Rights: Americans with disabilities have the same right to cast their vote as every other American. That means that all polling places need to be physically accessible and all voting equipment must allow Americans with disabilities to vote with the same privacy and independence as other voters. Yet as of last year, over one third of states still had not provided at least one machine that would allow voters with disabilities to cast a ballot privately and independently. Barack Obama believes this is unacceptable. He supports fully funding the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) so that we can ensure all polling places are accessible. His administration would also assure better enforcement of federal disability rights laws – from HAVA to the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act to the ADA – to make sure the right of Americans with disabilities to vote is fully protected. In addition, Obama forcefully opposes voter ID laws that require mandatory photo identification at polling places, which would have the effect of disproportionately disenfranchising Americans with disabilities, more than 3 million of whom lack a government-issued form of identification. Obama believes voter ID requirements are unconstitutional. Obama led Senate opposition to national photo ID requirements and joined an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court arguing that Indiana's voter ID law violates the 24th Amendment, which prohibits any form of poll tax. In an Obama Administration, the voting rights of people with disabilities and all Americans will be protected with the full force of the law.

I’ve gone over the idea that we are not endorsing equality if we are not actively enforcing it; voting is one of our fundamental rights as Americans, but we are denying it to a large portion of the population when we do not provide a way for them to do vote. I won’t go over this again, that would be redundant.

Amending the Medicare “Homebound” Rule: Barack Obama supports amending the Medicare “homebound” rule so that those with disabilities have the freedom to leave their homes without fear of having their government benefits taken away. Obama believes that our Medicare policy must reflect the common sense notion that community engagement and support is a vital component of a meaningful life. He looks forward to amending the law to remove arbitrary measures of “acceptable” time away from home and further ensure that individuals do not have benefits removed unfairly.

Again, without active community involvement we are unable to contribute to the well being of society or our own lives. I don’t know anything about the homebound Medicare thing, but I suspect it forces people with disabilities to remain at home rather than working. Why not just put us all in institutions and hide us away from society?

Investing in Assistive Technologies: Barack Obama believes we must use technology to make community based living a reality for more people with disabilities. Obama supports the Fostering Independence Through Technology Act, which offers 21st century solutions, such as home monitoring and communications technologies, to overcoming barriers for people with disabilities. In addition, amending the Medicare “Homebound” rule will assure that homebound people with disabilities are not denied certain vital assistive living technologies just because they might occasionally be used outside the home.

This is just an extension of everything I’ve already written.

Protecting the Safety of Individuals with Special Needs: One of the most devastating aspects of Hurricane Katrina was that most of the stranded victims were society's most vulnerable members – low-income families, the elderly, the homeless, and Americans with disabilities. Too many states and cities do not have adequate plans in place to care for special-needs populations. Obama passed legislation to help states properly plan the evacuation of individuals with special needs. He believes that this is only the first step in ensuring that the most vulnerable individuals in local and national emergencies are adequately safeguarded.

Why do have society? We have it to accord protection. Is there protection when we cannot count on the society to actually protect us in emergencies? Obviously not. What is it, then? Anarchy.

Supporting Americans Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders: More than one million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of ASD have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes we need to research treatments and search for the causes of ASD. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for ASD research on the root causes and treatments. Obama believes we must work to guarantee that Americans with ASD can live independent and fully productive lives and to assure that their families understand and are able to support a loved one with ASD. Obama will fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure that no child with ASD or any other disability is left behind. Obama will also fight to assure that the government and our communities work together to provide a helping hand to people with ASD and their families. Obama has a long record supporting people with ASD. In the state senate, Obama sponsored legislation that became law to create the ASD Program - a systems development initiative designed to promote the implementation of evidence-based practices. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama is also a cosponsor of a measure that would expand federal funding for life-long services for people with ASD, authorizing approximately $350 million in new federal funding for key programs related to treatments, interventions and services for both hildren and adults with ASD.

As much as I love the idea of helping people with autism and families dealing with autism, I don’t know why Obama chose this one issue to raise above all others. I suspect it is because it is politically expedient. This is the one thing I am not so thrilled with in his plans. It’s not that I do not think this legislation is necessary: it is; the problem I have is that it places a higher value on the treatment, funding and understanding of autism than it does on other disabling conditions and diseases. I don’t think that’s right, nor is it fair. While I think we all have our causes and that is the way it should be, an elected official should treat all causes the same within their own category. Why not extra funding for autoimmune disorders? Why not seizure disorders? I’m sorry he chose to do this.

Strengthen VA Specialty Care: Advances in technology have meant that the survival rate for U.S. servicemembers is higher now than in any previous conflict. There will be a long-term need for strengthened specialty care within the VA, including additional polytrauma centers as well as centers of excellence forTraumatic Brain Injury (TBI), PTSD, vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, women’s health and other specialized rehabilitative care. In the Senate, Barack Obama has supported the expansion of PTSD and TBI centers of excellence and cosponsored an innovative bipartisan measure to encourage students specializing in vision care and rehabilitation to work in the VA. As president, he will expand the number of these centers of excellence and invest in specialty care.

We ask people to do a job for us. They do that job and they are in turn injured by the job itself. What do we do? Tell them tough luck, you get what you get and we're not responsible? Of course not. Yet, we have continually let our veterans down in this country. When soldiers's families are on welfare, that's a problem with our basic thinking about what it means to be a part of the defense of our country. Do we value our country so little that we would entrust protecting it to people we think are second rate, not worthy of our support? Of course not. Let's stop acting like it! The conditions at many VA hospitals are appalling. The pay for people with families serving in war zones is appalling. The services for veterans when they return and are in need of trauma intervention are appalling. This is unacceptable on every level.

Over all, I think it’s a good plan. Yes, it will cost more in taxes and will put a further burden on society. However, the end result will not only lessen the burden, it will ensure our society’s future as a compassionate and workable community of citizens. We cannot enforce our ideas of equality and justice if those things are only written and not acted upon. Obama’s plan might give us the hope that is necessary and the motivation to recognize that a society that endorses inclusion is a society that must necessarily prosper through common interest. If you include me in your group I am going to work for that group, not just for myself. That is what we need to realize, what we need to endorse and what we need to work toward in the United States.


Picture credit