[Blindtlk] The Cost of Independent Travel

[Mike Freeman]

Gary:

Great post! I agree completely. Thank you for telling it like it is!

Mike Freeman
Sent from my iPhone


On Aug 30, 2010, at 4:57, "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Hi Mike.  I like your post and agree with most of it.  If we target the
> unemployment and underemployment of the blind, where should we put
> resources? Eliminating the earnings cliff is a good start.  Nobody should be
> expected to act against their own economic self-interest.  Ssdi discourages
> work through an earnings limit used to determine all or nothing benefits.
> Work which pays anywhere near the limit and is the least bit variable opens
> one to the charge of overpayments, sometimes long after the event.
> Beneficiaries are frequently without records and sometimes cannot get them.
> So our bills and resolutions to change the system are certainly relevant in
> changing the situation for some who do not find it in their interest to
> work.
> 
> I agree that HR 4533 will go a long way toward seeing we can use the gadgets
> society requires for work and living independently.  Not only are we working
> on legislation, but trying to cultivate important relationships in
> industries that matter.  This means sending our people to conferences of
> engineers, manufacturers, and resellers.  The message is, "We have a market
> out here which your product isn't serving," and the question which
> frequently comes back is "How much of a market are we talking about?"
> Sometimes we convince people who can make a difference that our market
> segment matters, or that there is an opportunity for some good publicity.
> Occasionally we are successful in convincing important people that there is
> a moral imperative to include us.  It's hard to measure moral imperative on
> a balance sheet.  Lastly we have the lawsuit which is very expensive and
> which presumes there is really law on which to rely.
> 
> I think there is another, perhaps more difficult, question to address the
> issue of employment and it is the same one at which you hint.  Who are the
> unemployed blind and how interested are they in employment? What stands
> between them and employment besides the discrimination and work
> disincentives we normally mention? When I get a note saying IBM wants
> people, I don't have the people to recommend.  When the IRS says they want
> people, I don't have names of folks who tell me they are willing to go
> anywhere they need to go to get a job.  The fact I don't know people who are
> actively looking for jobs doesn't mean they aren't out there, but I
> certainly do know a lot of people who seem very comfortable where they are.
> The very few people I know who say they are looking for jobs are people I
> probably wouldn't hire because of their inflexibility, social ineptitude,
> and the way they present themselves to the public.
>