RE: Some New Adventures: ♪ Movin' on up! ♫ and Save the BASE!
I don't have an issue with government providing services. Government is, after all, us. And people who require modification of environment, are us too. Government is an organized way for a community to provide for its own. Government provides libraries, schools and mass transportation. Not everyone uses those, but they are appropriate government services. A community comes together and provides. I don't know why we see people who need modification of environment as a separate category.
I had a profoundly disabled brother--I mean really profoundly disabled. He was no different from the rest of us, he just couldn't do stuff we could do. I hope we don't separate people by what they can do. There's so much you can do that I can't. You can draw, play music, be witty. You garden and join in community activities. Maybe I can do stuff that you can't. These differences don't separate us into a hierarchy. We're just different. We both have value.
You can see I feel strongly about this. Of course my brother influences me. But I hope I would have had the intelligence to see this issue clearly if I had never known him.
I could not agree with you more. I also have no problem with government providing services, though I regularly encounter many people in my home state of Montana and on this platform who disagree. It is frustrating. My final comment was admittedly a bit of a dig at those people. Charity does not keep me alive--although it has admittedly paid my rent on a couple of occasions--medicaid and medicare keep me alive. My medical bills regularly exceed a quarter of a million dollars a year. I am simply not popular enough to receive that kind of charity.
What I really love about this place is that it is truly an all-abilities community center. There is no segregation and they make every effort to adapt all activities so that nearly everyone can participate. For some of the participants, they have never experienced that before.
People are quick to forget that accessibility and inclusivity for people with disabilities is still a pretty new concept. The ADA is younger than I am, being passed in 1990. And it had to be passed because people with disabilities were being treated like animals in institutions (and not in a "hey I just want to cuddle you and take care of you sort of way). Despite its passage, there are still constant attacks and attempts to weaken the law I know multiple people who spent most of their lives institutionalized before its passage. Some people still are unnecessarily institutionalized, depending on what they can get covered in their state.
Luckily I am at kind of a peak currently as far as my health is concerned. The past two years have been the best I have seen in quite some time. I also have a very supportive partner that is willing to make things a possibility for me that might not be otherwise (such as the gardening). I am currently cherishing this time, but to be honest I am absolutely terrified that it isn't going to last. It usually doesn't. I don't mean to come across pessimistic, that is just kind of the boat that I am in (I am sure you can relate in ways). But, enjoy it while you got it, right?
As far as the wittiness goes, you have had a couple of moments in our conversation. Keep working on it.
This topic, in general, brings up so many thoughts and feelings for me that I could keep typing forever about different aspects of it. But, I am supposed to be helping pack, so I should probably cut myself off. Thanks for commenting and sharing with me. Best wishes.
I know your young life has been profoundly influenced by medical issues. That's rotten luck, and scary. All those services you received, you're entitled to them. There should be no Medicaid. Shouldn't be a separate way of paying for necessary care. It should be a unified system that covers everyone, like Medicare, except better. Because under Medicare, people can still be impoverished by medical bills.
Enjoy the sun, enjoy the good days. May they last, and last.
All the best to you.
Agreed. In fact, the only reason I am on Medicaid is because Medicare is insufficient for my medical needs. Unfortunately, in order to receive Medicaid when you are on SSDI in my state, you must stay at about half of the federal poverty level (around $645 a month) and are not allowed to have more than $2000 dollars in total assets at any given time. My SSDI income is greater than $645, so I have to pay the difference back each month. I am basically agreeing to live in poverty in order to save my health and credit from being destroyed by unreasonable medical bills.
Kim and I cannot marry without jeopardizing either my healthcare or her income. Technically, the way my states law is written, if we present ourselves as an (unmarried) couple in public, buy each other any type of ring, or have a joint bank account, she is supposed to be penalized as if she were my legal spouse.
And getting a 'real' job is kind of pointless. I would have to forfeit all my earnings to the state to remain adequately insured. It is a fucking mess. And a frustrating one at that. Yet somehow it is still ever so slightly better than how things were when I was not on Medicaid; living in a constant state of financial insolvency and not knowing what care I would be able to receive. It's the ol' Medicaid poverty trap at play. There is a whole host of other problems with most states Medicaid laws that contribute to the cycle of poverty. I once gave a presentation on the subject to a local nonprofit group that was examining forms of institutionalized oppression.
If I could get by on just being on Medicare (or some other form of healthcare that didn't require you constantly being able to work), Kim and I could marry (or at least stop pretending I am her tenant), I could work legally as I was able; it would almost be like I was a normal person! Haha.
Sorry. I am just kind of venting/ranting now. I need to stop myself. I told you I could go on and on about this stuff. Haha.
Good night, friend.
Not a rant--the truth. There's always a place for that.
Be well.