Los Angeles, Dec. 19 – For the first time this political season, a debate moderator, Politico’s Tim Alberta, asked a question specifically on disability policy – giving the example of Kyle, a young adult with disabilities in Iowa: “Are
Los Angeles, Dec. 19 – For the first time this political season, a debate moderator, Politico’s Tim Alberta, asked a question specifically on disability policy – giving the example of Kyle, a young adult with disabilities in Iowa: “Are there specific steps you would take to help people like Kyle to become more integrated into the workforce and into their local communities?”
Out of more than 20 million working-age people with disabilities, just 7.5 million have jobs, while 70 percent would prefer to be employed. This data also shows the serious gaps that remain between disabled and non-disabled Americans: 37 percent of U.S. civilians with disabilities ages 18-64 living in the community had a job, compared to 77.2 percent for people without disabilities.
Just three candidates were given the opportunity to respond – businessmen Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Sen. Amy Klobuchar – and potentially others off camera – also tried to answer but the moderators moved on to another topic.
Tom Steyer: Support People with Disabilities in Education and as Part of Workforce
Steyer, who was given the first opportunity to respond, spoke about supporting people with disabilities, “both in terms of education and later when they are part of the workforce.”
“That means bringing the resources to bear to make sure we are treating them fairly in school and after school to try to integrate them fully and to make them have as full a life as possible,” he continued.
Andrew Yang: “Special Needs Person” Can Be Contributor in Workplace
Yang, whose disability platform focuses on the “care for people with disabilities,” came under criticism by many members of the disability community for talking about his son with “special needs,” even after RespectAbility’s Eric Ascher, who is on the Autism spectrum himself, spoke with Yang last month about better language to use. However, people not in the disability community found it powerful when he asked the debate audience if they had family members with disabilities – although he phrased it as “family members with special needs or Autism.”
Terms like “special needs” and “differently-abled” can be seen by some as patronizing and ableistic. Using these phrases may seem on the surface to convey that someone with a disability has positive qualities about him or her. However, terms like these tend to be euphemistic, and frequently are not used by the people to whom they refer. In addition, people with disabilities, in the U.S., are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. People with “special needs” are not.
In answering the question of specifics, Yang said: “We go to employers and say, hey, this ‘special needs person’ can be a contributor in your workplace, which is correct. But that’s not the point. We need to stop confusing economic value and human value to be able to say to our kids and Kyle that you have intrinsic value.”
He then discussed his signature proposal, a freedom dividend of $1,000, as a solution. However, while people with disabilities who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) alone would receive the dividend, those who receive both SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) would not receive it. People would have to choose between SSDI and SSI if they want this universal basic income.
Elizabeth Warren: Fully Fund IDEA, Ensure Accessible Housing and Fair Pay
Sen. Warren talked about her prior career as a special education teacher, where she was proud to “recognize the work of every human being.” She called for the full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which is something that the Democratic candidates are in agreement on. IDEA, which covers educational funding for children with disabilities from birth through high school graduation or age 21, whichever comes first, has yet to be fully funded by the federal government since it was first passed in 1975.
Sen. Warren also talked about the importance of accessible and independent housing opportunities. “People who want to live independently, people who have disabilities, will have housing available to them,” she pledged.
She also called for paying people with disabilities fairly. Currently, 14C and sub-minimum wage programs allow people with disabilities to be legally paid as low as a dollar an hour.
Sen. Warren also has disability rights plan on her website that goes into further detail on these issues.
While Sen. Warren was the only candidate on the debate stage to offer real policy solutions, the end of her statement was cringe-worthy to the disability community, referring to people with disabilities as “the least of thy brethren” – implying that disabled people are “less than.”
Julian Castro Via Twitter: Fully Fund IDEA, Expand SSI and SSDI, Ensure Accessible Housing
In addition, Julian Castro, who did not qualify for the debate stage but was responding to all questions via Twitter, tweeted: “As president, I’ll fight to empower and improve the lives of individuals with disabilities – in housing, jobs, education, accessibility, and elsewhere. I’ll make sure there are no second-class citizens in this county.” He then linked to his plan for equality for people with disabilities before adding: “My plan includes fully funding IDEA, expandin