Why Is No One Talking About the GOP’s Plan to Send Millions of Disabled Americans Into Poverty?

[unhappycamper]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/198193/why-no-one-talking-about-gops-plan-send-millions-disabled-americans-poverty



Why Is No One Talking About the GOP’s Plan to Send Millions of Disabled Americans Into Poverty?
William Greider on February 16, 2015 - 11:41 AM ET

Despite their virtues, many conservative Republicans have an unfortunate habit of picking on the weak and disadvantaged, slandering the people least able to fight back. We saw a glimpse of this callousness in Mitt Romney’s disparagement of the “47 percent” who are “takers” living off the hard-working “makers.” The newly empowered GOP majority in Congress is going down the same road—targeting the millions of sick or injured Americans who receive Social Security disability payments.

This is a favorite old canard of self-righteous right-wingers. They label these unfortunate people as shiftless and suggest none too subtly that many are faking their injuries and illnesses. The GOP has been pushing this cold-hearted slander for at least thirty-five years, ever since the glorious reign of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s (who remembers Reagan’s imaginary “Welfare Queen” who drove to pick up her welfare check in a Cadillac?).

McConnell-Boehner Republicans are now reviving the Gipper’s big lie, claiming the Social Security system is in crisis because of swollen disability benefits. Allegedly to save the system, these so-called fiscal conservatives intend to cut benefits and throw out those supposedly able-bodied slackers. Once again, their facts are bogus. Never mind, their story line is concocted to arouse anti-government resentment among people who are themselves strapped for income.

This is why we need “bleeding-heart liberals”—politicians who will stand up to defend the scorned and tell the truth about the Republicans’ propaganda. This season, the country has two tough-minded senators assuming that role—Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sanders is ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and Brown is ranking member of the Finance Committee’s subcommittee on Social Security. They will be heard in Washington. Given broad public support, they can smash Mitch McConnell’s plot to disable and maybe destroy Social Security.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

1. I haven't seen anything on cable news, yet.

But I watch less and less.

[Dont call me Shirley]

2. If karma is real, these scumbags will have hell to deal with.

[BlueCaliDem]

3. Because the loudest voices on DU are too busy bashing Hillary Clinton. That's why. eom

[daleanime]

5. Nice!

Complain about infighting, but try best to cause more. Good job!

[fredamae]

4. I've heard it only

on Thom Hartmann and Ed Show

[djean111]

6. I have both seen it talked about here and get emails about it all the time.

My take on this - the GOP will propose it and some DINOs will help push it through.

[grilled onions]

7. They Know That The Disabled Are Rarely Able To Fight Back

Many are in wheelchairs making travel to rallies a challenge. They have less money to donate to those who could help them the most. Many have to stay near their home turf/hospital for treatments, constant medical visits.
The beasts on the other side know this and figure they are easy pickin's. The repubs are basically lazy and will chop off money by the way of least resistance. Obviously the disabled is a choice group to do just that.
Sadly our news media never ventures into topics that are not in the top five. They are too lazy to dig into other topics such as this and don't want to make waves. After all their job comes first!

[Nay]

8. The attitude is even worse than thinking they're all faking their disabilities -- they think they

brought every illness on themselves by 1) being fat, 2) not exercising, 3) eating badly, you name it, and that they deserve to suffer their disability because they didn't take "personal responsibility" for every goddamned thing that happened to them. I have an SIL who thinks exactly this way.

[TexasBushwhacker]

9. Most are already in poverty

Unless the disabled person worked for decades in a high income job, their SSDI is going to be less than $1500 a month. It can be as low as $800 per month. If they are single, they probably don't qualify for food stamps.

Just like with food stamps, the GOP thinks their are millions receiving disability who are not truly disabled, even though independent studies have shown that fraud is very low. One problem is that so many disabilities are invisible. If the person isn't blind, paralyzed or profoundly retarded, they assume that person MUST be able to find some kind of gainful employment.

This is going on in the UK as well. I saw an interview with a woman disabled with rheumatoid arthritis. She couldn't sit for long, or stand for long and she couldn't use her hands. She had received benifits for many years, but suddenly they said she should be able to find a job doing something.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

10. I hate rich people..

That want to make the poor and disabled suffer more and more. They don't deserve wealth if they bash people for suffering for the sake of thier egos and sickening beliefs.