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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Everyone in the disability and antipoverty advocacy community is pretty furious with the WaPo and that article. Ditto for the recent NPR coverage on Hale, AL.

The problem isn't the benefits or people. The problem is much bigger: it's the failing American system that ignored the plight of failing communities, allowing the education system to fail and ignoring corporate abandonment. Plus, no real access to healthcare.

Imagine what your options might be if you were born and raised in a Podunk town with crummy schools, opioid addiction running rampant, zero jobs, and no hope.  You can't "just move." These people don't have money or options.

Ever been to Selma, AL? That's a city...a city where Applebees wasn't willing to take the risk and open a restaurant because it wouldn't have a customer base equipped to eat out or entry level staff with sufficient literacy skills to run a cash register. And that's a city.  [/quote]

Um no. Do you speak for everyone in the disability and anti poverty community?  Are you even disabled?  Because I am, permanently, physically disabled, from birth.  Your post does not reflect any of our view points of a true disabled community.  We are pissed at the article subjects. These people are gaming the system, making it much harder for legitimate disabled people from getting the services they need to live productive, independent and fulfilling lives.  The people in the article are pill shopping (it was glossed over, the main lady goes to a pain clinic and needs more meds because she's been taking more than prescribed, for scoliosis, which I also have, and it has to be severe to keep you from working). They self diagnose based on internet searches and being picky about flatware.  They use the disability money not for therapies but for Internet, cable and cell phones.  The only one who has a legitimate claim for disability is the woman with mosaic downs (if you don't know what that is, google it). Mosaic means the downs isn't found in every cell of her body (hence her face lacks he typical downs facial features). But there is no reason she cannot live a fulfilling life. There are so many good programs meant just for people like her, to get an education, to get life skills, to get a paying job, to live on her own.  Instead she's been reduced to house keeper, cook and child care.  It's abuse in my opinion.

We want a regular life.  We may need help in certain areas but we want what everyone else wants.  A happy, independent life.  This is about a year old but this is a short explanation of what the actual disability community still needs and wants, hardly any of it seems to honestly effect the article's
family.    https://youtu.be/VN_UNwcG8_8[/quote]

We're on the same page, pp. I'm the person you quoted. I've dedicated my career over the last two decades fighting for antipoverty initiatives.

Advocates are upset with the WaPo for essentially highlighting outliers. These are critical safety net programs and people rely on them for legitimate reason. This is akin to fostering dangerous stereotypes like welfare queens who use food stamps to buy lobster at whole foods. Has someone some that before? Perhaps. Is that what most people are doing? Absolutely not. [/quote]

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