The Disabled Community is in for a Difficult Challenge the Next Four Years
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
I write because I wanted to warn the public about how the Trump administration will affect the disabled community, their families and caregivers.
Trump began his political career in 2015 mocking a disabled reporter and it only got worse from there. His own nephew stated that Trump believed it would be better if his disabled son just died because keeping him alive costs too much.
His time in office showed his true disdain for the disabled community. People have no idea what the disabled community in this country are up against and just how bad things were during the first Trump administration.
The staff that support the disabled and their families are some of the best people I have been lucky to know. These people are paid just above minimum wage and we deal with everything from teaching basic life skills and vocational skills, supporting intense emotional and physical situations, provide care and deal with every part of the human condition. Staff take on incredible amounts of work just to survive. I have worked with staff that live in their car; they ration insulin and forgo medical procedures due to low pay. I have lost so many great staff because they will make more at Home Depot or Dunkin’ Donuts.
The only real raise I saw in my 20-year career came from the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan. Biden was the first president in my lifetime that actually prioritized the disabled and their caregivers. Harris hoped to expand on that.
Any hopes of growth or real support in the disabled or any other service such as Medicaid, Social Security or Medicare are all gone now. Trump’s agenda will likely see cuts to our already deeply strained system. Trump sees the disabled as a drain on society. RFK Jr.’s disdain for the disabled is both ignorant and hateful. Let us not even get into what Elon Musk thinks about the disabled or his plans for the U.S. government as a whole.
Millions of Americans and their families will feel the strain of heartless policies and rhetoric. Many Americans will be forced to make horrible choices just to survive, and quality of life will plummet and some will die. Cruelty, sadly, is the point of this incoming administration. Everyday families and caregivers will deal with the impacts of this cruelty and the consequences will be real and devastating for so many. These consequences will last for decades to come.
Remember many of us are one bad day away from needing some part of the social safety net this country provides. This is not a red or blue issue; we will all feel this pain the same. Unless you are a millionaire, this will affect you or someone you love.
Our social programs are just barely making it as it is and we are about to find out how bad it can get. My only hope is that ego and incompetence might forestall this, but things do not look good right now, and as a caregiver and an American, I am deeply concerned.
Zach Disador
Southeast
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