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Even though 1 in 4 Americans live with a disability, the reality of what it’s like to be disabled in the United States isn’t fully understood by a lot of people.
That’s partly because disability is such a huge spectrum, and it impacts different people in different ways. But it’s also because a lot of people who aren’t disabled just don’t want to know.
When it comes to qualifying for financial assistance in the US, many disabled people are faced with a set of impossible choices.
Financial assistance is often crucial so that they can continue to benefit from the care that they need… but to qualify for that assistance, disabled people in American can’t have more than $2,000 in assets. Ever.
One person recently took to Tumblr to explain exactly how this works. The thread is powerful and enlightening.
Two thousand dollars is definitely a lot of money to have at one time… but it’s not really a lot of money to only be allowed to have at all times.
Photo Credit: Reddit
The $2,000 limit really includes all resources that someone might have. When you start to add it up, you hit $2,000 pretty quickly.
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This cap basically means that a lot of disabled Americans can’t pursue the same goals that many able-bodied Americans can.
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You can’t even have that much money and decide to spend it that day. You really can’t go over that $2,000 limit.
This also impacts all kinds of people, including one of the co-creators of Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy.
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This reality is pretty disheartening when you start to think about it.
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The state of life for many in the United States is definitely dire.
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This is part of the reason why notions that people who receive SSI are abusing the system are so preposterous and cruel.
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It’s something that a lot of able-bodied people just don’t get, because they never have to contend with the system like this.
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It’s almost like the system is designed to hold people down.
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There is one glimmer of hope for people who were diagnosed with a disability before the age of 26.
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But unfortunately, a lot of people who could benefit from the ABLE account don’t know about it.
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Hopefully, more people will be able to take advantage of these accounts.
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Did you know about these challenges that many disabled Americans face?
Let us know what you think about this system in the comments!
