Editor's Column
by
Tim Benjamin
On the last Saturday before
Labor Day, I spent the afternoon at the State Fair with a few family
members who came all the way from Arizona — and 200,000 of
my fellow dehydrating Minnesotans. It was great fun, but I did what
I warned everyone about earlier this summer; darn it, wouldn’t
you know, I overheated. It’s great that the Fair
offers wheelchair accessible park-and-ride vans (at Oscar Johnson Arena), but
there were tons of us using them, and I waited too long in the sun and had to
keep dowsing myself with cold water. Hope your own Fair visit was safer. Next
month: my tips for safe cold-weather travel, maybe I’ll follow my on advice!
Mai Thor gives
us a quick summary of “Instant Runoff
Voting.” The article, “No
More ‘Lesser Of Two Evils,’” explains
it in very simple terms. IRV may make the voting process initially
more difficult for the voter, since we will need to plan for what
our first, second and possibly third picks would be in any particular
political race. But it would also eliminate primary elections; think
of the money and effort saved if there were no primaries. It might
even mean that someone other than a millionaire could be elected
for political office. Read the article and let us know what you think
about Instant Runoff Voting. Will it save costs, offer full participation
and bring out more voters?
We have a couple
articles about unionizing
personal care assistants. I’m not
sure how unionizing will work, but it’s
reassuring to know that the National
Council on Independent Living and the Service Employees International Union are working together
to look at how unionizing the PCA program will affect the independent
living model. It’s a topic that I hope our top advocates and
lobbyists will become involved in to make certain that unionizing
is in the best interest of the clients, the PCAs, the PCA agencies
and the state of Minnesota. We certainly wouldn’t want the
program to become unaffordable for the state, and we surely don’t
want to lose the personal care options that we have worked so hard
for in Minnesota. Still, we do want our PCAs and agencies to make
living wages! I think this whole issue is something that we all need
to be involved in to ensure the best outcome for everyone. Please
write in and tell us your concerns on this issue, pro and con.
The Disability Linkage
Line and the Work Incentives Connection offer an explanation
of “Impairment Related Work
Expenses” (IRWE).
These are deductions that can be used to make sure your income other
than Social Security is correctly counted so that you stay eligible
for the appropriate amount of your social security disability check
(SSDI or SSI). This is very important information to clearly understand
before and once you become employed. Read the article, but also contact
the Work Incentives Connection, the Disability Linkage Line or Social
Security Administration to get complete details on how best to maintain
your benefits while becoming gainfully employed. Join the ranks of
the taxpayers of Minnesota, and make sure you understand all the
incentives that have been built in for people with disabilities.
We received a letter from an anonymous writer (which is all right at Access Press; if
you want to write a respectful letter to the editor and remain
anonymous, we will respect that option and your opinion). The writer
makes several valuable points concerning vulnerability, asking
how much of our vulnerability do we create ourselves out of our
own fear, and how much fear has society created for us by reinforcing
our inabilities or limitations to fend for ourselves? I agree with
the writer that a fearful person can be spotted by an abuser and
may be abused. If you feel strong and stand up for yourself, there
is less chance of becoming a target. In the 1940s, Franklin Roosevelt
called for a guarantee in America of Four Freedoms: freedom of
speech and worship, freedom from want and fear. An Indiana group,
at FifthFreedom.org, is working for people with disabilities
to also be guaranteed freedom from exclusion. I wish for this writer,
and for all of us, the exercise of those five freedoms. ![]()
