I am tired of having to fight for everything. There are people who make the right thing so hard to do, some of the people who need it the most will give up. This applies to bureaucracies that are part of the problem – not the solution.
I am tired of the people who take advantage of me while I am trying fulfill my dreams. Most of these are individuals and companies who tell me they will do great things for me. They tell me everything I want to hear and don’t deliver even half of what they promise. Some of you are criminals who should be in jail. How do you sleep at night?
I am tired of the politicians who are supposed to represent me who are not doing anything because of their beliefs. Even if I did not vote for you and you won your election, you still represent me. You continue to fight for principles instead of really listening to your constituents. Your job is supposed to be about doing what is best for the people, even when it means there is a need to compromise.
Most of all, I am deeply disturbed about watching my rights being chipped away. I am tired of being told that because of a disability, I am more expensive. Disabled people are people. Everyone may have different needs, and I guess that is what you don’t understand. But our right to live in the community, like everyone else, should not get trampled on because of States rights arguments. Since Medicaid is fifty percent state funded and fifty percent Federally funded, I have difficulty understanding why the states would want money to go to funding institutions that no one wants to live in, and they are the most expensive option.
Close the beds and put the money where it will serve more people for less money. Don’t spend more in Medicaid. It is about instead of, not in addition to.
How do you not understand that when someone lives in the community, they spend their money on goods and services that benefit their local communities? Community-based services provide employment and generate tax revenue. I write this knowing that economic arguments are more powerful that arguments based on human rights and dignity. But while I am on the subject, there is no formula that properly calculates the value of human rights and dignity.
Finally, I invite you to read the very beginning of the Americans with Disabilities Act. There is a section which specifically says the Congress finds:
“discrimination against individuals with disabilities persists in such critical areas as employment, housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation, institutionalization, health services, voting, and access to public services.”
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, As Amended | ADA.gov.