Living with a Disability in the United States
Introduction
Living with a disability in the United States comes with the hardships of trying to thrive in a community built for nondisabled people. Most intricacies surrounding independent lifestyles in the United States requires one to have full mental awareness and physical ability, which creates barriers people with disabilities from maintaining a sustainable, independent life. One of the biggest concerns that envelop the disabled community is how those with special needs will be able to monetarily sustain themselves if they ever fall short of having financial stability from their family members. Some people depend on social security deposits, while others try to maintain employment, however, both of these methods come with a copious amount of barriers that restrict people with disabilities from staying above the line of poverty in the United States. These barriers include the frugality of social security deposits, unwarranted stigma that employers have against hiring employees, the wage gap between employees with disabilities and employees without disabilities, and issues within the public transportation systems that further inhibit people with disabilities from maintaining employment. All of these factors make living above the line of poverty incredibly difficult for American citizens with disabilities.
Social Security Deposits
Many adults with disabilities rely on social security deposits to sustain their lifestyles, which, in 2019, averaged out to be a monthly 1,234 dollars, according to the official website of the Social Security Administration. These deposits may seem generous to somebody who has no prior work experience, but, in reality, this monthly average is only 222 dollars greater than the 2018 poverty level in the United States (Social Security Administration). According to the Social Security Administration, these deposits only allow people with disabilities to, “meet their basic needs and the needs of their families,” (Social Security Administration). But, an article published by, Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, titled, Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines for 2021, shows that a family of five that has two parents that depend on social security deposits would be well under the line of poverty according to the 2021 poverty guidelines for the United States. The funds provided by social security deposits may be very helpful to those with physical and mental impairments that fully restrict them from obtaining employment, but these funds are not enough to keep an individual or family comfortably above the poverty line in the United States. Along with this, if an individual or family does not have enough funds to pay for healthy food and proper shelter, this may lead to health issues that would cause a decrease in these already frugal funds, showing how needing financial stability is vital for living a maintainable life in the United States.
Employment
Unwarranted Stigma Against Hiring Employees with Disabilities
Because of the frugality of social security deposits, some individuals with disabilities turn to employment in order to secure financial stability. But the stigma against hiring those with disabilities generates a high unemployment rate within the disabled community in the United States. In 2020, the unemployment rate was 12.6%, with a 5.6% increase from the subsequent year (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Hiring people with disabilities comes with realistic concerns like communication and physical movement, but some companies purposefully add unnecessary qualifications to their job applications that are meant to deter disabled people from applying. In an article published by the HuffPost, titled, How Employers Weed Out People With Disabilities From Their Hiring Pools, Robyn Powell, a disability law and policy attorney, states that some companies will add specific physical requirements to an application that are not essential to the job position, such as crawling or stooping, in order to exclude people with disabilities from applying to the position. These methods that specifically discourage people with disabilities from applying for jobs are one of the many reasons that unemployment rates are so high within the disabled community in the United States, which continually adds to the stigma against hiring people with special needs or accommodations.
Wage Gap
Along with the unwarranted stigma that employers have against hiring people with disabilities, there is a high rate of unequal payment between employees with disabilities, versus employees without disabilities. The most common reason for this inequality is employers deciding to pay employees with disabilities less because they assume that their disabilities will decrease their overall productivity. But, in reality, this decision only accounts for a small percentage of the overall wage gap, meaning that there must also be instances of discrimination that occur among the employers, as well. In a peer-reviewed article by Douglas Kruse, Lisa Schur, Sean Rogers, and Mason Ameri, titled, “Why Do Workers with Disabilities Earn Less? Occupational Job Requirements and Disability Discrimination,” data recorded from the American Community Survey between 2008 and 2014 finds that, “Employees with disabilities experience substantial pay gaps, estimated here as 12–15 per cent among women and 16–17 per cent among men who are full-time full-year workers,” (Kruse). The results from this data collection support that there is a viable wage gap between employees with disabilities, and employees without disabilities. As the article continues, the results also state how a lower rate in productivity cannot account for the extent of the wage gap, stating, “people with disabilities receive lower pay even when their specific impairments should not limit their productivity in an occupation,” (Kruse). Paying employees with disabilities less, within itself, is a questionable reason to pay employees less, considering how the baseline of wages in the United States is calculated by an hourly amount, rather than productivity. But, according to the results of this article, some employees decide to pay their employees with disabilities less, even when productivity is not inhibited by their specific impairments. This discrimination among employees with disabilities further supports why such a high percentage of adults with disabilities in the United States are in poverty, for the wage gap causes financial stability to be less achievable.
Transportation Issues
Transportation to the workplace is yet another barrier that restricts people with disabilities from obtaining employment. Many people with physical and mental disabilities do not have the ability to drive their cars, which means they must turn to public transportation when commuting to work. An article published by the Washington Post, titled, Nearly 30 years after the ADA, the nation's transit agencies report successes and shortfalls, states that only one-quarter of the subway stations in New York are accessible for people with physical disabilities (Alderton). Obstacles from getting to buses or subway stations include an absence of wheelchair lifts, a lack of elevators, and improper sidewalk maintenance. These obstacles impact people with wheelchairs or other physical disabilities from reaching stations without extensive planning, which can ensure further difficulties if one also has mental impairments. Alongside of this, the use of public transit also increases the amount of time it takes to commute to work, in comparison to using a personal vehicle. In the same article, Laura Brelsford, who is a wheelchair user in the New York area, states that she had to leave about 45 minutes early to commute to work to account for broken elevators, and other unplanned detours (Alderton). This increase in travel time further exhibits how the public transportation system is not an efficient option for people with disabilities.
Poverty Rates
Because of the scarcity of funds provided by the social security system and the difficulties of obtaining and maintaining employment, there is a high correlation between people with disabilities and poverty levels in the United States. An article published by Debra Brucker, Sophie Mitra, Navena Chaitoo, and Joseph Mauro, titled, “More Likely to Be Poor Whatever the Measure: Working-Age Persons with Disabilities in the United States,” shows that 29.04% of working-age people with disabilities in the United States lived in poverty in 2010, whereas only 10.92% of working-age people without disabilities were living in poverty. The difference between the percentage of poverty between these two groups further shows the difficulty of maintaining a financially stable lifestyle when diagnosed with a disability. These rates include the families of people who depend on social security deposits due to disabilities that completely inhibit them from obtaining employment. To these people, the social security deposits are the only way that they can continue to have a steady inflow of finances, but these funds are not enough to keep oneself, or their family, above the poverty line in the United States. Along with this, employment within the disabled community comes with the hardships of overcoming stigma held by employers, and a substantial wage gap between employees with disabilities, and their nondisabled colleagues. These factors that enhance the difficulty of getting a job further shows how people with disabilities are continually inhibited from maintaining a financial inflow that they can depend on for paying rent, affording food, and upholding their personal health. Not being able to afford things like proper shelter, food, and health care, can lead to further expenses regarding health problems that may arise from improper self-care. Having a income that barely surpasses the line of poverty is not enough to live an independently stable life in the United States.
Reflection
People with disabilities in the United States have an extensive amount of obstacles that restrict them from attaining and maintaining financial stability above the line of poverty. Approximately 12.6% of people with disabilities in the United States are left unemployed, whether it be because of a fully inhibiting disability, the biased stigma employers hold against hiring employees with disabilities, or issues that arise from commuting to the workplace. Not only this, but those who are employed may experience the extravagant wage gap, which causes people with disabilities to earn 15-16% less than their nondisabled colleagues (Kruse). To any person without a disability, these barriers would be incredibly difficult to deal with, but the most troubling part is that this is what the most vulnerable members of society must deal with, every day. The American social security system fails to take into account the frustration and helplessness of watching a friend, family member, or stranger struggle to pay for housing or consistent food security because of a disability that they did not choose to be born with. American citizens with disabilities must already live through a life that is designed for nondisabled people. They experience the alienation of being physically or mentally impaired and must try to thrive in a society that seemingly refuses to reform the frugality of social security deposits, the substantial wage gap, and the availability of basic transportation. The government needs to make a better effort of helping people with disabilities to have the opportunity of living above the line of poverty, whether that be offering more money through social security deposits, or simply improving accessibility on public transportation. As a society, the United States must change and view those with disabilities as commonalities, rather than afterthoughts.
Works Cited
Alderton, M. (2020, June 27). Nearly 30 years after the ADA, the nation's transit agencies report successes and shortfalls. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/nearly-30-years-after-ada-nations-transit-agencies-report-successes-and-shortfalls/2020/06/25/76e102d8-af22-11ea-8758-bfd1d045525a_story.html.
Brucker, Debra L, Mitra, Sophie, Chaitoo, Navena, & Mauro, Joseph. (2015). More Likely to Be Poor Whatever the Measure: Working-Age Persons with Disabilities in the United States. Social Science Quarterly, 96(1), 273-296.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021, February 24). Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics — 2020. U.S. Department of Labor.
Kruse, Douglas, Schur, Lisa, Rogers, Sean, & Ameri, Mason. (2018). Why Do Workers with Disabilities Earn Less? Occupational Job Requirements and Disability Discrimination. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 56(4), 798-834.
Lu, W. (2019, June 18). How Employers Weed Out People With Disabilities From Their Hiring Pools. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/employers-disability-discrimination-job-listings_l_5d003523e4b011df123c640a.
Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (2021, March 16). Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines for 2021. https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines.
Social Security Administration. (2019). The Faces and Facts of Disability. Social Security Administration. https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityfacts/facts.html.