Why Are Disabled People in The US Unemployed?

Introduction

Disabled people are more active than non-disabled people in looking for work. However, the share of working people with disabilities in the United States is less than the share of working people without disabilities. This indicates that the American labor market does not have enough vacancies that would be suitable for people with disabilities. Although the government is constantly trying to improve the situation. Why is this happening and what needs to be done?

Main Item

Labor Feat of Disabled People in the USA

In 2023, the share of people with disabilities working in the United States increased by 1.2%. At the same time, the share of employed non-disabled people increased by only 0.4%. Disabled people have achieved excellent results in their search for work. At the end of the year, 22.5% of disabled people were employed. This is the maximum result since 2008! However, people with disabilities can still improve their results. After all, the share of non-disabled workers turned out to be almost three times higher and amounted to 65.8%. (1)

Despite enormous efforts, disabled people in the United States are very poorly represented in the labor market. The world standard is that more than half of disabled people are employed. Switzerland and Canada lead in this indicator. 54% and 58% of disabled people, respectively, are employed there.(2) This is more than 2 times more than in the USA.

Disadvantage of The Labor Market For People With Disabilities

There are several reasons for this. Let's discuss one of the reasons. It's the federal government's reluctance to make work popular among people with disabilities! The entire social security system in the United States is structured in such a way that a disabled person loses benefits when employed! This happens if a disabled person works too many hours, earns too much per month, or saves too much money. (3) In order not to lose social benefits, disabled people must not work or be not very successful workers! Incredible. But it is so!

Better too little than nothing at all. This motto is still valid in the labor market for people with disabilities. The most scandalous manifestation of this is the so-called "sheltered workshop". Sheltered workshops operating in most states are focused on employing people with disabilities. Very often, the work of disabled people there is paid less than the minimum wage. In some cases, the cost of paying a disabled person is less than $1 per hour! (4)

Work in a sheltered workshop can only be justified if the disabled person retains social benefits. The benefits are much greater than the salary. Salary becomes an additional, but not the main source of income. Many people think this is better. But from the point of view of social policy, this is a disaster. Benefits are a temporary means of supporting a citizen. A person using benefits must find a good job and start living independently. However, in the case of disabled people, benefits turn into a permanent source of income. People live off benefits for many years without trying to find a job!

People may do this because the benefits are not designed correctly. Social programs should be created in such a way, "to get those utilizing them off of the eventually." However, instead, the benefits cause the "generational dependency" of Americans. Patrick McManus Bronx County Conservative Party Chairman says so. (5)

Why Are Social Benefits More Attractive Than Work?

The reasons for the current situation were created back in the century before last. The US government is limited in its actions by the country's constitution. It is this US law that determines social policy towards people with disabilities. Officials may not act as diversely as the situation requires, but only as the constitution allows. But the constitution does not change according to the situation. The Constitution makes it possible to support disabled people, but does not give them the opportunity to live without support! In other words, thanks to the constitution, disabled people remain disabled forever! Paradox. But this happens because of the guarantee in the constitution of equality of all groups of the population. The pursuit of equality perpetuates the inequality of people with disabilities.

The Constitution prohibits discrimination against any group of the country's population. And it is right! But the devil is in the details. Granting privileges to one group of the population is considered discrimination against other groups of the population. Since the 14th Amendment of the Constitution guarantees equal protection to all US citizens.

However, in the case of people with disabilities, this has the wrong meaning. People with disabilities are notoriously worse off than other groups in the US population. For people with disabilities, equality in rights and responsibilities with other groups of the population is inequality. Therefore, providing benefits for them is creating equality, but not privileges. The creation of a privileged group of the population from disabled people is only the restoration of social justice and the creation of equal living and working conditions for disabled people as everyone else! This means that this is not discrimination against other groups of the population.

Currently, people with disabilities are forced to compete with non-disabled people in the labor market. This can hardly be called fair. But this is prescribed by the Constitution, which makes all groups of the US population equal in rights and responsibilities. Without disabled people receiving privileges in the labor market, the situation will not change. Most people with disabilities are rightly afraid to start earning money. Living on benefits is safer than trusting the labor market, where there is no fair competition with non-disabled people! Even getting a job can involve discrimination.

"We know that people with disabilities are employed at a lower rate than people without a disability",- said Director of Communications Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY), Jeff Peters.

As a result, social benefits hinder the employment of people with disabilities. But the situation would change if people with disabilities, instead of social benefits, received privileges in earning money. This would allow disabled people to live like other people for a salary, not social benefits. But the constitution prevents this.

What's The Result?

Let's be honest. It is virtually impossible to change the constitution. There is no political force that could do this. But even if an attempt had been made, it would have been challenged in the courts. This applies not only to the privileges of disabled people in the labor market, but also in other areas of life. For example, election to elected positions. Making people with disabilities a privileged group in society is not a popular idea.

"I've only rarely heard groups or individuals state that they'd like to see federally mandated legislation to promote parity among people from marginalized identities and as it stands, there is not a strong enough push from the general public around disability rights parity. Unfortunately, the disability rights movement does not garner a lot of attention outside of the advocacy and legislative space and unless there is a big public push for this type of legislation from the public, I don't foresee it being successful",- said Principal Strategist Hill & State Strategies,Alyssa N. Batchelor, M.S.

"My point was the current system in the US and in many other countries makes it easier for wealthy white folks (or wealthy folks from the dominant ethnic group in that country) to run, and makes it almost impossible for the average person-- with or without disabilities", - said Donna Halper The Professor of Media & Communication, Lesley University, Cambridge MA.

But...What would equality for people with disabilities look like if society could find the strength to do it?

It seems most reasonable to provide people with disabilities with privileges to engage in accessible but profitable types of business. We are talking about areas of activity where the efforts of non-disabled people seem excessive to perform such work. For example, this is participation in the activities of "registered agents" who help businessmen to open new businesses in the USA.

About 5 million new businesses open in the United States every year! (6) All of these companies require a "business address". This is the address for receiving letters, parcels, etc. Messages arriving at this address are then forwarded to the actual location of the company owner. Most businessmen purchase this service from registered agents. The new company's address is usually a local business center. The price of the business address service starts from $100 per year. And it can be several hundred dollars a year. The cost of services depends on the number of services. A basic set of services is the re-sending of letters. But if additional services are provided, such as a telephone secretary, the price increases.

Disabled people in the United States could become a privileged group of the population that provides "business address" services. Disabled people, being at home, could become postmen and secretaries of businessmen. Persons with disabilities could forward letters and answer telephone calls. The loss of income from such a service will not be a strong blow to business centers. But for disabled people this will be a huge and most importantly affordable income. One disabled person can provide an address for tens and hundreds of companies in his own home! It would be great to approve at the federal level the privileged right of people with disabilities to provide the "business address" service for American companies!

Other initiatives are also possible. But all this will remain only a theory until political forces appear ready to do this.

References

1) https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf

2) https://www.statista.com/chart/32005/people-with-vs-without-disabilities-employment/

3) https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2023/10/29/people-with-disabilities-want-to-work---but-its-complicated/

4) https://www.route-fifty.com/workforce/2022/11/missouri-allows-some-disabled-workers-earn-less-1-hour-state-says-its-fine-if-never-changes/379779/

5) https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/housing/ny-housing.php

6) https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/new-business-applications-a-state-by-state-view?state=ia

Other Publications by Pavel Kuljuk:

• What Is Happening to the Accessibility of Restaurants for Disabled People?
• Politicians Too Busy With Politics to Care About People With Disabilities
• How Are People With Disabilities Doing in the New York City Housing Market?
• An Unusual Anti-Disability Drug Is Being Used in the US
• Disabled People Are the Achilles Heel of US Political Elites
• What's New for Americans with Disabilities in 2024?
• Equality Amendments Could Increase the Political Influence of the Disabled
• What Is the Price of Legislative Happiness for People With Disabilities in The USA?

Author Credentials:

Pavel Kuljuk's articles and poems are published in Australia, North America, and Europe. In recent years, he has been constantly collaborating with Australian Rural & Regional News (Australia), Red Hook Daily Catch and OpEd News (USA), and Disabled World (Canada). Kuliuk's individual publications are in Forbes (Kazakhstan), Rural 21 (Germany), London Loves Business (UK), Karrep (India), RealClearDefense (RCD), Change Links, Daily Caller (USA), and many others. Explore Pavels' complete biography for comprehensive insights into his background, expertise, and accomplishments.

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Cite This Page (APA): Kuljuk, P. (2024, July 9). Why Are Disabled People in The US Unemployed?. Disabled World. Retrieved October 11, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/editorials/disability-unemployed.php

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