Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Mulligan: The EITC Discourages Work for Most Taxpayers

Excerpt from TaxProf Blog: (click for entire article)

New York Times:  Do Tax Credits Encourage Work?, by Casey B. Mulligan (University of Chicago, Department of Economics):

    The earned-income tax credit is often said to encourage work, but it may do just the opposite. ... The chart below shows the credit’s schedules for the 2011 tax year as a function of annual earned income for a given family situation (other family situations have the same basic shape). The schedule shown illustrates the mountain-plateau pattern described above: an increasing portion for the lowest incomes, a flat portion, a decreasing portion and then finally a flat portion of zero.

Finding work for the disabled

Excerpt from Wisconsin Radio Network: (click for entire article)

There’s a growing push to help people with disabilities join the workforce in Wisconsin, and a conference this week in Wisconsin Dells will focus on how to make it happen.

Despite a strong desire to work and support themselves, Beth Swedeen with the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities says many of those individuals are unable to find a job. She says only about 10 percent of the state’s disabled population is currently employed in a job that pays competitive wages.

Swedeen says there are many reasons why the job market is not accessible to the disabled. Perhaps the biggest, she believes, is that employers often have low expectations or underestimate the ability of those individuals to contribute.

Age Discrimination's Impact Disputed In Congressional Hearing On Unemployment

Excerpt from The Huffington Post: (click for entire article)

Philadelphia resident Sheila Whitelaw lost her job as a manager at a clothing store when the store closed in 2010. She suspects she hasn't found steady work since because she's too old.

"At 71 years of age, I didn't know how long it might take to find a job; the economy was in bad shape with millions of people out of work," Whitelaw, now 73, said Tuesday. "I started sending out my resume to hundreds of jobs. I have had about 15 interviews, but I rarely even receive a response afterward. It then occurred to me that a potential employee could look me up on the internet, and lo and behold, there was my age, clearly printed for all to see! I sensed my inability to find work had something to do with age, but I couldn't prove it."

US Department of Labor announces availability of $20 million in grants through Disability Employment Initiative

Excerpt from Medicaid Waiver News: (click for entire article)

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $20 million in grants to fund cooperative agreements that will improve educational, training and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. These grants represent the third round of funding through the Disability Employment Initiative, a joint program of the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration and its Office of Disability Employment Policy. "These grants are a wise investment in America's greatest resource, our nation's workers," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "The mission of the programs awarded under these grants will be to improve services for people with disabilities so they can more easily and effectively participate in the workforce." Grants will be awarded to state workforce agencies, which will collaborate with local workforce investment boards. Programs supported by the grants will build upon the Labor Department's Disability Program Navigator Initiative and other models of service delivery strategies.

US Labor Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy announces 2012 theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Excerpt from United States Department of Labor: (click for entire article)

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment today announced the official theme for October's National Disability Employment Awareness Month: "A Strong Workforce is an Inclusive Workforce: What Can YOU Do?" The theme promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce that includes workers with disabilities, who represent a highly skilled talent pool.

"Employers who ensure that inclusive workplace policies and practices are woven into the fabric and culture of the organization create an environment that encourages all workers — including those of us with disabilities — to work to their full capacity and contribute fully to the organization's success," said Kathy Martinez, assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy.

Early announcement of the theme helps communities nationwide plan a series of announcements, events and meetings to begin in October, some of which will continue throughout the year. Such activities include proclamations, public awareness programs and job fairs that showcase the skills and talents of workers with disabilities.

Workers with Asperger’s and Autism Are Not Cheaper Labor

Excerpt from Care2: (click for entire article)

Square One, a Los Angeles-based software and design firm, has started a small pilot program (with three people) to design a software-testing training program for people on the autism spectrum. According to Business Week, company co-founder Chad Hahn and his wife, Shannon, who works with individuals with developmental disabilities, are trying to create a “work environment that would be friendly to those on the autism spectrum,” many of whom especially struggle with social interactions.

In the U.S., the unemployment rate for  individuals Asperger’s Syndrome could be as high as 80%. While social situations and communicating with others may be difficult, some autistic individuals excel using computers and technology and, prior to Square One, some other companies have sought to draw on these abilities. In 2004, Thorkil Sonne, a Danish software engineer with an autistic son, founded Specialisterne, 75 percent of whose software consultants have Asperger’s Syndrome or an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The company’s employees test software and technological devices and there are now offshoots in Iceland and Scotland. A small nonprofit, Aspiritech, was founded in 2008 in Chicago; its employees also have Asperger’s Syndrome or an ASD and test smartphone apps.

Wasting Our Minds

Excerpt from The New York Times: (click for entire article)

In Spain, the unemployment rate among workers under 25 is more than 50 percent. In Ireland almost a third of the young are unemployed. Here in America, youth unemployment is “only” 16.5 percent, which is still terrible — but things could be worse.

And sure enough, many politicians are doing all they can to guarantee that things will, in fact, get worse. We’ve been hearing a lot about the war on women, which is real enough. But there’s also a war on the young, which is just as real even if it’s better disguised. And it’s doing immense harm, not just to the young, but to the nation’s future.

Let’s start with some advice Mitt Romney gave to college students during an appearance last week. After denouncing President Obama’s “divisiveness,” the candidate told his audience, “Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business.”

Feds, businesses strive for disability compliance

Excerpt from WCAX: (click for entire article)

Two decades after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Burlington businesses are working to improve access for disabled individuals. The moves come as part of an action plan developed with federal prosecutors.
 
Twenty-two years after the federal government mandated that all businesses be accessible to those with disabilities, many across Burlington and the state still aren't compliant. Some establishments need just simple changes or worker training, but others have found alterations prohibitively expensive.

"We've gotten complaints from all different areas of the state really not one area in particular, so it's certainly a Vermont problem, not just one city or town problem," said Sarah Launderville. She's the Executive Director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living.

Disabled Americans Shrink Size of U.S. Labor Force

Excerpt from Bloomberg Businessweek: (click for entire article)

Michael White says he wishes he still could pluck the bass line to Hank Williams Jr.’s “Born to Boogie” and pay bills with money he earns himself. High unemployment -- along with ailments that he says render his fingers inoperative and make him cough up blood -- have dashed his hopes.

White is among the 1.6 million Americans who’ve claimed Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, since the 18- month recession began in 2007. When the slump reduced demand for tow-truck drivers, the 60-year-old Fort Myers, Florida, resident, who has also worked as a musician, lost the job he’d held for five years and started collecting unemployment benefits.

Complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, diabetes and other medical problems then made it impossible for him to return to a labor market that lacks opportunities for people with health problems and those in better shape.

Disability Employment Policy — What Are We Missing?

Excerpt from Disability Blog: (click for entire article)

As a longtime advocate and professional working in support of the employment of people with disabilities, I was very excited to recently report for work at the University of California, Berkeley — to have the privilege of assisting the University’s students with disabilities with both their education and career ambitions.  UC Berkeley has some of the “best and brightest” of our young people with disabilities, so helping them to achieve their career goals seemed to me to be the easiest assignment I would ever have.

During my first few weeks at Berkeley, I embarked on a quest to ask every student with a disability I met the question, “What’s your career goal?” I couldn’t wait to hear about their lofty goals, serious plans and impressive ambitions.

Much to my chagrin, the response I most often got (about 99 percent of the time) was the student casting their eyes to the ground and saying, ”I’m not sure, I guess I’ll go on to graduate schools; or, law school; or medical school.”