Disability benefits should be the equivalent of a full time job on living wage. Things don’t cost less because you’re disabled – in fact you often have additional costs of living. You shouldn’t be forced into poverty because you are disabled.
Before anyone comes in with ’ but then ppl would lie so they didn’t have to work!’
Two responses
Universal basic income + better wages is the way forward
Who fucking cares? Not me. This insistence that ppl lie to get benefits and as a result benefits should be a fucking pittance that it’s humiliating to apply for just fucks over disabled people and is inhumane
Added to this:
No retesting of permanent disabilities.
It is huge stress for people with autism or lost limbs or so forth to be retested, especially when they’re often denied – every two years or less – their benefits and forced to appeal and then get back what they originally had (or less) … it’s weeks without income, which has sent many people homeless or forced them into short-term loans and debt they can’t escape. It’s barbaric.
Also, payments made during appeal – if they don’t deserve the cash, they can repay over time, but if they do then you’ve stopped them from going into debt and/or being made homeless. The whole system needs a huge overhaul, especially with the assessors being paid per person chucked off the system.
It’s absolutely dehumanising to say the least.
And no more marriage/cohabitation policies so that people whose only source of income is those benefits can use them to contribute to a partnership instead of having them yanked away on the grounds that “your spouse can support you now.”
Make basic living income a thing.
Retesting of chronic illness and disabilities is crazy