as promised, a thread on #CripTax
I want to talk about a very particular type of Crip Tax. For a more comprehensive idea of the extra costs with being disabled, check out @Imani_Barbarin’s hashtag #TheCostOfBeingDisabled!
I want to talk about a very particular type of Crip Tax. For a more comprehensive idea of the extra costs with being disabled, check out @Imani_Barbarin’s hashtag #TheCostOfBeingDisabled!
Let’s start off with asset caps. Many disabled people live with an asset cap, meaning they cannot own or make a certain amount of money. The most common limit is assets over $2,000.
But it’s also just more expensive for disabled people to exist. Our $2,000 doesn’t mean as much as your $2,000
Why? The most obvious reason is increased medical bills, and insurance not covering things like $800 wheelchairs that people need to navigate the world.
Why? The most obvious reason is increased medical bills, and insurance not covering things like $800 wheelchairs that people need to navigate the world.
A lot of things non-disabled folk consider to be “luxury” is a necessity for disabled people. Here are some things that people don’t think about a lot-
TAKE-OUT FOOD: sometimes we don’t have energy or ability to cook. Ordering delivery can sometimes be the only option, leaving us forced to pay expentially more $.
PRE-CUT FOOD: you know how hard it is for me to use a knife? Buying things like pre-cut fruits and vegetables let’s me literally eat by myself. It’s also more $.
TECHNOLOGY: I have a hard time physically writing. My parents subsequently bought me a computer + iPad to help me with school work. It also let me not have to carry a bunch of textbooks around! They were also more $.
VITAMINS: this may seem random but you know how many over the counter vitamins doctors will tell chronically ill people to take? but it’s not covered by health insurance. A bottle of sodium supplements lasts me about 2 weeks but is $25. That shit adds up.
DRUG TIERS: this also ties in general to the “increased medical bills” but did you know that basically the sicker you are the more $ the pharmacy can charge you? Because of needing “specialty” medicine.
CARS/TRANSPORTATION: i literally *had* to get a car in college so i could go to doctor appointments. You know how much a car costs? A lot!
BRAND-NAME ITEMS: off-brand food, medicine, clothing, anything! can mean that a disabled person is losing the certainty that the item is safe for them to use.
There are so many more, and I’d love to hear other common #CripTax items y’all experience.
But *this* is why I get EXTRA mad at people saying disabled people don’t ‘need’ any COVID financial relief.
We do.
But *this* is why I get EXTRA mad at people saying disabled people don’t ‘need’ any COVID financial relief.
We do.
you can always help offset some of the #CripTax i experience! and check out my patreon 😚 patreon.com/kaylejh
