To the Editor,
I am writing this letter because I am very concerned about the large number of people who are being classified as “disabled.” Every time I go to Walmart or Food Lion, I notice folks taking the premium parking spots and walking in to get their goods. They are not disabled. So, who did they pay or how did they get those parking permits?
More importantly, as a property owner/renter I am having an onslaught of people apply for rentals who declare they are disabled That is their income!
One gal, 27, told me she had post traumatic stress disorder. Now this woman is getting $900 a month for life. She, under questioning, said, “Well my parents were divorced and I was in the middle.” Oh, how tragic! So are 50 percent of us.
Another man who rented from me was 29. He receives $2,400 a month for life. Seems he fell from a roof while building a house. Spent months in a hospital. I asked him about his new car, and he confessed it was a convertible. OK, taxpayer problem.
Last week a woman applied for a condo. She and her eight-year fianceé were both disabled. On her application she stated she was 49, and he was 50. When I inquired more, she had an irregular heart beat, and he had asthma. Wow, that sounds like taxpayers should pay her rent, don’t you agree?
Listen, I’m ending this but when I see TV ads from lawyers inviting folks to come to them to get disability, saying ” if we don’t win, you don’t pay,!” I get sick.
D.V. Townsend
High Point
I have heard of individuals that do not understand how the system is supported. They realize on some levels that the money is funded by the government, but they do not connect the funding back to the taxpayers. In many cases they probably do not care as long as that monthly check is in the mail.
Secondly, I FULLY and THOROUGLY agree that there are far too many people living off of disability who actually could very well hold down jobs. In some cases, the individuals don't have the get up and go to get up and go and actually try. That said, in many more cases the problem isn't with the individuals with the disabilities. It's with the employers in North Carolina. More than 50% of them do not follow the laws set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many buildings aren't accessible. Many employers do not allow for an employee to have an aide or to step away from their desk for medical purposes. Many employers insist that the use of a service animal in the workplace would disrupt the other employees. Legal? No. But it happens. And as we're an "at will" state, employers don't have to give a reason for their decisions.
Just a few things to add to the problem.
You'd be surprised how many people at the fitness center get free/reduced memberships because they are disabled. Read that again. They WALK into the fitness center and work out for free/less because they are disabled.
BRB, building a multi-million dollar building to facilitate the taking of money from those who work in order to give it to those who don't.