Election 2016 and your childrens’ future

Sometimes parents of disabled children are too busy caring for their children to pay attention to politics.  However, politics matters for the future well-being of our children.    

Will the person we elect protect the rights of the weakest and most vulnerable among us? Are the needs of the disabled for medical care, food, and housing part of the political discussion?  It should be.  There are over fifty-six million disabled in our country.  

Election 2016 is especially alarming

Congress approves a budget every year and with the current astronomical deficit, there will be a clamor for spending cuts.  Will our elected representatives vote to cut funding for people with disabilities?  Will they cut Social Security, Aid to Dependent Children, and Medicaid in favor of more glitzy funding on the Military?  Even for those without disabled children or friends, it is good to remember that being able-bodied is for most humans a temporary condition.  There may come a time when we may no longer be contributors but be in need of governmental assistance. 

The prospect of a Trump presidency frightens me.  During his campaign, Trump mocked a reporter with a disability.  Can you picture him championing the rights of disabled people in our country?  I don’t think so.  They are not even on his radar.  His goals are to increase military spending and build a multibillion-dollar wall on the Mexican border, among other crazy expenditures.  In his speeches, he has referred to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme. 

I am also concerned about a Republican Congress’ budgetary priorities.  They spend billions on the military without blinking an eyelash.  However social assistance and safety net programs are easy prey in their budget slashing endeavors. They blame the budgetary crisis on those who most need assistance, including those who have paid into the system for most of their working lives.  They don’t consider the fact that part of the problem with the deficit is that the wealthy aren’t paying their fair share of taxes.  We should not calculate the strength of our country by how many warheads or drones we possess, but in how we care for the weakest and most vulnerable among us. What kind of world do we want for our children?

It is important to vote this November, but when you vote, keep in mind your children’s future and the lives of the other 56 million disabled in our country.