Californication

On multiple fronts, the far right is attacking the well-established legal right of disabled people to be supported to live in their communities instead of being institutionalized. People with disabilities and their allies are pushing back, but threats to the idea won through militant struggle, that disabled people should be supported to live in their communities, are real.

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In January of this year, nine states relaunched the lawsuit, now known as Texas v. Kennedy. The focus has now shifted to ending what is known as the “integration mandate;” that for states to get funding for services under 504, people with disabilities must be supported in living integrated in communities, not hidden away in institutions. The plaintiffs are now arguing that the integration mandate impinges on the states’ rights to decide how to care for people in their states, with echoes of the segregationist dog whistle of “states’ rights.” Of course the right of people with disabilities to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is nowhere mentioned. Due to the advocacy of people with disabilities, caregivers and allies, led by Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, two states (Indiana and South Dakota) dropped out in May, but a core group of seven remains.

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One program that has helped people with disabilities remain in the community has been Medicaid funding that pays family members to be caregivers to disabled adults living at home. This support can be life-changing for the entire family, supporting consistency in care and reducing stress.

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Far-right politicians have targeted this program as being full of fraud. In typical bigoted fashion, claims are being made that family members are being paid to “hang out and watch TV!”

This kind of language is reminiscent of the talk of “welfare queens” that led to the “reform” of welfare during the Clinton administration. The reality is, home-based care work is work. Socialist theorists have named this kind of labor “reproductive labor” because it helps to maintain and reproduce the working class itself.

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Currently, adults with disabilities can qualify to receive Supplemental Security Income, a basic income. Because this is usually not enough for a person to rent their own apartment, many adults with SSI may live with family, who may also provide care. Now, a rule change being considered by the Trump administration would deduct the value of the bedroom’s rent from the monthly SSI check, even if the family qualifies for SNAP (food stamps). Up to 400,000 poor and disabled or elderly people could have their support cut or eliminated, according to a ProPublica analysis of actuarial figures from the Social Security Administration.

It’s not as if anyone is getting rich off this kind of support. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the typical SNAP household that is also supporting a person who receives SSI has an annual total income of $17,000.

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by Felix Bohr, Rafaela von Bredow, Jan Friedmann, Christoph Gunkel, Katja Iken und Eva-Maria Schnurr