You Can Save 100,000 Dollars. That's It.

This letter I wrote about the maximum allowable limit for savings under AISH legislation was also dismissed by indirectly telling me to get a job. It was actually accompanied by another letter describing that it's unfair that deductions are made to people who work while receiving income from government for a disability. My thought was that the government should support people regardless of their income at a certain rate without deductions, since people usually receiving AISH will have expenses not covered by insurance and that others may not have (for instance, certain medicines, etc.). As per usual, however, the Government of Alberta simply copied and pasted parts of the legislation, rather than consider any of my criticism to it. They also stated that there are "generous" programs in place like the Registered Disability Savings Plan which allow you to save up to 70,000 dollars in addition to 100,000 dollars of your own (where the government puts in a certain amount per quantity that you put in). That was insulting as I actually acknowledged generally those types of programs in my letter, but also because the government seems to think that if you use all your income from AISH monthly to pay for living costs, you're still going to have enough left over to put into savings! But, as I said to the Government of Alberta, I would invite anyone disputing this to try to live off of 1588 dollars per month without support from family or anyone else and seeing if there is enough left for the generous savings program in Canada. I think people would discover quickly that in the year 2013, the amount provided to people by government is nothing. This is especially difficult if you cannot work but conservatives continue to tell you rather condescendingly that you should. Moreover, even if you did manage to save a little, the amount is supposed to be untouched for 10 years and 70,000 dollars is just not a lot of money if you have no substantial income. If at the end of 10 years I used that money for a down-payment on a house, I wouldn't be able to keep that house because the monthly allowance from AISH is unsubstantial. Or, if I bought a car, I wouldn't have enough left after paying rent, food, clothing, etc. to pay for gas, insurance, and maintenance. So, although 70,000 dollars sounds like a lot of money (and keep in mind, most people on AISH would *not* be able to save that amount on their own), it's really tantamount to nothing. In any case, once again, I've posted my ideas here. Feel free to make what you will of them.

August 3, 2013

Honourable Fred Horne

Legislature Office
208 Legislature Building
10800 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
Canada T5K 2B6

Dear Honourable Fred Horne:

I am writing regarding proposed changes for AISH policy.

Currently, the maximum amount permitted for savings for people receiving AISH benefits in Alberta is 100,000 dollars. Once this sum in savings is reached, a person no longer qualifies for AISH. This practice is discriminatory and keeps those receiving AISH in poverty through no fault of their own.

It might be said that having a maximum allowable amount prevents people from taking advantage of the system. AISH provides a minimum degree of welfare for those in need, but it encourages “them” to try and work and earn their own money, rather than enrich themselves by the charity of society. However, this reasoning ignores crucial aspects of many people’s lives as people with disabilities.

For example, it ignores the fact that some people simply are unable to fulfill a demanding work schedule, although they live their lives with value in the best way that they can. I may not be able to work eight hours a day, but I’m still able to take walks in the park, have a satisfying meal with loved ones, or read and write interesting things. But none of this is my fault. I never asked for a disability, and if I could work like everyone else, having a decent career, I would. So why is this contingency of life a justification for limiting my freedom to accumulate wealth, just like everyone else?

It might also be said that AISH policy allows for these circumstances and encourages people to work in whatever way that they can. AISH services can offer help with part-time employment, or employment that fits different people’s needs. So having a maximum allowable amount for savings is a form of getting people to work in a humane manner.

However, this ignores the fact that everyone without a disability is free to decide whether they’ll work or not work. If they have savings, they can decide to reject employment and live off those, or they can simply forfeit work altogether and live with the consequences of not being employed. But notice that nowhere in legislation or as a matter of policy for “them” is there an obligation for people to work. Yet for people with disabilities, policy demands that they work where able, and if they do not, AISH payments may be withheld. The maximum allowable amount, therefore, essentially forces people to work (even if they cannot), as they cannot, like everyone else without a disability, live off their savings that exceed 100,000 dollars.

It is true that people receiving AISH benefits may live off the 100,000 dollars they are permitted to save, and so you might say that people with disabilities have the same freedom to not work and live off their savings, just like everyone else. But this misses the crucial aspect that, unlike people without disabilities, there is, as a matter of legislation and policy, only a certain amount people may live off of. And unlike people without disabilities, if people with disabilities do not agree to this amount, their livelihood is gone, through a mere contingency of life.

This maximum allowable savings also ensures that people who have a disability and cannot work are left in a situation of poverty—by law. If you are a person without a disability, you can work and save as much as you can to escape from poverty, and there is no legislation that will coerce you to stay earning a particular amount, to ensure that you cannot save more than you would need to overcome your situation. But for those with disabilities, AISH policy ensures that if you cannot work, the most money you will ever have in your entire life will be 100,000. Anymore (notwithstanding a few other programs that allow for untouched savings for a minimum of ten years) and your livelihood is simply gone. How exactly are people who have disabilities but cannot work supposed to pull themselves up from their boot-straps?

Not only is current AISH policy discriminatory, it guarantees that “they” stay poor.

More positively, a just AISH policy would allow recipients of benefits to save as much as they please. This would end the double-standard implicit in current AISH policy and give people with disabilities the substantial opportunity to advance in their finances, just like every other Canadian without a disability is given the freedom to do.

Thank you for taking the time to listen. I sincerely hope this helps in some way.

Yours,

 

 

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