The “bootstrap” people, first don’t get it that nobody has ever been able to pull themselves “up by the bootstraps.” Nobody has gotten anywhere entirely on their own - support of one kind or another has ALWAYS figured prominently in any success. The other piece is that even if that was possible, you hafta remember, that it’s REALLY impossible if you don’t have boots to start with.
Thank you for this Jon. You put the stark truth out there. Life is so fragile - but until the “politicians” are disabled.. they will never understand. Even then - their career of padding their bank accounts will surely soften the financial burden. We are all just one incident away from a disability.
As someone who became disabled because of a fall at work, I can say you have described the descent from ability to disability very accurately. I don't understand why people are so reluctant to acknowledge that sometimes people need help. It is always fraud first, actual need second. So over the nonsense.
We need to look after each other and the planet. It is not really about money, or shouldn't be, but unfortunately money seems to run every system. And the disabled are not in a position to 'pull themselves up by the bootstraps' (as if that were a competitive event!). People and planet first, always.
The piece missing here Jon is the insulation of political position.
While they may espouse the values you lay out, in Smiths case it’s not a lived set, they are given excessive privilege and comforts that are 100% unearned. All expenses covered, all meals, all insurances, vehicles, severance packages(cashed out instead of pensions let’s be clear),front of the line at security you name it. None of it earned.
If they had humility they would acknowledge this set of facts, but that’s an inconvenient truth
The quiet part stated loudly. We are lazy, greedy, malingerers and we need financial incentives to “encourage” us back to work. It’s easy to take from disabled people- “who listens to them anyway”. The problem starts at the top- a charter protected group without protection. We only have the illusion of protection, then there are the clawbacks, the offsets, the hoops and the hurdles.
Even our CPP is taken from us via hidden agreements. I was shocked to learn these agreements exist. Apparently insurance isn’t insurance when disabled- it’s merely a target benefit that can absorb all sources. Look at isp1618c- click the top drop-down menu.
Look at the huge number of insurers that have already accepted premiums and then created agreements to take CPP too. Maybe your insurer is there- it’s a gut punch.
The CPP/Ltd issue has plagued disabled people since 1996 ibecause of agreements that we never get to see -Between insurers and the government. Why? To create a “financial” incentive to “ encourage” return to work. It's another revenue stream built upon the backs of the disabled. One hand takes contributions to create a pension, the other funnels it through backdoor agreements.
How about providing oversight to WCB instead of bonuses for denials or the new more palatable direction- for goal attainment. Industry that takes premiums to help injured workers becomes a maze of process and denials until AISH becomes necessary.
Rather than holding AISH recipients responsible for inefficient systems- let’s look at the systems that profit from our misfortune.
We are left with a wall of silence and eyes that look away. I created a song from inside the betrayal. Disability is not an exclusive group. We can do better than de humanizing people to demonstrate their “value”. It’s the modern day Salem Witch trials. https://x.com/TheTideRises333/status/2012729891674853769/video/1?s=46
Well said Jon. There is a community of people who are facing uncertainty with this government, that only adds to their stress. They are the ones who share what they don't have, the creatives who express themselves through music, poetry, math, art, science etc. We as a society would be poorer without them. https://tabnav.com/blog/famous-people-with-disabilities
Imagine a vast, humming Hall of Accounts—a cathedral of marble and flickering screens where every soul has a running ledger. Your name glows at the top. The Auditors (faceless, efficient, clipboards in hand) measure you not by the light in your eyes or the stories only you can tell, but by Output. How many widgets? How many hours logged? How much tax paid, how little claimed?
You arrive limping, or wheeling, or breathing through a machine. The ledger dips into the red.
“Prove it,” they say.
Not once. Not twice.
Years of forms like paper vines that wrap tighter the more you struggle. Medical records, doctor notes, “more evidence,” “independent assessment,” offsets, clawbacks, appeals. Delay. Deny. Demand another blood sacrifice of time and dignity.
Some never make it through the vines. They wither waiting.
Then, when the ledger finally stamps “Genuine Disability”—a rare, grudging seal—the tone shifts. A soft voice now. Almost kind.
“We see your suffering. There is… another option. MAID. Quick. Clean. No more burden.”
It feels less like mercy and more like closing the account. The final line item: Productivity = zero. Expense = high. Recommendation: terminate.
And no allowances for the expense of obtaining those doctors notes, medical records etc. And the deny, deny, deny. It is debilitating all by itself to apply for these programs.
The “bootstrap” people, first don’t get it that nobody has ever been able to pull themselves “up by the bootstraps.” Nobody has gotten anywhere entirely on their own - support of one kind or another has ALWAYS figured prominently in any success. The other piece is that even if that was possible, you hafta remember, that it’s REALLY impossible if you don’t have boots to start with.
Thank you for this Jon. You put the stark truth out there. Life is so fragile - but until the “politicians” are disabled.. they will never understand. Even then - their career of padding their bank accounts will surely soften the financial burden. We are all just one incident away from a disability.
Absolutely agree with you 💯.
As someone who became disabled because of a fall at work, I can say you have described the descent from ability to disability very accurately. I don't understand why people are so reluctant to acknowledge that sometimes people need help. It is always fraud first, actual need second. So over the nonsense.
We need to look after each other and the planet. It is not really about money, or shouldn't be, but unfortunately money seems to run every system. And the disabled are not in a position to 'pull themselves up by the bootstraps' (as if that were a competitive event!). People and planet first, always.
The piece missing here Jon is the insulation of political position.
While they may espouse the values you lay out, in Smiths case it’s not a lived set, they are given excessive privilege and comforts that are 100% unearned. All expenses covered, all meals, all insurances, vehicles, severance packages(cashed out instead of pensions let’s be clear),front of the line at security you name it. None of it earned.
If they had humility they would acknowledge this set of facts, but that’s an inconvenient truth
The quiet part stated loudly. We are lazy, greedy, malingerers and we need financial incentives to “encourage” us back to work. It’s easy to take from disabled people- “who listens to them anyway”. The problem starts at the top- a charter protected group without protection. We only have the illusion of protection, then there are the clawbacks, the offsets, the hoops and the hurdles.
Even our CPP is taken from us via hidden agreements. I was shocked to learn these agreements exist. Apparently insurance isn’t insurance when disabled- it’s merely a target benefit that can absorb all sources. Look at isp1618c- click the top drop-down menu.
Look at the huge number of insurers that have already accepted premiums and then created agreements to take CPP too. Maybe your insurer is there- it’s a gut punch.
The CPP/Ltd issue has plagued disabled people since 1996 ibecause of agreements that we never get to see -Between insurers and the government. Why? To create a “financial” incentive to “ encourage” return to work. It's another revenue stream built upon the backs of the disabled. One hand takes contributions to create a pension, the other funnels it through backdoor agreements.
How about providing oversight to WCB instead of bonuses for denials or the new more palatable direction- for goal attainment. Industry that takes premiums to help injured workers becomes a maze of process and denials until AISH becomes necessary.
Rather than holding AISH recipients responsible for inefficient systems- let’s look at the systems that profit from our misfortune.
We are left with a wall of silence and eyes that look away. I created a song from inside the betrayal. Disability is not an exclusive group. We can do better than de humanizing people to demonstrate their “value”. It’s the modern day Salem Witch trials. https://x.com/TheTideRises333/status/2012729891674853769/video/1?s=46
Well said Jon. There is a community of people who are facing uncertainty with this government, that only adds to their stress. They are the ones who share what they don't have, the creatives who express themselves through music, poetry, math, art, science etc. We as a society would be poorer without them. https://tabnav.com/blog/famous-people-with-disabilities
This isn’t Kansas.
Imagine a vast, humming Hall of Accounts—a cathedral of marble and flickering screens where every soul has a running ledger. Your name glows at the top. The Auditors (faceless, efficient, clipboards in hand) measure you not by the light in your eyes or the stories only you can tell, but by Output. How many widgets? How many hours logged? How much tax paid, how little claimed?
You arrive limping, or wheeling, or breathing through a machine. The ledger dips into the red.
“Prove it,” they say.
Not once. Not twice.
Years of forms like paper vines that wrap tighter the more you struggle. Medical records, doctor notes, “more evidence,” “independent assessment,” offsets, clawbacks, appeals. Delay. Deny. Demand another blood sacrifice of time and dignity.
Some never make it through the vines. They wither waiting.
Then, when the ledger finally stamps “Genuine Disability”—a rare, grudging seal—the tone shifts. A soft voice now. Almost kind.
“We see your suffering. There is… another option. MAID. Quick. Clean. No more burden.”
It feels less like mercy and more like closing the account. The final line item: Productivity = zero. Expense = high. Recommendation: terminate.
And no allowances for the expense of obtaining those doctors notes, medical records etc. And the deny, deny, deny. It is debilitating all by itself to apply for these programs.