My friend, That would be socialism! (smile) In Germany, it works like this. If a company fails to hire a certain percentage of disabled workers (I don't know the percentage, nor do I know how large the company has to be before these rules apply) then that company has to pay an extra tax. The funds raised by this tax are used to purchase equipment for disabled individuals. This would never fly in in the US however.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bob Mates Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 12:57 PM To: Braillenote List Subject: RE: [Braillenote] changing places Dear Rstchard, Rhonda and list: Richard, you took the words right out of my mouth, or, perhaps, brain. There's no need to ad to what you've said, but there are a few points I'd lffmake. First, because most of the technology for the blind is purchased by state or federal agencies, the manufacturers have, or at least, see, no need to set up any kind of a way for the average person to pay for the product, little by little. Their rationale is, that they would then need to hire more bookkeepers, and collection people. They say that this would significantly raise the price. I do not think that the increase would be more than a few percentage points. I believe the companies should have payment plans, to be worked out over a 3 to 5-year period. This would cover the cost of the equipment, and any maintenance agreement. There's also something else. Most states, in this country, are not in great financial shape, which means that the rehab agencies are under great budgetary constraints. therefore, they have to set pretty rigid criteria for supplying technology. What it usually boils down to, is that if you have a job, they'll help; if not, they can't. Of course, this puts many blind folks in a catch-22 situation: to wit, you can't get the equipment without a job, but you can't get a job, without the equipment! So, now what? Well, at the risk of sounding like a crackpot, here's my proposal. It's costly, but I think it would be beneficial in the long run. I believe that there should be a national program, sponsored by the federal government, in conjunction with the private sector, to furnish every visually impaired person with a computer, complete with the latest jechnology, for $500. There is just one condition: the blind person has to use this technology to either get employment with someone, or start his/her own business, (no restrictions on size or type of business) or to get more education. When the person has achieved his/her goals, and is financially in reasonable shape, the person pays the $500. Now I understand that this will create more bureaucracy, but it will eventually get a lot of folks off the SSI roles. By the way, the technology manufacturers would get wonderful tax breaks for keeping their prices reasonable. They'd probably be guaranteed solvency. As I said, maybe it's a crackpot theory, but, there 'tis. Hope everyone has a great day. God bless. Bob and Maxy-wax ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.pulsedata.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
