Today in New Hampshire Sen. Rand Paul made an unfortunate comment about people with disabilities when he told a group of New Hampshire legislators that people on disability assistance were “gaming the system” and that “over half the people on disabilities are anxious or have back pain – join the club.”
Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMpY73jutGc
Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility, “Polls show that most working age people with disabilities want to work. We look forward to Sen. Rand Paul’s plan for how people with disabilities can get jobs. In New Hampshire on 41% of working age people with disabilities have jobs, compared to 80% of those without disabilities. This leads to poverty, isolation and despair. Thousands of New Hampshire residents are seeking help in finding jobs, yet in 2012 vocational rehabilitation in New Hampshire was only able to obtain 1087 jobs for them. People with disabilities can be outstanding employees and want a shot to achieve the American dream.”
For full data on working age people with disabilities in New Hampshire see: https://www.respectability.org/Resources/By%20State/New%20Hampshire%20and%20Jobs%20for%20PwDs.pdf
For data from Iowa see: https://www.respectability.org/Resources/By%20State/Iowa%20and%20Jobs%20for%20PwDs.pdf
