MaxE wrote:
lostonearth35 wrote:
I realize that I am luckier than I like to admit I am than most other people with ASD because I'm not homeless and can actually afford high-luxury items like food and hot running water in spite of the fact I've never had a real job. Which is utterly shameful and I don't deserve it.
You live in a First World country in which people with disabilities are entitled to benefits because most people don't think people who can't support themselves should starve to death under a viaduct. You shouldn't be ashamed. My son, who is more "severely" autistic than you, gets benefits that provide him a roof over his head, heat in the winter, and food, doesn't think about it because he really isn't capable of putting himself in others' situations. He does work 16 hours per week at a food store but that by itself wouldn't be enough to keep him off the street.
Seconded. It's the mark of a civilised society to look after the disabled. They should give people something decent to do as well, but they can't even manage that for the able ones, or they just don't want to.
I was very lucky. I sleep-walked into a relatively cushy science job and survived quite well till I'd saved enough to get out and have a nice early retirement. If I'd thought I could have reliably lived well on benefits I'd have done that, because the whole jobs system seems pretty cruel, and there was always some bigwig jerk trying to mess up what might have been an enjoyable thing. But living on benefits looks like it can be even more precarious and stressful than having a job. It's one step closer to destitution than having a job. The world's pendulum has been gradually swinging to the right and they seem to be making benefits harder and harder to hang onto. One perk of being old is that it's not worth their while to squeeze older people.
Today, 11:49 am
