Readers on Qualifications for Disability

Sunday was the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, so in the Sunday Poll I asked what should qualify as a disability. Before the results, here is information from a national poll: .

Strong majorities of Americans believe vision loss, blindness, or other permanent vision impairments (88%); cerebral palsy (83%); hearing loss, deafness, or other permanent hearing impairments (79%); multiple sclerosis (78%); autism (68%); and epilepsy (68%) should qualify as disabilities.

Over half also believe speech and language disorders (57%), learning disabilities (54%) and cancer (52%) should qualify, though only minorities of older Americans and Republicans are behind these particular conditions being considered disabilities:

Speech and language disorders: 41% of Matures, 47% of Republicans
Learning disabilities: 44% of Matures, 46% of Republicans
Cancer: 48% of Baby Boomers, 41% of Matures, 45% of Republicans
Majorities of Millennials (57%) and Democrats (54%) believe schizophrenia should qualify, while lower percentages of other generations (44% Gen Xers, 41% Baby Boomers, 27% Matures) and political persuasions (37% Republicans, 42% Independents) say the same, bringing the total support for this condition qualifying to 46%.

Three in ten Americans believe depression (29%) should qualify, while just over two in ten say the same of migraine headaches (22%), 17% say the same of morbid obesity and 16% believe anorexia or bulimia should qualify. One in ten feel that drug addiction (10%) or alcoholism (9%) should qualify, while 5% say the same of compulsive gambling.

Perhaps not surprisingly, those who say they or someone else in their household faces an emotional or mental disability are especially likely to believe autism (75%), schizophrenia (67%) and depression (57%) should be considered qualifying conditions. (The Harris Poll: Overwhelming Public Support For the Americans with Disabilities Act, But Disagreements Exist on What Should Qualify as a Disability)

The free online poll software I use here doesn’t let me get into such detail. When reading the results below keep in mind people could select 1-16 answers. I don’t know how many people voted — my guess is 22. If so that would mean 100% think  vision loss is a qualifier for disability. I’ve added a percentage in {0%} to indicate the relative support.

Q: Which of the following do you think should qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? (check all that apply)

1. Vision loss, blindness, vision impairment 22 [12.02%] {100%}
2. TIE 20 [10.93%] {90.9%}
   1. Multiple sclerosis
   2. Cerebral palsy
3. Hearing loss, deafness, permanent hearing impairments 18 [9.84%] {81.8%}
4. Epilepsy 17 [9.29%] {77.3%}
5. Autism 14 [7.65%] {63.6%}
6. Schizophrenia 13 [7.1%] {59.1%}
7. Speech & language disorders 12 [6.56%] {54.5%}
8. TIE  10 [5.46%] {45.5%}
   1. Learning disabilities
   2. Cancer
9. Anorexia or bulimia 6 [3.28%] {27.3%}
10. TIE 5 [2.73%] {22.7%}
    1. Morbid obesity
    2. Depression
11. TIE  4 [2.19%] {18.2%}
    1. Drug addiction
    2. Alcoholism
12. Compulsive gambling 3 [1.64%] {13.6%}
13. Unsure/no answer 0 [0%]

The key is what makes it so you can’t do your current job, or another job. I’m not in a position to tell someone who is, say clinically depressed, they should be able to work. Besides, I’m too busy worrying about a potential 19% cut in 2016.

— Steve Patterson

Becoming An Independent Uber Driver

I have no doubt that Uber will soon be operating in St. Louis, as the Post-Dispatch explains, they’ve never lost against local regulations designed to protect the established taxi industry. But, we must consider the ramifications:

Uber operates mainly in big cities like San Francisco and New York, chock full of liberals. Liberals have been caught up in the cult-like enthusiasm for Uber, demanding it in communities where it wasn’t offered and viewing its absence as evidence that their cities didn’t measure up on the tech-savvy cool-meter.

Getting Uber may offer immediate gratification. But communities must understand what it portends, which is more trouble for the middle class. An Uber driver may average about $16 an hour in pay, after deducting the cost of insurance and gas and mileage on their cars. But he probably doesn’t work full time for Uber nor receive benefits. He’s probably going to need another job or two to make ends meet. This doesn’t sound much like progress.

There’s another word that is sometimes used to describe the new, Uberized labor market — the serf economy. (Editorial: Uber is changing more than just transportation)

Manu of you may be ready to sign up as Uber drivers. Just like taxicab drivers, Uber considers its drivers to be “independent contractors”, not employees. What does this mean to you?

People such as doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, accountants, contractors, subcontractors, public stenographers, or auctioneers who are in an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the general public are generally independent contractors. However, whether these people are independent contractors or employees depends on the facts in each case. The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. The earnings of a person who is working as an independent contractor are subject to Self-Employment Tax.

If you are an independent contractor, you are self-employed. To find out what your tax obligations are, visit the Self-Employed Tax Center. (IRS: Independent Contractor Defined)

The first thing you should wonder about is the “self-employement tax” mentioned above:

Self-employment tax is a tax consisting of Social Security and Medicare taxes primarily for individuals who work for themselves. It is similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the pay of most wage earners.

You figure self-employment tax (SE tax) yourself using Schedule SE (Form 1040). Social Security and Medicare taxes of most wage earners are figured by their employers. Also you can deduct the employer-equivalent portion of your SE tax in figuring your adjusted gross income. Wage earners cannot deduct Social Security and Medicare taxes. (IRS: Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes))

Depending upon your situation, this many not be applicable to you. I’m not an accountant, but I’ve been an employee, an employee & independent contractor concurrently, and just an independent contractor. From my own personal experience I can tell you it’s important to know the differences.

Why you ask? If you get paid say $1,000 from Uber, some of that money may need to be set aside to cover taxes you’ll owe on the income. This tax money might even need to be paid monthly or quarterly. Don’t forget about state and local taxes too.

Additional considerations:

• You’ll also need a system for keeping track of vehicle expenses (fuel, miles driven, maintenance).
• You may need different auto insurance.
• If your car is financed, would driving for Uber violate any terms of the finance agreement? Uber’s financing is described as a “risky-bet.”

When you get a job your employer takes care of much of the above concerns. If you decide to drive for Uber, or similar, then you’re starting a new business. Accept that — or do like others have and sue:

As you may have heard, the on-demand car-service juggernaut lost a case early this month before the California Labor Commissioner on whether a driver was an independent contractor or an employee, and thus eligible for expense reimbursement. Uber is appealing that ruling in court, but it already faces a class-action lawsuit over the same issue in federal court in California and similar fights in Floridaand Massachusetts.

These legal battles have actually become pretty common lately for car services and taxi companies, not just Uber. Sometimes the issue is that drivers who clearly are employees (they don’t own the cars, they only drive for one service) are treated as independent contractors by skinflint car-service owners. More often than not, though, it is cases like Uber’s, where drivers own their cars, can drive for other services and can set their own timetables — all attributes of an independent contractor — but are dependent on the service in ways that make them seem not quite independent. (Bloomberg View: Uber and the Not-Quite-Independent Contractor)

The taxicab companies, for their part, are looking like dinosaurs. Our taxicab experiences in Chicago have been much more positive than here.

Time marches on, this industry will look totally different in 5 years time.

— Steve Patterson

Chestnut Street Bike Lane From 20th to 4th

Those of you who follow this blog on Twitter & Facebook know I post a few pics of the new protected bike lane last week. I’d read about it in an article on the 18th or 19th:

The city also announced the addition of its first parking-protected bike lane downtown on Chestnut Street between Fourth and 20th streets. It uses parked cars and flexible posts to separate the cycling lane from the driving lane. A striped buffer painted on the street also creates space between open car doors and the bike lane. (Post-Dispatch)

It was a few days before I could get over to Chestnut to see in person, passing by at 15th headed to transit.

With the bike lane running for 16 blocks, 20th t0 4th, I knew I couldn’t just cross at a single point and expect to understand it. If I wasn’t disabled, biking the mile distance would be the best way to experience it. Friday morning I started at 20th and made my way East to 4th, mostly on the adjacent sidewalk or at crosswalks. Let’s start at 20th:

So 20th to 15th is parking-protected, 15th to Tucker (12th) isn’t:

• Protected: 5 blocks
• Exposed: 3 blocks

As we continue East across Tucker things get more complicated. Also back to a single lane for vehicular traffic.

So Tucker to 4th the break down is:

• Protected: 3.5 blocks
• Exposed: 4.5 blocks

Which gives us totals of:

• Protected: 8.5 blocks
• Exposed: 7.5 blocks

Of the 16 blocks from 20th to 4th, just over half (53.125%) are protected.

The new white stripes look great against the dark black asphalt, but how will this look in a few years when both fade? I’d like to see the bike half block next to the Civil Courts be protected. When Kiener Plaza gets rebuilt hopefully those two blocks can become protected.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: What Should Qualify As A Disability?

Twenty-five years ago today President George H.W. Bush singed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A national poll released Friday showed support for the ADA but disagreement over what should qualify as a disability. For the poll today I want to see how reader’s views compare to the national results.

Select all that apply. There are additional qualifiers not listed — this list matches those from the poll — enabling a comparison. Please vote above and come back Wednesday to see how the results compare to the national poll.

— Steve Patterson

Parking Conflict Resolved

A year ago the police were called to a parking dispute at our condo association. The issue was a fight between residents and the tenant of one commercial space, see Parking Battle Close To Home.

A couple of months ago everything was resolved — much better than anyone could’ve predicted. It did require legal action. The original developer, the now-defunct Loftworks, was seriously delinquent on condo dues for the two commercial spaces and a few residential units. After years of negotiations and missed payment plans, our board had enough and for a foreclosure sale.  They were mortgaged for more than their value, but our board then began negotiating with the bank(s).

The best part is the commercial tenant in my building, Stealth Creative, was able to purchase their space. Every parking spot on the lot between the two buildings has been assigned to a commercial space.  So just like our residential spaces, both commercial spaces now have assigned parking. While the other commercial space is vacant and for sale, those parking spaces are leased to residents seeking a 2nd parking space.

As I mentioned a year ago, I think my neighbors and the employees are too auto dependent. Hopefully having a fixed number of parking spaces will help change that attitude. I also want to make the case to Enterprise that their CarShare service needs vehicles West of 11th Street. They’re waiting for more members, we’re waiting for the service before joining.

— Steve Patterson