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Old Aug 30, 2007 | 2:25 pm
  #20  
clevelandbrown
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: CO one pass gold
Posts: 100
travelling poor

Originally Posted by SemiElite

Snipped.

3. Most importantly, and overlooked so far in this thread, is that most permanently disabled (not broken foot or sprained ankle) individuals often are unable to work and thus live on Social Security (SSDI or SSI). And for someone living on S/S, that $5-$15 tip might mean the difference between eating for the next day or two! For a limited-income individual who already has the burden of high ticket prices (no disabled discounts from the airlines) and the cost of getting to the airport, this additional cost (which we non-disabled don't have to deal with) can be extremely burdensome!
Perhaps I'm growing jaded in my old age, but when I was raised we didn't buy something unless we could afford it, and I've never grown to accept the idea that the poor have some right to live beyond their means.

I haven't come up with any ideas when I try to think of a situation where air travel is a necessity; it seems more like a luxury. Perhaps there are some situations where a disabled person with low income absolutely must fly, but I think those situations are very rare. So if I were a disabled person on very low income, I would put off any nonessential trips until I could afford them, just as I would put off buying a luxury car until I could afford it, and certainly perhaps I would never be able to afford them, but I would feel pretty bad if I decided to take a nonessential trip and pay for it by stiffing the service workers.

I'm a senior now, not yet disabled, but I am amazed by how far my money goes now as it seems almost everyone is offering some sort of senior discount. I'll sign off now; I have to go pay a small portion of my property tax; the government has waived the rest, not because I cannot afford it, but just because I am a senior.
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