Facts on the Stimulus Checks

Call MCIL if you need information about the COVID-19 Stimulus payment

By Christina Clift
In mid-April most Americans will begin receiving “economic impact payments” which is part of the CARES Act law that Congress passed, and the President signed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This 2.2 trillion dollar rescue package will provide some help to Americans impacted by the Covid19 virus, but it will not be the only solution needed to begin combatting the economic fall-out this virus caused on our city, state, country, and world.  Many people are wondering if they are eligible, how much money will they receive, and how they will get their money. These are all valid questions given the initial confusion when this law was passed, but I’ve done my best to answer some of them below:

Who will be eligible for payments?

• You filed a tax return for either 2019 or 2018. 
• Your income is below the guidelines for the payments. $75,000 a year for individuals and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly
• People with higher incomes get less or no money. See the IRS information for more details.
• Social Security beneficiaries
• You are not a dependent on someone else’s tax form.
• You have a social security number 

How much money should I expect?

Anyone earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income and who has a Social Security number will receive a $1,200 payment. This means married couples filing joint returns will receive$2,400 that make under $150,000.

The payment steadily declines for those who make more. Those earning more than $99,000, or $198,000 for joint filers, are not eligible. The thresholds are slightly different for those who file as a head of household.  Parents will also receive $500 for each qualifying child.

How will I get the Money?

Don’t worry, payments will be direct deposited in your bank account or mailed to you in a check. The IRS will use the information you gave them when you filed your 2019 taxes. They will only use your 2018 tax information if you have not filed for this year.  It’s important to remember that the IRS will use the following information from your return to distribute your payment:

• The bank account you gave the IRS for direct deposit of your refund
• The address where you got a refund check
• The address on your most recent tax return

Social Security beneficiaries will not be left out.  You will receive payments just like everyone else, but will not be required to file a tax return.  The IRS will use the information from Social Security to send you a payment. They will do this for senior citizens, Social Security recipients and railroad retirees who otherwise don’t file a tax return.

The IRS is working on a way for individuals to update their information on the internet so you can get a payment quicker. Check back at

www.irs.gov/coronavirus in the next weeks. Direct deposit means you get the payment faster than if they send you a paper check.  If your address has changed you can visit the IRS website for more information at: 

https://www.irs.gov/faqs/irs-procedures/address-changes.

Remember, we are all in this together and MCIL will keep you up to date on issues that impact your life.  Please stay home, stay healthy, and stay tuned for more information.

Handicap and People First

Where does the word Handicap fit in our community?

By Christina Clift
Words do hurt, even cripple and handicap, when referring to people with disabilities.  The history of the word handicapped is not a pretty one to be sure.  

Many people believe it is a term for begging, but it began as a game and is still found in horse racing to describe an extra burden and in golf it is a measure of potential ability.  

People with disabilities are not burdensome, asking for charity because we cannot work, or measured by our potential ability.  People with disabilities can stand on their own and work as hard and have as much potential as everyone else.

The problem is how many people know the real definition of those words and more importantly do we care enough to stop using it.  As a person with a disability I do care enough to stop using it.  

I have worked for the Memphis Center for Independent Living for sixteen years, and I have been conditioned not to refer to people with disabilities using those terms.  However, I do realize that other people with disabilities may not share this sentiment.  Even in the office opinions differ on the language that is used when referring to people with disabilities.

Allison Donald said, “At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what society refers to people living with disability as it is what we answer to that matters”. 

Sandi Klink, Executive Director of MCIL feels differently. She feels some  words are hurtful and should not be used by people with or without disabilities.   

"As MCIL," said Sandi, "we want to promote positive identity to decrease the stigma surrounding typical disability language."

 

I personally don’t care what another person with a disability calls themselves.  My real issue is with people without disabilities defining us or creating cute terms like “handicapable” and “differently abled.” Both of these terms and others further marginalize our community in an effort to make disability more socially palatable.  

It is political correctness at its finest in the same vain as people first language in my opinion. People First Language was developed by someone without a disability.  Using People First Language also prohibits usage of words or phrases like handicapped, impaired, mentally retarded, challenged, special needs, and confined to a wheelchair.  But what is really wrong with saying disabled child?  

You often hear people with disabilities using words like disabled, special needs, and some people with disabilities are offended when people without disabilities do the same to describe them or the community as a whole.  

As a community of people with disabilities we will not always agree on what words we prefer as descriptors. I feel like that is part of a good, strong debate that will move the conversation forward.  I believe shift in language will naturally occur over time.  I look forward to the day when the language about us doesn’t take so much thought to use.

Labels are for clothes

By Timothy Redd

Handicap, crippled, disabled, special needs, handicapable, differently-abled, and wheelchair bound are a few of the labels I have been defined by the course of my 37 years of life. One of my good friends called me handicapable and I let him. I’d appreciate if he did not. 

I’ve seen people call themselves handicapped, wheelchair bound, and even crippled.  All of this got me thinking how I would define myself. The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

First let me say the terms cripple and handicap are extremely offensive. The word cripple refers to a person unable to walk through illness or disability, it’s derived from two Old English words crypel and crēopel and is recorded in Lindisfarne Gospels dating back to 950 AD Old English. 

The term handicapped is a term that rose and fell with the 20th century. It arrived on the scene in the late 1800s as a way to talk about a range of disadvantages — one could be economically, socially or even morally handicapped by circumstances. The term originated at the racetrack, where a horse that was stronger, faster, or otherwise superior in some way could be given a handicap (a weight, a longer distance, a later start) to equalize the chances of the competitors. Initially, parties to such matches concurred to the conditions of the handicap by placing their hands into a cap and either pulling out or leaving cash stakes they had placed there. This conception of “hand in cap” is where the word first emanated from. 

Handicap commenced to be applied to physical and mental differences in the early 1900's, when the fields of sociology and social work began visually examining people in terms of their place in society holistically. What had been visually perceived previously as individual failings or imperfections were recast as disadvantages with respect to larger contexts.
When I hear the term cripple I think about Tiny Tim in Charles Dicken’s, “A Christmas Carol,” a story for me that evokes pity. That is something I don’t need or want from people. 

When I hear handicapped, I think of the standard parking sign. The man depicted in the image is all rigid and appears glued to the chair that in no way reflects me. I remember, when I was in school, I was grouped in with the students from the special education class at lunch because I used a wheelchair, even though I took regular courses.

We live in a society where there is a label for everyone and everything. What I find most aggravating is that we often are not seen as people but rather our disability. It can be extremely difficult to feel comfortable with yourself when you have to fight against the idea that something is wrong with you. 

These days I feel I am fine because this is how I was born, and my disability is my norm. It has always been here.  When it comes to how I identify, I identify as Tim, that’s my name. Yes I can’t walk and it does limit me in some ways but it’s not the complete summation of my total being. I am a man, son, brother, uncle, friend, and so much more. I wish people would see me for my humanity and not label or see me as a diagnosis. Fighting against that is exhausting sometimes. Labels are for clothes and I’m fine without any.  How do you identify?