Allow Some Businesses to Buy Out of Disability Rules.

As in my handicapped parking idea, most of the money would be used to help the disabled. The general idea would be that some public businesses that have few disabled customers and are facing large expenses to retrofit, should be allowed to contribute perhaps half that amount to disabled causes to avoid that retrofit. Probably that would come with a large sign explaining their decision.

The initial feedback to this idea included people who expressed concern about the feelings of the disabled when they encountered a business that didn’t comply with regulations to help the disabled, because they paid to get out of it. They asked how a black person’ or a gay person would feel in a similar situation. But that is unclear thinking. Bad analogy making. Because, while an establishment that bars or discourages blacks or gays has no reason to do it, other than that the business or its customers dislike those people, that almost certainly would not be the case regarding the disabled. Rather the reason would be that very few handicapped utilize their establishment. Not nearly enough to justify the expense. At least financially. My detractors also made the point that disabled people have a right to expect that every place they visit be properly equipped for them. But I don’t think that feeling extends to putting a burden on struggling businesses, especially if they are making a large donation to help people with their problems. And there are many alternative places in the town that are in compliance.