Collette Divitto, a woman with Down syndrome and founder of Collettey's Cookies, published an editorial in The Hill calling on policymakers to include people with disabilities in conversations about policies affecting their lives. Her piece comes amid national debate over disability rights and the value of life for Americans with genetic conditions.
Divitto describes herself as a business owner who employs people, pays taxes, travels speaking about inclusion and entrepreneurship, and has built what she calls 'a life I love.' She argues that despite progress in disability inclusion, many Americans with disabilities remain trapped on waiting lists for services, forced to live in poverty due to government rules that penalize saving money, marriage, or career advancement.
What the Left Is Saying
Disability rights advocates and progressive organizations have largely embraced Divitto's message. The Able Americans' Campaign to Fix the Disability System, which she supports as a coalition member, is pushing for policies promoting work, savings, homeownership, entrepreneurship, and community living. Progressives argue that benefit programs create 'cliffs' forcing disabled Americans to choose between economic security and essential supports rather than rewarding employment and independence.
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) has previously stated that disability policy reform must be guided by those with lived experience: 'We cannot design systems in Washington that work for people we have never actually spoken to.' The National Council on Independent Living and similar organizations argue that institutional bias in federal programs perpetuates dependency rather than empowerment.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative groups and Republican policymakers generally support the goal of increasing independence for Americans with disabilities but differ on implementation. Many Republicans point to Divitto's own success story as evidence that entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency, not expanded government programs, represent the path forward.
The American Enterprise Institute's disability policy research has argued that work incentives and private-sector employment opportunities should be prioritized over expanding federal benefit programs. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) has championed legislation aimed at reducing administrative barriers for disabled Americans seeking to enter the workforce without losing access to critical care services.
Some conservative commentators note that Divitto's business success demonstrates how community integration and private-sector inclusion can work without requiring wholesale restructuring of disability benefits, suggesting targeted reforms rather than systemic overhaul.
What the Numbers Show
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 21 percent of Americans with a disability were employed in 2025, compared to 65 percent of those without a disability. The unemployment rate for disabled workers has consistently remained roughly twice that of non-disabled counterparts despite decades of legislative efforts including the ADA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
The National Governors Association reported in 2024 that 43 states maintain waiting lists for home and community-based services, with over 700,000 individuals awaiting access. The Government Accountability Office has documented how Social Security's asset limits, currently set at $2,000 for individuals, have remained largely unchanged since 1989, effectively trapping many beneficiaries in poverty to maintain eligibility for essential health coverage.
Research from the Center for Economic and Policy Studies estimates that benefit cliffs cost disabled workers an effective marginal tax rate exceeding 300 percent in some income ranges when accounting for lost Medicaid coverage, creating powerful disincentives for career advancement.
The Bottom Line
Divitto's editorial amplifies calls from disability advocates for a systematic review of federal programs they argue create perverse incentives against work and independence. The Campaign to Fix the Disability System is pushing for legislative action during the current Congress, though comprehensive reform faces significant procedural hurdles in an election year.
What remains unclear is whether bipartisan consensus exists for major changes to Social Security's structure or Medicaid's eligibility rules. Supporters argue modernization would reduce long-term federal costs by enabling more disabled Americans to become self-sufficient taxpayers. Critics question whether sweeping reforms could disrupt care arrangements currently serving millions of vulnerable individuals.
Advocates emphasize that Divitto represents one of approximately 5 million Americans with Down syndrome or other intellectual disabilities, a community they say deserves representation in any policy conversation about their future.