Honesty is the Best Policy UNLESS….

SO People! How the heck are you?  I hope this blog finds you well.

I got a letter in the mail today that really just chaps my hide!!!

I have been taking care of my niece, Lou Lou, who has Down Syndrome and other issues that are irrelevant to this story. When I got Guardianship back in January of 2013 I tried to sign her up for all the services I thought she would need or that could help her.  My Attorney had asked me if I wanted child support for her, I said NO! That just sounded weird to me, then he said that I could check into getting her Social Security for her disability. I went down to the SSI place and talked to them about it, got her all signed up and they started paying her about $640.00 per month.  They are currently withholding money from her pay because of something her parents did…WHATEVER it doesn't matter I don't have anything to spend the money on anyway.  

SO I got a letter last month saying they were going to stop her payments because back in 2012 when she was living with her mother in Alabama, her mother earned $1200++ during that year and they may have overpaid Lou Lou during that time.  So unless I come down and explain the money earned by her mother they are going to stop her SSI payments.  I go down there spend 2/3 hours sitting there waiting then I talk to this lady and tell her everything I know, which ain't much cause how do I know what her mother was doing in ALABAMA I live in ARIZONA!  I tell the lady here is Lou Lou's account, her balance is $1600++ and the account is set up like this…. I told her there is a lot of money in her account because I am really not sure what I can spend her money on, so I have just used it to buy her some clothes, shoes and pay for things at school for her, i.e. lunch money etc. I mainly try to keep the balance under $2000.00 cause I know she goes over that amount she will lose it. The lady says, "Oh let me give you this brochure it tells you what the money can be used for, you can charge her rent, a portion of the utilities, food etc." I said oh okay now that I know I will start doing that, I just didn't want to do anything wrong with the money, so unless she needed something I wasn't using it.  She said read the brochure it will give you the guidelines…she was really nice about it really seemed to be trying to help.

TODAY I get a letter in the mail from SSI saying again that they believe they have overpaid Lou Lou for the period of April 2013 through February 2014 in the amount of $2660.10?? This means that they believe that from the time she started receiving payments, when I set them up, until now they have been over paying her. HERE IS THE KICKER….the reason they believe she has been overpaid is "because someone else was providing her FOOD AND SHELTER" they may have been paying her more than she is entitled to receive.  Seriously??? Because I was giving her a place to stay and food to eat and not charging her for it you want your money back now? REALLY!!!! Is the government that hard up for money that they need to take from those in need? REALLY???!!!! I come into your office tell you the WHOLE TRUTH about the situation and now you are going to hold it against me?!!! WOW!

I work for a family law attorney and we tell our Clients to always do the right thing. It chaps my hide when they are making their payments (child support, etc.) and then they get screwed…They are making their payments paying on their arrearages (back payments) and then they get their income taxes withheld, their bank accounts frozen, liens on their property etc., even though they are making the payments like they are suppose to. THAT is crazy to me. Just as CRAZY as SSI saying they overpaid my niece cause I gave her a place to stay and food to eat. WTF!!!  Honesty is the best policy….UNLESS you are dealing with the government! Who does that??????!!!!

I was talking to my sister about this and as I was getting ready to go off, this scripture popped in my head, "Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up…" God even knew there would come a time when it appears that those who know how to work the system and get over for doing NOTHING…would cause us who try to play by the rules and try to do what is right say…what is the point?  BUT don't get discouraged!!! Even if nobody else sees you HE does and that's all that matters.  

SO I will just cling to that scripture that when I go back down to the SSI place AGAIN whoever I deal with will have heard the audible POP of their head popping out of their ass and understand the lunacy of saying my niece (me) owes them $2660++ because I didn't charge her rent or for the food I gave her. 

WHO DOES THAT???!!!!!!

See ya when I see ya! 

Peace! 

Mattie