Friday, July 6, 2012

Dead Money

Maybe there is a movie in the plans today. I still have a lot of cash left on a movie gift card that was given to me by an appreciative client. Today is unusual and somewhat interesting stories.

First up, did you know that the Social Security Administration erroneously declares forty people a day dead?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/02/kline-fisher-budd-dead-mother-social-security_n_1643924.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-nb%7Cdl21%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D175139

I'm not sure what to do with the eighty year old man, they certainly aren't going to put someone that age in jail and he certainly isn't going to be able to repay that amount before he dies. Would you take his home away?

If I knew of someone collecting a dead person's social security I'd probably turn them in and become a whistleblower:

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/07/02/whistleblowers-win-in-foreclosure-settlement/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-sb-nb%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D175032

After today I am going to look forward to a long weekend:

http://news.yahoo.com/wait-earth-adds-leap-second-saturday-night-152916037--finance.html;_ylt=AmlkclbdYHnu2q7jkz6uNkys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTQ3ZWw4NzJnBG1pdANTZWN0aW9uTGlzdCBGUCBTY2llbmNlBHBrZwMzZGM5OTJhMi0wMTJiLTM0M2YtOTNmNC1jYmU4ZDJmNDEzM2IEcG9zAzMEc2VjA01lZGlhU2VjdGlvbkxpc3QEdmVyA2ZlMWM5ZTMxLWMyMGMtMTFlMS1iYjBmLWM1NWY3NTAwMTYzYQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Comment Away

4 comments:

Pat said...

I might be a whistleblower on someone collecting a dead person's SS money, also. If it fell under the False Claims Act, I would jump at the chance.

I have no idea what they should do with the 80 y/o man who did that. When my mom was about 101, someone from SS came to do a "home check" on her. It was a fairly new policy, as I understood it, and they really just wanted to make sure she was still alive.

I had heard about the leap second being added. Anything to get a little more time. {g} Good advice not to waste that extra second in our lives.

Lady DR said...

I'm not sure what to do about the eighty year old man, either. He can't repay the money and putting him in jail doesn't seem like the answer, but we have no details.

As to SS payments, the issue is that the family/spouse of the deceased is responsible for notifying SS, providing a death certificate and returning that month's check. Many do not.

As to the whistle blower, good for her and others who went after banks defrauding the gov't. Reports show this kind of thing was a major factor in the housing bust that has cost so many their homes.

Put the two together and the disheartening thing is that individual Americans and corporations both are taking the path of greed and the result is the lack of fund for needed services and the increase in the national debt. IF there was some way to verify every SS check was going out to a live person, under valid regs, I suspect we'd have a whole lot more money in the program. Pat, I remember you mentioning the visit to your mom. While I can't imagine the manpower it would take to verify each recipient is alive and qualified, there must be some way to verify payments are distributed correctly. As to the banks... they got hit with fines and settlements and we all know who's going to pay those - the customers.

William J. said...

Hi Pat

The False Claims Act would certainly provide more motivation for me to be a whistleblower!

I wonder also whether the 80 year old man thought he was supposed to receive the money. The social security rules are confusing and maybe he just thought the money was rightfully his. Can you have a crime if there wasn't intent to commit a crime?

I remember when remeber when your Mom had a home check. Considering how many misreported deaths there are a day I am glad they have a program to check.

I plan on putting that second to good use today!

Bill

William J. said...

Hi DR

The missing detail is if he knew he wasn't supposed to take her money.

I agree it is the family's responsibility to report a death to the SS department but whose responsibility is it if you are one of the forty a day that the SS department reports you as dead when you are still alive?

And you wonder if the housing bust costs would have been less if someone had stepped up to the plate earlier.

Greed is the norm now not the exception. That is not only sad it is tragic. If everyone woud pay their fair share and quit taking advantage of helpless people everyone would benefit including the country.

And your are right with the finse the banks and corporations get hit with, the consumer takes it in the shorts.

Bill