Oh trust me, I am substantially in agreement with you, as I've made very clear. They are both entitled brats, on several levels.
My comments about the VA grant, however, are MOSTLY related to my concerns about this government-paid program and how it is being managed and whether there is fraud.
Those concerns include the following points:
- Whether you or I or anyone else thinks they should be "entitled" to this help, the program exists, and they qualify, under the terms of the grant, to housing assistance - it is not a close call at all, and there is NO indication that the availability of funds to serve the vets who have applied is the issue
- They have been led down the garden path by the administrators of the government-funded program to expect that were going to get substantial help, and that the program was designed to act quickly
- This program isn't just for anyone, but a special program for VETERANS who served (including those who were deployed), and who are facing a bad time in this economy after giving years of service to the country (blah blah - but that's what it was SUPPOSED to be for) - and they qualify under the grant for special consideration
- They have spent over two months now trying to get into the program, expecting it (because they were misled to expect it) to be substantial assistance which would be coming through quickly, because they clearly qualify - and now it appears they have been on what appears to be essentially a snipe hunt - not only is that frustrating and detrimental to them getting on their feet (yes, because they were counting on it and not having a plan B) - they have detrimentally relied on what are essentially LIES from an organization that appears to be defrauding the government and the veterans the organization is supposed to be serving.
- There is nothing wrong with - and in fact, it is paying it forward - getting the congressman involved in investigating why this program is being managed this way - if it is just the usual government/contractor inefficiencies, that is one thing, but if there is fraud going on, stealing from the government and the vets, these people need to be prosecuted.
I'm not questioning the validity of the program, or whether people in their circumstances should be included in the umbrella of the terms of the grant for housing assistance -
And I'm sure many if not most people (myself included) take advantage of taxpayer-based funding that may or may not be justifiable if scrutinized carefully, starting with tax breaks to all homeowners, regardless of income, in the form of mortgage interest deductions; tuition help for people who actually have resources or who could be attending public vs. private schools; etc. etc.
My primary issue at this point is that THIS program appears to be a fraudulent ripoff that should be exposed if it is, as well as noting the similarity to the ripoff of morbidly obese patients by insurance companies who fraudulently deny valid requests for precertification, keeping premiums that were paid to cover ALL medically necessary treatments by making the path too frustrating to negotiate, and which OTHER insured patients in the plan would be happy to see them NOT get, because of moral judgments that the morbidly obese put themselves INTO this predicament, so they shouldn't be able to access "the easy way out" - again, only the squeaky wheels get what they are entitled to.
Yes, I have a vested interest in seeing that they get moved into an apartment, so that there is no danger of being put into the position of "having" to house them again, and yes, they shouldn't have gotten themselves into this predicament in the first place, and yes, there are other ways available to them that they have not availed themselves of to deal with it - but the apparent improprieties of what these agencies are doing are not lessened by whether these factors impact their "entitlement" to the funds that have been made available to people in their circumstances, per the terms of the grant.
And of course I could ALSO rant about SIL's father's piece of this as well. He was given a HUGE (in the neighborhood of at least $500K, maybe more, in addition to a significant pension plan that kicks in at 55) hearty handshake by his government contractor employer about 2 years ago, at age 50 or so, to buy him out of his job. His wife recently received a HUGE inheritance (yes, she has NO obligation to SIL, but I'm pointing out the funds available to this couple). SIL's father not only did not set aside money to pay for
his only child to attend college BEFORE he enlisted, he charged the couple over $1000/mo when the kids lived with them, AND demanded that they cater their many many alcohol-fueled parties at the house (SIL's father and stepmother, who are RNY and VSG patients, respectively, are functional alcoholics).
I think when parents require rent payment from kids living with them, and don't actually need it for monthly expenses, at least some of it should be set aside to help them when they move out - and that didn't happen. Oh, and they are profligate spenders, and post constantly on FB about their gourmet meals (it appears they eat out 18 or more times a week, and post pix of every meal including breakfasts), expensive wines, and frequent days-long trips to Tahoe, Napa, etc. But there is no offer to help pay for the last year of college for his son.
NOT that SIL is entitled to it, mind you, but because that is what *I* would do in his place. I know, I'm a softy in that respect. (And I just don't LIKE his father and stepmother.)
