Been Away for Awhile

[Anonymous]

Well, I found out who emptied my bank account. It was for back child support...I was three months behind. There was no notification from the agency, no offer to negotiate a solution, nothing. They just wiped me out and now I can't even pay my rent. It's obvious they want me dead and gone.

People around me wonder why I hate the government so much. Well, things like this are why. All I can say is I'll be glad when the oil crisis hits full stride in a few years, because once oil hits $200 to $250 a barrel, the government is finished. They'll turn to the SPR, but that will only last a few months. The system will be finished. And on that exalted day, I'll be throwing a party. And I have to say that folks around the world will be cheering the fall of the U.S. government. Like so much of the world--and many Americans--I love America, and see a lot of good in the people of this land, but I also believe the U.S. government has become an evil, oppressive force that threatens not only our freedom, but the peace of the world.

My biggest mistake was in not leaving the country years ago when I wanted to. I should have gotten out while I had the chance. Now there's nothing I can do. I'm pretty much finished. I'm going to continue posting and blogging for as long as it remains possible for me to do so. I doubt that will be much longer.

But for those of you reading this, there is something you can do. Prepare for what is to come. Understand that the way of life we live today is transient, made possible by a bonanza of fossil fuel that is nearly exhausted. Understand that this is neither a blessing, nor a curse, but simply a change. The cheap oil era made air conditioners and cars and airplanes and computers...but it also gave birth to transnational corporations, ugly suburbs of rabbit-warren houses all the same, compulsive consumerism, and neo-fascist government agencies, and has led to a world where we are just numbers rather than people.

My advice is to get to know your neighbors. Downsize. If you have spiritual traditions that you've maybe neglected in the course of the hustle and bustle of everyday living, get back in touch with them. Learn other philosophies and lifeways besides the rampant consumerism that we take for granted. If you want a philosophy that's compatible with most if not all spiritual traditions and beliefs, Google "permaculture."

I think permaculture (or various adaptations thereof) is a good candidate to replace our current way of life because permaculture focuses on the nuts-and-bolts and logistics of everyday living, and leaves the Big (read: controversial) Questions like Who (if anyone) runs the Universe, creation, salvation, eschatology, and so forth up to the end user. Baptists, Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans and even atheists could all take permaculture and easily adapt it to their respective belief systems.

I've been around the Sun forty times in my life. I don't know how many more trips I have left in me. Along with other challenges in life, I have a chronic illness that happens to reduce the average life expectancy of those who have it to 40. Judging from what happened to my bank account, it seems like some folks in high places have a vested interest in the answer to the "how many trips I have left" question being "zero." I pray I have enough left to see my daughter grow up, maybe hold a grandchild in my lap. We'll see. Right now I'm not very hopeful--but if I can just hit a streak of good luck that's even a third as strong as the bad I've had for months now, my fortunes could turn around quickly, and I might get to go 'round the Sun another forty times.

And as that old song goes, "What a long, strange trip it's been."

Good luck everyone, and Godspeed.

[LouMinotti]

I knew it. I'm happy to see my intuition is alive and well.

You hate the government for garnishing your bank account for child support. . .? I imagine the custodial parent is thanking God for the state/federal statutes to get money she needs for your daughter.

Speaking as a CP (custodial parent) who's ex owes us (me and our three children)over 15k for three kids ($800 a month)-- whom he has not seen in 7 years -- I can only say I'm glad that the system works for someone because it is taking years and years for us to get what we are owed. Three years ago, when my ex owed us over 20k, they finally found him and froze his accounts. Unfortunately, we never got a dime of it because his wife claimed it was hers. We had no way of finding him since the law says that information is confidential. He called my child support officer immediately here in MD (he's in FL where we were divorced)to find out how it was possible for them to freeze money that belonged to him and his new wife. Well, the answer is because it's a law that was designed to make sure parents provide for their children according to their court order(divorce agreement). If you don't do it willingly, the government will do it for you.
Having froze your accounts for only three months arrears sound implausible unless this is a second or third time recurrence and you have established a record of being . . unable to abide in the court order. The court order and/or divorce agreement does not willy-nilly decide you should pay more than you can afford. The financial statements of you and your ex were most likely shown to the court, and the judge -- according to state guidelines -- set an amount appropriate to your income/asset statement. If this was a simple divorce settlement between you and your ex, and you were unable to live up to the agreement because your financial situation changed, then it is/was up to you to contact the court and let them know. Court ordered changes in the amount of monthly support will always be retro-active provided you proved your circumstance.

Having said that, to come on a public message board and wish the worst for the whole country because you are unhappy with a law that actually helps those who need it most -- CHILDREN who are entitled to financial support from both parents -- strikes me as vindictive and selfish. I've spent countless hours studying child support laws and statutes in forums just like this; reading scores of personal testimonies from NCP and CP's alike where lawyers and expert paralegals answer questions and provide help. There's simply no situation where the courts step in after being in arrears only 3 months and freezing accounts. It takes months and months if not years. There has to be a serious record of delinquency. And there's no way you had no warning of this unless you were avoiding being located.

My advice is this; going "off the grid" aint gonna make you the good guy to your daughter. Leaving the country? Ditto.

"It's obvious they want me dead and gone.."


Something is obvious, but that aint it. . .

[Anonymous]

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@LouMinotti wrote:
I knew it. I'm happy to see my intuition is alive and well.

You hate the government for garnishing your bank account for child support. . .? I imagine the custodial parent is thanking God for the state/federal statutes to get money she needs for your daughter.

All I can say is you try living with a chronic illness, just start getting back on your feet and trying to settle things--and then have your ENTIRE BANK ACCOUNT stolen by the government so you can't even pay rent. And I don't have anyone to turn to...almost everyone on my mother's side of the family is dead, including her, and my father took up with a woman who hates my guts.

This isn't a case where I'm sitting on thousands and thousands of dollars, living the high life. I own a single ten year-old Ford, and live in an apartment with two roommates. My ex--she hasn't worked a day in over two years, hasn't tried to, isn't doing anything with her life. If I was wealthy enough, I'd get a lawyer and get my daughter, because she'd rather live with me than the ex.

Walk a couple miles in my shoes and I think you'll lose a lot of the smug self-righteousness, and that right quickly.

But hey, just go right on having blind faith in The System. Assume that anyone The System gives the shaft to is bad.

In the meantime, they'll never get another dime from me. If the child-support people had waited another month or so until I could get back on my feet, I'd have negotiated some kind of settlement. But since they went and did this, I'm closing my bank account and moving off the grid. You see, when you get someone evicted and thrown out onto the street, you kill the goose that lays the golden egg. A well-evolved parasite doesn't kill its host, and it looks like the government failed that test here.

[LouMinotti]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@LouMinotti wrote:
I knew it. I'm happy to see my intuition is alive and well.

You hate the government for garnishing your bank account for child support. . .? I imagine the custodial parent is thanking God for the state/federal statutes to get money she needs for your daughter.

All I can say is you try living with a chronic illness, just start getting back on your feet and trying to settle things--and then have your ENTIRE BANK ACCOUNT stolen by the government so you can't even pay rent. And I don't have anyone to turn to...almost everyone on my mother's side of the family is dead, including her, and my father took up with a woman who hates my guts.

This isn't a case where I'm sitting on thousands and thousands of dollars, living the high life. I own a single ten year-old Ford, and live in an apartment with two roommates. My ex--she hasn't worked a day in over two years, hasn't tried to, isn't doing anything with her life. If I was wealthy enough, I'd get a lawyer and get my daughter, because she'd rather live with me than the ex.

Walk a couple miles in my shoes and I think you'll lose a lot of the smug self-righteousness, and that right quickly.

But hey, just go right on having blind faith in The System. Assume that anyone The System gives the shaft to is bad.

In the meantime, they'll never get another dime from me. If the child-support people had waited another month or so until I could get back on my feet, I'd have negotiated some kind of settlement. But since they went and did this, I'm closing my bank account and moving off the grid. You see, when you get someone evicted and thrown out onto the street, you kill the goose that lays the golden egg. A well-evolved parasite doesn't kill its host, and it looks like the government failed that test here.

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cry me river. I have been supporting my THREE kids without any reliable child support for the last 7 years by CLEANING HOMES. Three a day, sometimes four. I have athritis and a hiatal hernia. I have no health insurance. No vacation in 7 years. He hasn't even seen his kids since he met his new beau -- his choice not ours. But my kids needs will NEVER go unmet because I as a parent OWE them, am DUTY_BOUND to provide for their welfare and to ensure they have the best possible chance in life. This is what loving parents do no matter the sacrifice. No matter the biterness between the parents.

My ex, who after reading all your previous rants on child support -- sounds just like you -- says things like "I won't give HER the money" and his latest to my daughter, "Your mother is greedy, she won't get a dime of my settlement". Oh wait, just like you said above!
Wrong on so many levels. Child support is for children, whether that means I use it to pay the rent, the electric bill, or the family season tickets to six flags is none of the NCP's da*n business so long as the child is fed and sheltered and is living within the same standards that the court decided when our judgement was entered.
Greedy. Greedy for using the law to enforce the amount he proposed and I agreed to. Greedy??? As though the child the buys the line that the CS is the ex-wife fund, not the kid fund. Judges have heard this crap since there were laws made to enforce CS. Your arguments are so common to the dead-beat dad ( My exwife is lazy and greedy!)line that I am quite surprised someone so seemingly intelligent thinks they are credible.

If you can't afford CS then you should have made that known. If you were able to afford CS until you made risky business decisions and lost your "fortune", that is your problem, not the CP's.

But the bottom line is you earn no respect from child when they become adult because "her mother just wanted to ruin your life" ..it doesn't fly with the court, won't fly with the kid.

And finally, I can't believe you have some sort of authority on this forum. You practically encourage total disrespect of civil laws and family court, as though your an innoccent victim. No one is innocent. This is fraudulent an dangerous. Not to mention the Kunstler sounding rants.

I can't believe MyFico condones this sort of representation.

[marty56]

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LouMinotti wrote:
 But my kids needs will NEVER go unmet because I as a parent OWE them, am DUTY_BOUND to provide for their welfare and to ensure they have the best possible chance in life.

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I wish more parents would get this.

[Anonymous]

Well hey, obviously I got you to think and react, which is what good commentary does.

If you want to hate my guts because I don't toe the party line, hey, that's fine. That's one of the great things about America: the right to DISAGREE. You think I'm a deadbeat because I don't have money falling out of my wazoo to pay whatever the government wants me to. Fine. Honestly, if I had the money, we wouldn't be having this discussion, I'd just pay off these people and be done with it. When I had a job, before my disease flared up, I WAS paying them. But I don't, so what am I supposed to do?

But I'll be the bigger person in this discussion, and rather than gloat over your misfortune, I'll wish you and your kids well. Just try to see things from someone else's point of view sometimes.

[islandchild82]

Just thought I would chime in here.

We all obviously really enjoy and appreciate myFICO's forums. We wouldn't spend as much time here if we didn't.

And there are plenty of times we completely disagree. I think, though, that we should all remember to do so in a respectful manner. We all have our own lives, situations, etc. No two are the same, and we are never all going to see eye to eye on everything. But we can disagree respectfully. And instead of attacking, we can offer support, suggestions, and ideas.

So, good luck, New World Man. Sounds horribly tough, but I hope it works out for you.

And Lou, you obviously do everything you can for your kids. Good luck to you, too!

[Anonymous]

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@islandchild82 wrote:

Just thought I would chime in here.

We all obviously really enjoy and appreciate myFICO's forums. We wouldn't spend as much time here if we didn't.

And there are plenty of times we completely disagree. I think, though, that we should all remember to do so in a respectful manner. We all have our own lives, situations, etc. No two are the same, and we are never all going to see eye to eye on everything. But we can disagree respectfully. And instead of attacking, we can offer support, suggestions, and ideas.

So, good luck, New World Man. Sounds horribly tough, but I hope it works out for you.

And Lou, you obviously do everything you can for your kids. Good luck to you, too!

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!! AMEN !!

And thanks for the good wishes.

Your observations are spot-on. Sometimes a simple, "Hey, I feel your pain--I might not agree with your politics or other opinions but we're all human and I know what it's like to be up against it" is so much better than paragraphs of recriminations and acrimony.

[Anonymous]

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@LouMinotti wrote:

And finally, I can't believe you have some sort of authority on this forum. You practically encourage total disrespect of civil laws and family court, as though your an innoccent victim. No one is innocent. This is fraudulent an dangerous. Not to mention the Kunstler sounding rants.

I can't believe MyFico condones this sort of representation.

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I have no authority here. I'm not a moderator. I gave up my mod rights precisely so I could be more outspoken.

As far as "encourag(ing) total disrespect of civil laws and family court," I give respect where it is earned. The system has done nothing to earn my respect. I'm not going to go into another rant here--I do believe I've said my piece.

And "Kunstler-sounding rants?" As far as what I said about the government, I stand by it--again, I won't rehash except to say that if I'm wrong, so are the majority of the population of most of the rest of the nations of the world. Does Kunstler rant at times? Yes--I think his prose can be over-colored and overblown. I don't consider what I wrote about the coming changes to be a "rant" though my remarks about the government probably did briefly nose over that line. Then again, your response to my post was itself a rather strong rant, so on the ranting issue we can either say "pot-kettle" at each other, or just concede we're both operating under a lot of stress in our lives and shake hands :extends hand: . :-)

I don't see the end of the Oil Age as negatively as Kunstler does...and if you read between the lines of what he writes, I think he sees some blessings there, too. Kunstler makes some salient points, not all of them negative, though at times he makes them to excess.

[Anonymous]

Just when I thought it was cooling off in here- 

Let's get the temp down in here- 

Remember to be positive and suportive-