Oops, can't find her Social Security card since the 15 + years ago she last used it to get hired at her job. OK, shouldn't be too hard to get a new replacement one by mail right ? Like a credit card just sent a new one to the same address you send your social Security statements to and take your weekly payroll taxes from ? WRONG ! All sorts of ORIGINAL only documents like stamped notarized birth certificates, marriage certificates, school and work ID's etc with an involved long paper form have to be mailed to the local social security office- AWW - NO THANKS- no accountability or responsibility for losing those documents even if you send them by registered mail and they are signed for.

Fine. Lets go see our government servants in person.

The Syracuse, NY downtown Federal offices building is a gray pointless square concrete high-rise with a brick plaza with welcoming concrete barricades and planters with handsome large signs stating you are under surveillance right next to the ever popular round outdoor white and smoked Plexiglas lights and camera. Although there are 8 doors into the building, only one will open and you are warmly greeted by a blue blazered chrome badged wearing geriatric demanding your identification. I produce mine and ask that he produce his. He thumps his chest and says " my badge is enough". But officer why can't I see some govermental picture ID of you the same as you demand of me ? "Cause I say so" he wittingly responds. What if you are not whom you claim to be ? Since you as my goverment servant can not trust me, how can I as your citizen master trust you ? No answer. Sigh, Well, what law authorizes your say so ? He points to a grimy 8" X 11" framed page screwed to the unpainted concrete lobby wall. Impossible to read the small print in the lightless lobby, a grimy page seems to indicate a 2002 General Services Administration regulation. Is this really law ? Thought that was what federal congress and senate did ? Prompted by my wife's elbow rib tickling we go to the actual social security office and get a waiting room seat and ticket based on the case. USA born go here. Foreign born or disability payment applicants go there. Funny, while we wait for over an hour, the foreign borns and disability applicants wait less then 15 minutes despite their 2-3 times greater numbers as they all had many screaming children and elders with them and multiple applications - no problem- prompt efficient services .

Finally A35, our number is called, and we go before a inch think armored glass window with a center speaker device just like at a bank's. Our case of the simple replacement social security card appears too involved for the first clerk who pushes us off to another younger clerk who "deals with these matters"

A properly completed multi page application with embossed notarized birth certificate, baptismal certificate, college ID, work ID, social security statements for her same name and address, and even work retirement account statement were given to the clerk. He examined them at length, consulted in depth with co workers and finally mumbled something through the armored glass plate- 'well, we don't normally allow this, but we think since your retirement account would have to be approved by the Internal Revenue Service, these documents will cumatively be enough to have a new card send to this address in 2 weeks".

Now mine you, right next to me at my shoulder - non citizens with only 1 wrinkled paper non photo ID cards were being quickly approved for actual retiree and disability payments while my poor wife struggled to barely get a silly paper replacement federal social security card so she could get a silly state non drivers photo ID so she could go to her bank !

I think the clerk was feeling fine for his act of mercy for my wife who was teary eyed in frustration by now and he generously told us to make sure to return to his office if the replacement card did not come in the mail in 2 weeks. I asked why and he said so long as you report the replacement card lost in 3 weeks it will not count against the lifetime maximum of 10 cards that can be issued to a person in their lifetimes. I asked why the 10 limit which I had never heard of before and he said that Congress passed after 9/11 a law limiting social security cards to citizens in an effort to stop USA citizens from selling their genuine social security cards to illegals. I asked him if there were some watermark or counterfeit device like in paper money in these cards and he said no. "So, how does limiting real citizens to a lifetime of 10 cards, going to stop false ID's when they can be so readily printed up by any scanner and printer by even children today at school ? Shrugged shoulders was my response except for the 5' 6" 300 + Lbs huge bellied security guard who interjected that 9/11 changed the world and that I just needed to get used to it ! But wait I said- how can we be fighting to supposedly save American freedoms by taking them away in the name of false security ? Would it not be better to prove our commitment to freedom by creating more not less of it? My wife wisely kicked me hard right in the shin knowing we had meet our federal governmental servants and they KNOW they are our masters now! And in their own country right now today hard working American born over taxed paying citizens are being discriminated against by federal officials while non Americans are held to no-where near as high a standard and are quickly paid tax payer money they never contributed to !!!

I knew this before, but like all discrimination, it cuts deeper in person.

This is a factual account.

Neal Delay