Meet Wilma. She’s an older American who’s making monthly payments on a car bought four years ago. Like millions of others, Wilma is on Social Security. Sort of.
ROGER MONROE
Last week she received a letter from the dealer who sold her the car in 2022. The dealer said a review by the company bookkeeper revealed Wilma paid $4,000 less than the listed price. The salesman made a mistake and they wanted Wilma to pay the $4,000. The dealer said, “Since we goofed, we’ll make it easy on you. You can pay an extra $200.00 a month until the $4,000 is paid in full.”
Sound ridiculous? It is. No dealer — no business — would extort money from a consumer in such a bizarre way. But, the government can and does. Meet your friends at the Social Security Administration. Wilma knows them quite well. You see, Wilma received a letter two weeks ago informing her she owed more than $4,000.
The math wizards reviewed her record dating back to February, 2022, and concluded she was overpaid and now want their money returned. The kind folks even sent a table explaining the mistakes they made, but failed to explain why in July, 2026, they went back four years. Did she rob a bank?
The table listed the payment mistakes. Nineteen of them from 2022 to 2026. Students in the fifth grade would get an “F” in arithmetic with that kind of test result or math test. Here are some examples of their mistakes.
From February, 2022 to July 22, 2022, Wilma was paid $1,070.00 per month. But Social Security now says Wilma was not eligible for anything. Then from September, 2022, to December, 2022, Wilma received $1,070.00 each month, but Social Security said, “Oops. We goofed again. Your payment should have been $498.00.” There were occasions when Social Security didn’t pay her enough. In January, February and March of 2024, Wilma only received monthly checks of $164.70, when she should have been paid $1,164.00 per month. There were months she never received a check.
Wilma is afraid to count on Social Security. Self-employed, she, like others, had tough financial times during the COVID-19 epidemic. To cope, she turned to credit cards. Unfortunately, she’s paying anywhere from 19.6% to over 29% on outstanding balances. Wilma has also turned to a CPA to appeal the claim she owes the government more than $4,000, which she doesn’t have.
Wilma says she’s been to the local Social Security office so many times they issued her a special parking permit.
DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS: I don’t know about you, but I’m concerned about Downtown Peoria. They recently boarded up the former YWCA building at Fayette and North Jefferson.
This stately structure has a rich history. To see it today almost brings tears. It had a swimming pool and a Tea Room that specialized in delicious noon meals. That’s where my late wife lived when I met her in 1959. From San Jose, Ill., Nancy took up residence there when she was hired as a secretary for Betty Masterson of the Peoria Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Back to Downtown. Other suspect, shaky buildings are the former First Federal Savings Tower, now closed as the Riverview Plaza property at Hamilton and Jefferson and the old Commercial Bank Building at South Adams and Liberty.
However, credit the city and PNC Bank for bringing new life to the latter building with interior updates and rooftop sign renovations. Owned by the city, it managed to sign PNC to a new lease extending through 2031.
BREAKFAST WITH ROGER AND FRIENDS: Here is some good news, at least for listeners to our morning radio show
on WAZU-FM 90.7 and heard and seen on YouTube at Roger and Friends LS. General Dan McDonough, former Commanding Officer of the 182nd Air Lift Wing, now retired after 37 years in the U.S. Air Force, has joined our morning crew every Tuesday.
We are the radio home for veterans. Thursday mornings, Mike Dentino, retired U.S. Navy, is co-host. Regular guests include retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot Dick Crain, who graduated from Manual High School and Bradley University. Current 182nd Commander, Col. Rusty Ballard, can be heard and seen on our program, the first Monday of each month. Another veteran regular is Bob Reed, retiree of the U.S. Air Force. He’s one of the “movers and shakers” for the Honor Flights. Ben Wallach, former U.S. Navy Seal, is one more veteran on our roster. A salute to U.S. Army veteran Gary Hall for his service in Vietnam. And I’m proud to say I spent two years in the U.S. Army, mostly in Germany.
Congratulations to Shane Boyle. The U.S. Army veteran was recognized and honored for his military service by the Peoria Chiefs, Saturday, Aug. 15, at Dozer Park. A veteran of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, Boyle saw plenty of action as a tank driver as did his brother, Nick Boyle, who now lives in Irmo, S.C. The two men are the sons of Gospel singer and sometime co-host, Cathy Reynolds.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “America without her soldiers would be like God without His Angels.” — Claudia Pemberton