There will be certain times when dealing with certain people can become
"sticky" .
For instance, most people are under the impression that a Social Security number is something mandated by law. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Social Security Administration will state plainly that their 'benefit' is voluntary. It is surprising though how many people think otherwise. Of course, there are also those that work in the federal or state bureaucracy that DO know better but they would love to entrap you. That is what they are trained to do!
Case in point:
My 16 year old son wants to get his drivers permit. Now, I am not a fan of licensure as I believe that being a Citizen of this country, I have the right to free travel. However, when you live in the same place for 10+ years and you are allowing your kid on the open road, you have to choose your battles carefully.
My son was numbered at one time, I rescinded his ss number as mentioned previously and so, he's NEVER been numbered. That is what recission is all about! So armed with his birth certificate, I approached the counter at the licensing department in order to find out what hoops we had to jump through to get him the permit. He had already passed his written exam on-line and went through a drug/alcohol course at the same time. We just needed the card. The examiner behind the counter asked my son for his social security number. I explained to him that due to our religious convictions, we did not have our children numbered. He said I had to have a number. I said no, there is no law that says we have to be numbered . He sighs, at which time I produce an e-mail that was printed out by me from the State which gives him a phone number to call in order to get a waiver (I covered my base by getting in touch with DMV a few days before my visit and explaining our religious conviction and asking them what to do in this case.) I had to show the examiner the letter twice. The first time he was reluctant to even broach the subject. The second time he called the number. He was very surprised to find out that there was indeed such a thing as a waiver. It was simply a matter of having the State issue their own number code and putting that into their computer. About an hour and a half later, my son walked out of there with his permit! The most interesting thing was a comment that was made by one of the workers who observed the whole situation. She let it slip that they were TRAINED to say you had to have a social security number even though their own website explains that the statute pertains to only those that have been issued a number . Not so in our case since we rescinded.
This was a test case for us. We never dealt with the bureaucrats before in their own playing field in this way. I have 5 other children that will have to cross that bridge when they are old enough. This helped us to test the waters so that we will be better able to arm ourselves with the information needed when this question comes up again.
posted by Eileen Slattery @ 9:19 PM
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