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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
Driver's licenses in limbo: Government debts jeopardize thousands of Mass. drivers
The number of drivers who lost their authority to drive under these circumstances is unclear. The Registry's data didn't specify how many drivers failed to settle their debts before their licenses expired. Those who do face limited choices. No payment plans are available, and unlike drivers who have been sanctioned for dangerous driving, there are no hardship licenses. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'They're really put in an impossible situation,' said Caroline Cohn, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. Advertisement This is the predicament facing Angel, 43, who drove himself into debt passing through tolls. He had no E-ZPass transponder for his car, but, he said, he never received toll bills, and later learned they were mailed to a previous address. By the time he realized he owed money, his bill was $1,247 and that would balloon to nearly $6,000 as a portion of his balance was sent to collections, and fees and penalties mounted. Related : Without a driver's license, Angel said he's been spiraling, thrust into a seemingly endless cycle of needing to work to pay off the debt, but unable to work consistently without a valid license. Advertisement 'Such a little thing can have a huge impact in your daily life,' said Angel, a former Uber driver who now relies on public transportation. (The Globe agreed to identify Angel, an East Boston resident, by his first name as requested by him and his lawyer because of his debts.) From 2020 through last year, the Registry has prohibited driver's licenses from being renewed an average of 593,580 times annually because of unpaid tolls, excise taxes, and a court fee imposed on low-income people eligible free legal representation, according to agency figures. The Registry has also blocked the renewal of motor vehicle registrations an average of 120,883 times each year between 2020 and 2024 for unpaid excise taxes and tolls. Related : Without a legal option for driving, many drivers with debt find themselves exiled from the job market and unable to pay off the debts to restore their licenses or risk further jeopardy by driving illegally, critics said. Their earning options are greatly diminished because they cannot commute by car, perform driving-related job functions, or use that form of identification, advocates said. State Senator Julian Cyr, a Cape Cod Democrat, is pushing a bill that would limit the Registry's authority to impose sanctions on driver's licenses and vehicle registrations triggered by state taxes and certain fines. The bill, which is backed by state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, would let drivers seek to have their fees waived or reduced based on financial hardship, and would direct the Registry to send bill payment reminders by email and text message. Advertisement The Registry would keep its authority to suspend driver's licenses for dangerous driving, operating under the influence of alcohol, and repeated unsafe driving infractions, according to bill advocates. Related : 'There is a real cycle of debt and legal entrapment,' Cyr said. 'We need to catch up to a number of states who have already reformed or eliminated debt-based license suspensions.' In a statement, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said the law permitting the Registry to prohibit drivers with government debts from renewing their licenses has been in place since 1992. The assessments that can trigger the sanctions help to fund government services, including local aid to communities and highway maintenance, the agency said. 'MassDOT shares concerns about the fairness of the program and is open to discussions with our partners in the Legislature on any changes that could be made to minimize harm to people,' the statement said. Related : Massachusetts is out of step with other states that have limited or eliminated the government's authority to restrict driving because of debt, according to the Free to Drive campaign, a national coalition of organizations that favor reforms. Twenty-six states plus the District of Columbia have implemented changes to end or reduce restrictions for driver's licenses because of unpaid debts. Kristen Bor-Zale, a staff attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services who represents Angel, said the agency has been approached by other clients facing setbacks similar to his. According to a Globe review of RMV data, the agency placed licensees in non-renewal status more than 1.1 million times during a four-year period because of unpaid tolls. There are no options for payment plans or to petition for the debt to be reduced or waived; and legal protections that shield people receiving public benefits from being forced to pay consumer debts do not apply, Bor-Zale said. Advertisement By contrast, drivers who have been sanctioned for drunken-driving, driving under the influence of drugs, or have been designated as 'habitual traffic offenders' can apply Driving is vital for Massachusetts workers, with 70 percent commuting by vehicle to their jobs, 'If they can't legally drive they are getting cut out of the economy,' Bor-Zale said. 'It's pushing people to have to make very stark choices.' Another one of Bor-Zale's clients, Renata, said the Registry blocked her from renewing her license two years ago, claiming she owed more than $6,500 for tolls. The Hudson resident, who also asked that her last name be withheld because of her debts, said she had difficulty getting accurate information about her bill and was directed to debt collection companies. She accrued some of the debt, she said, while she was receiving cancer treatment and couldn't work. Renata lost her license because of unpaid tolls. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff 'I can't pay this bill. It was [worth] more than my car,' she said. Without a valid license, Renata, a licensed cosmetologist and chaplain for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said her daily life came to a standstill. Renata said her trips into the city for medical appointments are now arduous, requiring hours of travel on local buses, commuter rail, and then an Uber or subway trip. 'It's all the stress,' she said. Jucemar Pereira, 72, said he returned to Brazil last year to live with his daughter for a time because he couldn't renew his license over unpaid tolls. Advertisement 'Not having a driver's license was certainly a motivation,' Pereira said through a Portuguese interpreter from his residence in Brazil. 'My entire life relies on this … document,' said Pereira, a naturalized US citizen who had lived in Massachusetts for about 25 years. A working group of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a trade group for state driver's licensing agencies, wrote in a 2021 report that 'using a driver's license suspension for nonhighway safety violations should be avoided.' The Fines and Fees Justice Center, a national organization behind the Free to Drive campaign, has highlighted research from Yet there is concern about how potential changes could impact revenue collections. Adam Chapdelaine, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, a nonprofit organization that represents municipal governments, said communities rely on the revenue from the Registry's fines to deliver 'essential services.' 'While we understand the intent of the legislation, we wouldn't support provisions that would make it harder to collect essential sources of municipal revenue,' he said in a statement. Meanwhile, Renata is working on paying off her debts. In March, the Registry agreed to reinstate her license but placed her vehicle registration in nonrenewal, giving her until the end of the month to pay about $3,400. She said she doesn't know how she's going find the money. 'This is very tough,' she said. 'I just need my life back.' Advertisement This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
Boston Globe
03-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Education Department says it will not garnish Social Security of student loan borrowers in default
'The Trump Administration is committed to protecting Social Security recipients who oftentimes rely on a fixed income,' Keast said. Advocates encouraged the Trump administration to go further to provide relief for the roughly 5.3 million borrowers in default. Advertisement 'Simply pausing this collection tactic is woefully insufficient,' said Persis Yu, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. 'Any continued effort to restart the government's debt collection machine is cruel, unnecessary and will further fan the flames of economic chaos for working families across this country.' Student loan debt among older people has grown at a staggering rate, in part due to rising tuition that has forced more people to borrow heavily. People 60 and older hold an estimated $125 billion in student loans, according to the National Consumer Law Center, a sixfold increase from 20 years ago. That led Social Security beneficiaries who have had their payments garnished to balloon from approximately 6,200 beneficiaries to 192,300 between 2001 and 2019, according to the CFPB. Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report. Advertisement
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Future of LIHEAP utility assistance in limbo
An initial federal budget proposal by the Trump administration eliminated much of the staff of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agency and all of the staff for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP. That program is considered vital assistance to keep electricity and gas services available to income-restricted residents of rural areas, those who serve the elderly and the financially challenged, residents say. LIHEAP serves approximately 6.7 million households a year with about 40% of those being senior citizens, according to the National Consumer Law Center. The 40-year-old program was initiated to help people with utility bills in rural areas where energy costs are about 15% higher than in metro areas, according to the center. Congress allocated $4.1 billion to LIHEAP for fiscal year 2025, and most of it has been distributed, but there is still $378 million in unreleased funding that may not be paid out because staffing was frozen April 1, according to a joint statement by the National Consumer Law Center and the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Without staff to run the program, that money won't be allocated to the states, the groups said, which could prevent people from obtaining LIHEAP assistance at the local level. In the Joplin area, the Economic Security Corp. connects eligible residents to applications. That agency serves people in Jasper, Newton, McDonald and Barton counties. 6,200 applications Robin Walker, LIHEAP coordinator for ESC, said the agency has enough money to last through this fiscal year, 'but we don't know what's going to happen after that.' The federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Applicants who qualify can receive $318 for electric bills and $326 for natural gas, Walker said. In addition, households can receive up to $800 for crisis heating costs in winter and $300 in the summer for cooling. There also is assistance to those who use wood or propane, Walker said. Income eligibility for the assistance in a two-person household, as an example, is 60% of the state median income, or $3,598 a month. In ESC's four-county area, the agency processed 6,435 applications this year. It has $1.5 million in crisis funding and $150,000 available for the summer starting June 1, which will serve those households if they receive a cutoff notice from a utility company. LIHEAP costs across the state are $34.5 million, Walker said. Residents are only eligible to receive up to $300 for the summer season, 'and with the cost of utility bills rising that $300 is not going to go very far,' she said. Fraud claim A spokesman for the office of U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison said the Trump administration cited fraud, such as people making repeated claims, claims using the names of people who have died or applications from people who live in expensive homes, as a reason for freezing LIHEAP staff. Walker said in response, 'Our process will tell us if an address has already received assistance and it won't enter the application if that person has already used assistance, so we are handling fraud that way.' Additionally, death notifications that go to state agencies prevent those claims by fraudsters from going through the system. Burlison's spokesman said it is early in the budget process and that there could be changes in the status of the program as details of the budget are hashed out. 'Blessing to us' Judy Stinnett, a Joplin resident, has turned to LIHEAP because she and her husband live on Social Security benefits and reached a point they said they could not afford increases in utility rates. 'This has been a blessing to us,' she said of LIHEAP assistance. 'Everything is going up. We just got notice last week that our United Healthcare supplement is going up $80.' That will cost the couple $650 a month for the Medicare supplemental insurances. 'It's just getting very difficult. We live in senior housing, and we cut corners everywhere we possibly can,' she said. Having been able to pay their own bills until recently without government help, she added: 'I didn't even know this existed, but a neighbor told us. It's been a big help. We have used it over a year.' 'Food's going up too. That's the only place we have to cut costs. I would do that before I would cut our medical (insurance). It would affect us greatly.' To reduce the couple's electric bill, last summer she kept the air conditioning off 'unless it is just awful,' she said. She also waits until the middle of the night to wash and dry clothes, when electric charges are lower than during the day. 'I thank God for that program,' she said. 'And I know I'm not the only person that feels that way.' Jennifer Shotwell, chief executive officer of the Area Agency on Aging Region X in Joplin, said: 'It's a program that our older adults are reliant on, especially in the face of other rising costs such as rising food costs, rising rental costs, and also with the proposed utility cost increase that Liberty Utilities has asked for.' Energy costs Liberty and Spire both have rate cases pending before the Missouri Public Service Commission. Liberty has filed an adjusted rate increase that would increase bills on 1,000 kilowatt-hours of usage from $33 to $39 a month, the utility has said. If granted, the increase would go into effect in early 2026 for Missouri's 164,000 Liberty customers. The utility also said in a statement: 'We understand that recent economic conditions have made it tough for many Missouri families and that there's never a good time for a rate change. Our customers — families, communities, homes, and businesses — expect and depend on the safe, reliable energy we deliver. Meeting this commitment requires ongoing investments in our system and generation plants. 'We are concerned for our customers who may be struggling financially, and we remain focused on keeping energy as affordable as possible. On behalf of our shareholders, each year we provide $600,000 in funds to help support our local community action agencies. These funds help customers access home weatherization services and utility bill assistance programs. We also offer energy efficiency programs, energy usage tools, and flexible payment options to help lower and manage bills.' With its latest filing with the PSC, Liberty has proposed a program called Fresh Start to support limited-income customers who have fallen behind on their electric bills and is also proposing continuation of other financial assistance programs. 'We are also actively advocating at the federal level for the continuation of critical programs like LIHEAP and others that help our most vulnerable populations,' the utility said in a statement. In November, Spire filed a rate increase request with the PSC that would result in an approximately 15%, or $14 per month, increase for its average natural gas customer. Part of that is already being collected as part of the Infrastructure System Replacement Surcharge program line item that appears separately on customer bills. Steve Mills, Spire Missouri president, said in a statement when the case was filed: 'We want our customers to know that even with this request, they will see bills that are slightly lower or unchanged compared to 2024.' In its statement, Spire said it proposes recovery of 'infrastructure investments, inflationary costs since its last case, increased costs of service, and weather and conservation impacts.' The company said it has invested nearly $1 billion to maintain and modernize service infrastructure, in turn reducing emissions and improving the safety of its distribution system. If approved, the rate increase would take effect this fall. In a statement Monday, the utility said, 'We know many customers are struggling and that's why Spire is committed to finding effective ways to support them. During fiscal 2024, Spire Missouri connected customers with more than $21 million in federal, state and Spire energy assistance funding to help pay their natural gas bills, providing even more support to customers amid inflation and rising costs. For any customer struggling, we encourage them to reach out to us. We have information about programs on our website at assistance and we encourage customers to call 211 to locate assistance.' Walker also said the electricity increase could be a difficult blow to those on restricted incomes. 'Most of our elderly people are buying only a bare minimum with the cost of groceries,' she said, leaving them few or no options on how to economize to pay higher bills. Shotwell said that utility increases and the loss of LIHEAP assistance 'would be devastating for older adults that are at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. It might be the key factor that leads them to losing their independence. Not being able to afford your electric bills is not something you want to happen to make them enter nursing homes or institutional care. It's something our agency tries to prevent. We are very concerned about the loss of LIHEAP.'
Los Angeles Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Older people in crosshairs as government restarts Social Security garnishment on student loans
NEW YORK — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she's put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At 73, she has cut her costs as much as she can to live on a tight budget. But it's about to get far tighter. As the Trump administration resumes collections on defaulted student loans, a surprising population has been caught in the crosshairs: hundreds of thousands of older Americans whose decades-old debts now put them at risk of having their Social Security checks garnished. 'I worked ridiculous hours. I worked weekends and nights. But I could never pay it off,' says Farro, a retired child welfare worker in Santa Ynez, Calif. Like millions of debtors with federal student loans, Farro had her payments and interest paused by the government five years ago when the pandemic thrust many into financial hardship. That grace period ended in 2023 and, earlier this month, the Department of Education said it would restart 'involuntary collections' by garnishing paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security retirement and disability benefits. Farro previously had her Social Security garnished and expects it to restart. Farro's loans date back 40 years. She was a single mother when she got a bachelor's degree in developmental psychology and when she discovered she couldn't earn enough to pay off her loans, she went back to school and got a master's degree. Her salary never caught up. Things only got worse. Around 2008, when she consolidated her loans, she was paying $1,000 a month, but years of missed payments and piled-on interest meant she was barely putting a dent in a bill that had ballooned to $250,000. When she sought help to resolve her debt, she says the loan company had just one suggestion. 'They said, 'Move to a cheaper state,'' says Farro, who rents a 400-square-foot casita from a friend. 'I realized I was living in a different reality than they were.' Student loan debt among older people has grown at a staggering rate, in part due to rising tuitions that have forced more people to borrow greater sums. People 60 and older hold an estimated $125 billion in student loans, according to the National Consumer Law Center, a six-fold increase from 20 years ago. That has led Social Security beneficiaries who have had their payments garnished to balloon by 3,000% — from approximately 6,200 beneficiaries to 192,300 — between 2001 and 2019, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This year, an estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in default and are likely to experience the Department of Education's renewed forced collections, according to the January report from CFPB. Debbie McIntyre, a 62-year-old adult education teacher in Georgetown, Ky., is among them. She dreams of retiring and writing more historical fiction, and of boarding a plane for the first time since high school. But her husband has been out of work on disability for two decades and they've used credit cards to get by on his meager benefits and her paycheck. Their rent will be hiked $300 when their lease renews. McIntyre doesn't know what to do if her paycheck is garnished. She floats the idea of bankruptcy, but that won't automatically clear her loans, which are held to a different standard than other debt. She figures if she picks up extra jobs babysitting or tutoring, she could put $50 toward her loans here and there. But she sees no real solution. 'I don't know what more I can do,' says McIntyre, who is too afraid to check what her loan balance is. 'I'll never get out of this hole.' Braxton Brewington of the Debt Collective debtors union says it's striking how many older people dial into the organization's calls and attend its protests. Many of them, he says, should have had their debts canceled but fell victim to a system 'riddled with flaws and illegalities and flukes.' Many whose educations have left them in late-life debt have, in fact, paid back the principal on their loans, sometimes several times over, but still owe more due to interest and fees. For those who are subject to garnishment, Brewington says, the results can be devastating. 'We hear from people who skip meals. We know people who dilute their medication or cut their pills in half. People take drastic measures like pulling all their savings out or dissolving their 401ks,' he says. 'We know folks that have been driven into homelessness.' Collections on defaulted loans may have restarted no matter who was president, though the Biden administration had sought to limit the amount of income that could be garnished. Federal law protects just $750 of Social Security benefits from garnishment, an amount that would put a debtor far below the poverty line. 'We're basically providing people with federal benefits with one hand and taking them away with another,' says Sarah Sattelmeyer of the New America think tank. Linda Hilton, a 76-year-old retired office worker from Apache Junction, Ariz., went through garnishment before COVID and says she will survive it again. But flights to see her children, occasional meals at a restaurant and other pleasures of retired life may disappear. 'It's going to mean restrictions,' says Hilton. 'There won't be any travel. There won't be any frills.' Some debtors have already received notice about collections. Many more are living in fear. President Trump has signed an executive order calling for the Department of Education's dismantling and, for those seeking answers about their loans, mass layoffs have complicated getting calls answered. While Education Secretary Linda McMahon says restarting collections is a necessary step for debtors 'both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation's economic outlook,' even some of Trump's most fervent supporters are questioning a move that will make their lives harder. Randall Countryman, 55, of Bonita, Calif., says a Biden administration proposal to forgive some student debt didn't strike him as fair, but he's not sure Trump's approach is either. He supported Trump but wishes the government made case-by-case decisions on debtors. Countryman thinks Americans don't realize how many older people are affected by policies on student loans, often thought to be the turf of the young, and how difficult it can be for them to repay. 'What's a young person's problem today,' he says, 'is an old person's problem tomorrow.' Countryman started working on a degree while in prison, then continued it at the University of Phoenix when he was released. He started growing nervous as he racked up loan debt and never finished his degree. He's worked a host of different jobs, but finding work has often been complicated by his criminal record. He lives off his wife's Social Security check and the kindness of his mother-in-law. He doesn't know how they'd get by if the government demands repayment. 'I kind of wish I never went to school in the first place,' he says. Sedensky writes for the Associated Press.
Chicago Tribune
15-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Older people in crosshairs as government restarts Social Security garnishment on student loans
NEW YORK — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she's put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At 73, she has cut her costs as much as she can to live on a tight budget. But it's about to get far tighter. As the Trump administration resumes collections on defaulted student loans, a surprising population has been caught in the crosshairs: Hundreds of thousands of older Americans whose decades-old debts now put them at risk of having their Social Security checks garnished. 'I worked ridiculous hours. I worked weekends and nights. But I could never pay it off,' says Farro, a retired child welfare worker in Santa Ynez, California. Like millions of debtors with federal student loans, Farro had her payments and interest paused by the government five years ago when the pandemic thrust many into financial hardship. That grace period ended in 2023 and, earlier this month, the Department of Education said it would restart 'involuntary collections' by garnishing paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security retirement and disability benefits. Farro previously had her Social Security garnished and expects it to restart. Farro's loans date back 40 years. She was a single mother when she got a bachelor's degree in developmental psychology and when she discovered she couldn't earn enough to pay off her loans, she went back to school and got a master's degree. Her salary never caught up. Things only got worse. Around 2008, when she consolidated her loans, she was paying $1,000 a month, but years of missed payments and piled-on interest meant she was barely putting a dent in a bill that had ballooned to $250,000. When she sought help to resolve her debt, she says the loan company had just one suggestion. 'They said, 'Move to a cheaper state,'' says Farro, who rents a 400-square-foot casita from a friend. 'I realized I was living in a different reality than they were.' Student loan debt among older people has grown at a staggering rate, in part due to rising tuitions that have forced more people to borrow greater sums. People 60 and older hold an estimated $125 billion in student loans, according to the National Consumer Law Center, a six-fold increase from 20 years ago. That has led Social Security beneficiaries who have had their payments garnished to balloon by 3,000% — from approximately 6,200 beneficiaries to 192,300 — between 2001 and 2019, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This year, an estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in default and are likely to experience the Department of Education's renewed forced collections, according to the January report from CFPB. Debbie McIntyre, a 62-year-old adult education teacher in Georgetown, Kentucky, is among them. She dreams of retiring and writing more historical fiction, and of boarding a plane for the first time since high school. But her husband has been out of work on disability for two decades and they've used credit cards to get by on his meager benefits and her paycheck. Their rent will be hiked $300 when their lease renews. McIntyre doesn't know what to do if her paycheck is garnished. She floats the idea of bankruptcy, but that won't automatically clear her loans, which are held to a different standard than other debt. She figures if she picks up extra jobs babysitting or tutoring, she could put $50 toward her loans here and there. But she sees no real solution. 'I don't know what more I can do,' says McIntyre, who is too afraid to check what her loan balance is. 'I'll never get out of this hole.' Braxton Brewington of the Debt Collective debtors union says it's striking how many older people dial into the organization's calls and attend its protests. Many of them, he says, should have had their debts cancelled but fell victim to a system 'riddled with flaws and illegalities and flukes.' Many whose educations have left them in late-life debt have, in fact, paid back the principal on their loans, sometimes several times over, but still owe more due to interest and fees. For those who are subject to garnishment, Brewington says, the results can be devastating. 'We hear from people who skip meals. We know people who dilute their medication or cut their pills in half. People take drastic measures like pulling all their savings out or dissolving their 401ks,' he says. 'We know folks that have been driven into homelessness.' Collections on defaulted loans may have restarted no matter who was president, though the Biden administration had sought to limit the amount of income that could be garnished. Federal law protects just $750 of Social Security benefits from garnishment, an amount that would put a debtor far below the poverty line. 'We're basically providing people with federal benefits with one hand and taking them away with another,' says Sarah Sattelmeyer of the New America think tank. Linda Hilton, a 76-year-old retired office worker from Apache Junction, Arizona, went through garnishment before COVID and says she will survive it again. But flights to see her children, occasional meals at a restaurant and other pleasures of retired life may disappear. 'It's going to mean restrictions,' says Hilton. 'There won't be any travel. There won't be any frills.' Some debtors have already received notice about collections. Many more are living in fear. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for the Department of Education's dismantling and, for those seeking answers about their loans, mass layoffs have complicated getting calls answered. While Education Secretary Linda McMahon says restarting collections is a necessary step for debtors 'both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation's economic outlook,' even some of Trump's most fervent supporters are questioning a move that will make their lives harder. Randall Countryman, 55, of Bonita, California, says a Biden administration proposal to forgive some student debt didn't strike him as fair, but he's not sure Trump's approach is either. He supported Trump but wishes the government made case-by-case decisions on debtors. Countryman thinks Americans don't realize how many older people are affected by policies on student loans, often thought to be the turf of the young, and how difficult it can be for them to repay. 'What's a young person's problem today,' he says, 'is an old person's problem tomorrow.' Countryman started working on a degree while in prison, then continued it at the University of Phoenix when he was released. He started growing nervous as he racked up loan debt and never finished his degree. He's worked a host of different jobs, but finding work has often been complicated by his criminal record. He lives off his wife's Social Security check and the kindness of his mother-in-law. He doesn't know how they'd get by if the government demands repayment. 'I kind of wish I never went to school in the first place,' he says.
