As someone who worked pro bono for several 9/11 survivors to receive compensation from the September 11 Victim’s Fund, I find these two stories (this one and this one) to be very discouraging.

In the first story, the widow of the 9/11 victim stands to lose much of her husband’s pension.  Her husband was a pilot of one of the planes that crashed into the WTC.  United Airlines, her husband’s employer, is having huge financial troubles, and the pension plan may be a victim of it.

In the second story, the widow received $5,000,000 from the Victim’s Fund and “blew it”.  Some of the money was spent on “frivilous items” for herself—the article notes that she owns $500,000 worth of shoes.  This is no fault of the Fund, and certainly not the fault of the widow herself.  She has a compulsive shopping problem, which is no laughing matter.  Thaknfully, she is making efforts to bring this problem to light.