Look, in no way am I against public assistance or welfare. That being said I’ve known many a person to abuse the system, and its pretty well documented that these are not rare cases.
A Team 5 Investigation found more than $2.3 million in Massachusetts welfare money, meant to help the needy buy food, pay their rent and clothe their children, has been spent in locations outside the state in a three-month period, including pricey vacation destinations like Hawaii, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
In July, lawmakers signed off on a plan to stop welfare recipients from buying alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets with cash assistance. But critics told Team 5 the state’s so-called crackdown doesn’t go far enough.
I’ve taken good advantage of Unemployment insurance (for a whopping 2 months) and I know people who legitimately were on food stamps and public assistance to keep their house heated and their bellies full. I also know some people who legitimately have problems that keep them from working and are on SSI.
Still not only do I know people who cooked their unemployment books so they could relax, or people who were working under the table so their benefits wouldn’t go away, and I know somebody who chose not to look for a well-paying job they were qualified for so they could take easy jobs supplemented with food stamps.
And of course people buying luxury items in exotic locals just shows that there are large numbers of people who see this as “Free Money”.
Team 5 obtained three months of electronic benefit card transactions by welfare recipients, and sorted the data by state and address. The money was accessed from October 2010 through December 2010…Team 5’s analysis found $2,335,188.50 was spent in 45 different states as well as the Caribbean, raising serious questions about how the Commonwealth’s neediest people can afford to travel on the taxpayer’s dime.
That’s a LOT of questionable expenses in a VERY short period of time. I’m glad its getting press, I’m sad that nobody will do jack or crap about it.
That last sentence – perfect summary.