1 July 2010, 9:20 am
Those poor people, they just need a quick fix, who are we to deny them...it's a right to spend taxpayer money on strippers and poker, isn't it? I mean, those poor gullible welfare people see congressmen doing this and they just mimic what they see the guardians of the public's trust do, right? Who would blame them? Anyone, liberals? I'm sure this is an isolated incident, and I'm certain the system isn't rampant with fraud and abuse, right? /heavy sarcasm Do you liberals see why conservatives complain about Govt run programs now? this is just 1 state, and probably just the tip of the ways that the Govt gets defrauded...who actually believes that this is all there is? excerpt... Reporting from Sacramento — California welfare recipients have been able to get taxpayer cash — meant to feed and clothe their children — from ATMs at strip clubs and casinos across the state, including some well-known gentlemen's cabarets in Los Angeles... ...Nearly $4.8 million has been withdrawn from ATMs at casinos and poker rooms with welfare benefits cards from 2007 through last month, state officials said last week. The vast majority of that, $4.4 million, was withdrawn at tribal casinos. "This is a huge amount of money when we're slashing programs right and left," said Assemblywoman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), who added that the Schwarzenegger administration should have caught the problem years ago. In May, Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating the CalWorks program, which provides the cash portion of welfare benefits, as part of his plan to close the state's $19-billion budget deficit. Advocates for the poor say that it would be unconscionable to cut any more from the state's already shrinking social safety net, arguing that there are good reasons to preserve access to cash benefits even at gambling establishments. "Casinos in some rural places have become like little hubs of the community," said Michael Herald, a lobbyist for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. "My guess is there's a small contingent of CalWorks recipients who work at, or live near, these casinos." http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare-20100701,0,6705176.story... Read More »
Share on del.icio.us
Share on digg
Share on Technorati
Share on reddit
Share on Yahoo!
Share on Furl
