Zombie Welfare and Social Security Recipients "Closing the Benefit Loopholes"

[WhiskeyGirl]

I've been watching the news about the woman who's dead father received a stimulus check.  Her son called to say 'grandpa' got a check.  Grandpa had been dead for 35 years.

I wonder how many 'zombie' Social Security recipients there are?  In this day and age of computers, how many recipients are over age 80?  (The age I saw noted for healthcare rationing).  How many over age 100?  Does the government ever check to see if these folks are still alive?  Especially the ones that have retired outside the U.S.?

How many zombie recipients receive cash welfare, Food Stamp, and other public aid money? 

How many child welfare recipients show income at the IRS for construction or other work?  In other words, is it possible that illegal aliens use their citizen children's Social Security numbers to work?  Simple match of databases "Child welfare recipients V. IRS database"  Or, something along the line of E-Verify "Social Security (age/birth) V. IRS" database.  This should be a 'simple' thing to check.

Illegal immigrants may not be eligible for benefits, however citizen children may be.  How does anyone verify the income and assets of those here illegally?  How many welfare recipients have parents that are illegal aliens?  

I keep reading about all the expanding benefits and the fact that many states have acted as gatekeepers, to the benefit of taxpayers.   Will every state be like California tomorrow?  Next year?  

How often does the 'system' in any state verify the income and assets of children?  Are these babies entitled for life or age 18?  19? 

For those whose parents are here illegally, how do they verify income & assets?  How do they verify that the children are still in the country? 

If the illegal alien parents move back to their country of origin and take their children, do the welfare payments continue?  Does anyone check?  Today, how many receive benefits through EBT or debit card systems?  As an example, can someone getting cash welfare, food stamps, or other benefit from California just take the money out via an electronic transaction anywhere in the nation?  Can they just transfer the money to say Mexico or Poland? 

Just visit the U.S., have a baby (one or more) return home and collect for the next 18 plus years, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers?

If parents leave their children behind and return home, who collects the money?  Who's checking?

If these kids are left behind, why not try to find good permanent homes for them with people who want to accept financial responsibility?  There seem to be thousands of Americans that go offshore to adopt, why not use the resources in this country?

Anyone looking to recover these benefits from the parents?

With all the EBT transactions, how many withdraw the money from places say 50 mile or more from their home?

Lots of things don't add up in this country.

jmho

[WhiskeyGirl]

California politicians are looking to Washington for a bailout but are rapidly learning that federal relief often comes with strings.

Seems like Alaska objected to some of the strings as well...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators have already rolled back some welfare eligibility changes because they violated federal guidelines. They were told last week that wage reductions for those providing home-based care for the aged and disabled, known as In-Home Supportive Services, could threaten federal "stimulus" funds that would relieve budget pressure.

The Service Employees International Union, which represents home care workers, evidently used its influence with the Obama administration, born of its multi-million-dollar presidential campaign contributions, to generate federal pressure on California to roll back the cuts.

Not really sure what this means, but it sounds like the SEIU is running the government, digging deep into taxpayer pockets at the local, state, and federal level.  SEIU is spending everyone's money, including money not yet printed and beloning to your children and grandchildren.

A federal string called "maintenance of effort" could thwart further cuts in state aid to schools. While state law might allow another $5 billion per year school cut because state revenue is shrinking, legislative budget mavens believe that they could be limited to a $1 billion to $2 billion cut by the federal rule that states must maintain spending more or less at current levels.

How can any state balance the budget if they can't make cuts?  Where is the money coming from to pay for all this?

"Strings attached to recent corporate bailouts – as well as federal loan guarantees provided to New York City during its fiscal crisis three decades ago – have included measures to remove financial and operational autonomy from executives," Taylor said in a report on the state's cash flow crisis, adding, "In our opinion, the difficult decisions to balance the state's budget now are preferable to Californians losing some control over the state's finances and priorities to federal officials for years to come."

http://www.sacbee.com/walters/story/1853197.html

[WhiskeyGirl]

What comes to mind when I think of welfare reform?   As I recall, many years ago, Wisconsin started "workfare" as an effort to move long term welfare recipients into the world of work.  I would never expect that it would work 100%.  The rules seemed simple - work, sign up for job training, or lose your benefits.

After some time, there was analysis of the early results.  For some reason, a hugh number of people chose to exit the program voluntarily rather than work or sign up for job training.  I've always wondered why?  Maybe they were double dipping somewhere?  Had jobs through some other means and didn't have time to participate in job training or the counseling?

The paper had an article after many years of the 'hard core' people that were not able to participate.  One such family always sticks in my mind.  It was a couple, that man was elderly, the woman disabled.  They had like 20-30 children.  Wow.  How did that happen I wondered?  It turns out they 'adoped' or were legal guardians for all their grandchildren.  The adoption allowed them to apply for welfare, Medicaid, and other benefits for these children. 

The biological parents were off the hook for medical care, food, and other expenses for their children.  The biological parents could acquire assets, houses, jobs, and have their families taken care of at the same time.

I wonder how that would work for citizens or legal residents?  

There is just something wrong in this system.

jmho

[WhiskeyGirl]

"Cashing In On Kids"

Child-care scams rake in thousands

On paper Angela Hale is a child-care provider.

She reported taking care of the same five kids seven days a week while their mom supposedly worked at a lawn-care service, even in the winter months.

The government paid Hale more than $30,000 last year for her child-care business.

It appears the government got duped. Hale didn't care for the kids at times she said she did, nor did the mom legitimately work, the Journal Sentinel found.

The newspaper spent four months investigating the $340 million taxpayer-financed child-care system known as Wisconsin Shares and uncovered a trail of phony companies, fake reports and shoddy oversight.

Caseworkers sign off on child-care arrangements that defy the imagination. In one instance, child-care funding was approved for 85 hours a week even when children were in school all day. If the statements were to be believed, the children would almost never be home. In another case, a woman was granted child-care assistance to work 236 of 238 days, including the day she gave birth to her seventh child.

Even with access to only a limited number of cases, the Journal Sentinel was able to identify nearly $750,000 in suspicious child-care disbursements.

"Anybody can buy a set of checks and have them printed up," said former Milwaukee police Detective Djordje Rankovic, who spent nearly a year investigating a child-care provider recently charged with bilking the system out of more than $360,000. "It's easy to do."

read more here -
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/38283494.html

Is this why America is broke?  Everyone wants the government and taxpayers to take care of their children?  I wonder if this is the 'trickle down' theory.

[WhiskeyGirl]

A Kenosha County child-care provider whose fraudulent activity was detailed in a Journal Sentinel series this year is back in business - billing the state for more than $1,400 in recent weeks.

The Journal Sentinel found that Hale had been filing paperwork claiming to care for the same five Racine County children seven days a week for nearly eight months straight in 2008 while their mother, Katria Wright, supposedly worked second shift for a lawn-care service.

That lawn-care service was run by Hale's longtime live-in friend. Hale claimed to have cared for Wright's children while the mother reported she worked for the lawn service on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and the day she gave birth to her seventh child.

The newspaper staked out Hale's house for five days when Hale was supposed to be caring for the children.

The children never showed up, yet Hale billed the state anyway, records show.

Hale received more than $85,000 from the Wisconsin Shares program from 2006 to 2008 - much of it to care for Wright's children.

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/44103702.html

I wonder if she works for the Census too?

In the olden days, it was work or go hungry.  Do people stay up at night to figure out how to take advantage of these programs?  I wonder how many poor people really benefit through these programs?

Is this program, and others like it, a younger sibling of the 'liar loans' made famous during the past year?  All those scams and derivatives that brought us the TARP, and recovery packages?

Any repairs in sight?  Or, does the government continue to shovel money into programs like this that are full of fraud and abuse? 

What happened to ending programs that don't work?  It seems like the programs that work to keep Americans safe are ended, the rip-off programs get more and more money. 

Debt slavery is the future of the citizen class in the U.S.  We're already enslaved, and the chains are growing heavier by the new 'anti-American' administration in Washington.

jmho

[WhiskeyGirl]

Another sad thing about the growth of welfare programs, for many they teach dependency.

In the past few years I've known an increasing number of grandparents that end up raising and supporting their grandchildren.  They don't get welfare benefits, they dig deep into their own resources.

Where are the parents?  The parents are often lost in a world of drug and substance abuse.  They spend all their money partying.  No money for clothing for their children, they can't pay the rent, and they can't buy food.  Grandparents step up to the plate.

Often, these young parents get money for babysitters, schooling, and may work a small job.  They have few if any expenses.  They seem to have lots of time and money to party.

The babies are the ones that suffer.  My personal observation - it affects all groups, no group is left out.

Sometimes, too much help is a bad thing.  Young people need to learn responsibility, not dependency.

jmho