Welfare systems incentivize people not to be productive. In California, entitlement programs have been taken to a whole new level.
California welfare recipients can be issued state debit cards that allows the recipient to withdraw cash. The immediate concern is that the recipient will break the rules by purchasing alcohol with the withdrawn cash. However, the welfare recipients have done more than just break the "no alcohol" rule. California welfare recipients have been using the state-issued debit cards to withdraw cash on gaming floors in more than half of the casinos in the state.
$1.8 million so far this year has been withdrawn from ATM machines at 32 of 58 tribal casinos and 47 of 90 state-licensed poker rooms.
Since the late 1990s most states have adopted the debit card system, which has been viewed as a more efficient way of distributing and tracking government aid. Nobody considered that people who have (in the majority of cases) allowed themselves to become dependent upon the state by not being responsible might act irresponsibly with the debit cards.
So as Governor Schwarzenegger works to combat waste and fraud in the state's social services programs, it turns out that fraud is rampant throughout the various entitlements systems.
Imagine that.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Welfare Aid Cards Valid at Casinos - Los Angeles Times
No comments:
Post a Comment