Thursday, January 9th, 2014
Stephan: It is an article of faith by the Theocratic Right that poor people generally abuse social programs. They are drug abusers, who just want to lay around and who squander the government's largesse on booze, and $600 purses. The fascinating thing is that every time they get a chance to prove this the opposite is proved. The urine test that showed significantly lower drug usage -- 2.6% -- than the national average 4.7%. Oops. Now a particularly grotesque version by the tea bagger governor, Maine's Paul LePage who in trying to prove welfare fraud is rampant has produced a study showing it is a tenth of one percent.
What stands out for me is that only affluent people think these things. Poor people know that if you have barely enough money for food and rent for you and your kids, even though you are working, you have no money for liquor -- a bottle of cheap spirits on Whidbey Island is about $30. Your three part-time jobs at minimum wage leave you no time to lie around. Welfare is so complicated and difficult to navigate fraud is not easy to carry off. I know from dealing with social services on behalf of my late severely handicapped (mentally and physically) brother that the paperwork and effort it takes to get a benefit is a nightmare experience. Just consider the problems vets are presently having to get their benefits.
The truth is, as study after study and nation after nation show a decent safety net is an essential component of a healthy democracy.
On Tuesday, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) released data on purchases made with state welfare benefits that he claimed exposed abuse, but they only add up to less than a percent of all benefit transactions.
The data show that there were more than 3,000 transactions at bars, sports bars, and strip clubs made with EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards loaded with TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or welfare) and food stamp benefits between January 1, 2011 and November 15, 2013. The state doesn’t track what was actually purchased, and some transactions can be withdrawals from ATMs at those locations. Given that there are about 50,000 of these transactions every month, or nearly 1.8 million in that time frame, as the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) spokesman told the Bangor Daily News, they only make up ‘about two-tenths of 1 percent of total purchases and ATM withdrawals,” the paper calculates.
LePage still expressed outrage at this tiny fraction of purchases. ‘This information is eye-opening and indicates a larger problem than initially thought,” he wrote when the data was released. ‘These benefits are supposed to help families, children and our most vulnerable Mainers. Instead, we have discovered welfare benefits are […]
