$69M in Calif. welfare money spent out of state

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

LOS ANGELES — Nearly $69 million in welfare money meant to help California’s neediest families has been spent or withdrawn in places like Hawaii, Las Vegas casinos and cruise ships from Miami.

The finding reported Monday in the Los Angeles Times is based on data compiled between January 2007 and May 2010 by the California Department of Social Services.

Data showed the biggest chunk of out-of-state money — $11.8 million — was spent at casinos or withdrawn from ATMs in Las Vegas.

The investigation showed out-of-state spending on state-issued aid cards was less than 1 percent of the $10.8 billion spent by welfare recipients during the three years.

State-issued aid cards were used at hotels, shops, restaurants, ATMs or other places in every state, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, the data showed.

A single parent with two children must earn less than $14,436 to qualify for the cards, designed to help pay the rent and buy clothes for the kids, said Lizelda Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services.

In Hawaii, $387,908 was used or withdrawn at more than a thousand big-box stores, grocery stores, convenience shops and ATMs on all the major islands. At least $234,000 was accessed on Oahu, $70,626 on Maui, $39,883 on Hawaii and $22,170 on Kauai.

The list includes $12,433 spent at the upscale Ala Moana shopping center, $3,030 spent at a group of gift shops next to Jimmy Buffett’s Beachcomber restaurant on Waikiki Beach and $2,146 withdrawn from ATMs on the island of Lanai, home to a pair of Four Seasons resorts and little else, the Times said.

"If it’s on Lanai, that should trigger an investigation," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. "California taxpayers, who are struggling to keep their own jobs, are subsidizing other people’s vacations. That’s absurd."

Of the money accessed in Las Vegas, more than $1 million was spent or withdrawn at shops and casino hotels on or near the famous Strip. The list includes $8,968 at the Tropicana, $7,995 at the Venetian and its Grand Canal Shoppes, and $1,332 at Tix 4 Tonight, seller of discount admission for such acts as Cirque du Soleil, the data showed.

Many Las Vegas casinos block the use of welfare cards in ATMs located on gambling floors, but more than $34,700 was used to get ATM cash or goods at a 7-Eleven near the Encore and Circus Circus casinos.

Store owner Rupee Chima said the people using the cards don’t look like high rollers. "They’re not coming in with Rolexes," he said.

The data shows the addresses of the stores and ATM machines where the cards are used, but it doesn’t identify the person using the card.

In Florida, $1.5 million was accessed during the three-year period. Of that, $13,109 was spent or withdrawn in South Beach and the bulk of that at bars and restaurants along Lincoln Road. More than $7,000 was withdrawn from ATMs a few hours north, at Walt Disney World.

The paper said $16,010 was withdrawn from 14 cruise ships sailing from ports around the world.

There are legitimate reasons to spend aid money outside of California, advocates said.

"I think when somebody hears it’s in a fancy hotel in Hawaii or Vegas, it’s too easy to assume the (welfare recipient) is visiting that place and it wasn’t somebody who stole their card," said Jessica Bartholow, a legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

A welfare recipient can leave California if they get permission from their county case worker to be absent from the program’s 32-hour-a-week job training requirement.

"If it’s a one-time thing in Miami, we would never check that out," said John Haley, commander of the financial crimes division of the San Diego County district attorney’s office, who said 24 percent of all new welfare applications in his jurisdiction contain some form of fraud. "We look for patterns of abuse."

Because of resources, investigators in Los Angeles County were checking after a recipient was gone for three months, Department of Public Social Services Director Philip Browning said.

Browning said his investigators will cut that down to one month, based on the Times’ findings.

http://bostonherald.com/news/national/west/view/2010100469m_in_calif_welfare_money_spent_out_of_state/

[SupastarsaM 7]

I want my hard earned money from work back !!!!!!!!!!! Every time I go to the supermarket and see someone using that damn card, It pisses me the fk off. You can pretty much tell that they pimp the system. Why do I suspect it? Because people pull that card out of their wallets and I see credit cards and ATM cards. California needs total overhaul!!! Oh and those fkn people that have handicapped plates but they walk out their cars on their own two feet with their fake coach purses and have that "i'm special" attitude. They're the ones that beat their kids in the supermarket.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I want my hard earned money from work back !!!!!!!!!!! Every time I go to the supermarket and see someone using that damn card, It pisses me the fk off. You can pretty much tell that they pimp the system. Why do I suspect it? Because people pull that card out of their wallets and I see credit cards and ATM cards. California needs total overhaul!!! Oh and those fkn people that have handicapped plates but they walk out their cars on their own two feet with their fake coach purses and have that "i'm special" attitude. They're the ones that beat their kids in the supermarket.

You are correct.

[IndigoSkies 168]

Once you give the money to the person in forms of food stamps, it ought not matter how they use it. They can buy a sandwich or they can buy a hooker. Whatever floats their boat.

Edited October 11, 2010 by IndigoSkies

[zqt3344 21]

Callifornia is frought with corruption. And the planned illegal entry of all those illegal citizens has completely ruined that state's finances. This just another example of the reckless out of control nonsense going on in California, it is a bankrupt state essentially. And another reason it has lost legal resident population to other parts of the USA, those legal residents are sick and tired of paying for all the illegals out there and the corrupt state government practices!

LOS ANGELES — Nearly $69 million in welfare money meant to help California’s neediest families has been spent or withdrawn in places like Hawaii, Las Vegas casinos and cruise ships from Miami.

The finding reported Monday in the Los Angeles Times is based on data compiled between January 2007 and May 2010 by the California Department of Social Services.

Data showed the biggest chunk of out-of-state money — $11.8 million — was spent at casinos or withdrawn from ATMs in Las Vegas.

The investigation showed out-of-state spending on state-issued aid cards was less than 1 percent of the $10.8 billion spent by welfare recipients during the three years.

State-issued aid cards were used at hotels, shops, restaurants, ATMs or other places in every state, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, the data showed.

A single parent with two children must earn less than $14,436 to qualify for the cards, designed to help pay the rent and buy clothes for the kids, said Lizelda Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services.

In Hawaii, $387,908 was used or withdrawn at more than a thousand big-box stores, grocery stores, convenience shops and ATMs on all the major islands. At least $234,000 was accessed on Oahu, $70,626 on Maui, $39,883 on Hawaii and $22,170 on Kauai.

The list includes $12,433 spent at the upscale Ala Moana shopping center, $3,030 spent at a group of gift shops next to Jimmy Buffett’s Beachcomber restaurant on Waikiki Beach and $2,146 withdrawn from ATMs on the island of Lanai, home to a pair of Four Seasons resorts and little else, the Times said.

"If it’s on Lanai, that should trigger an investigation," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. "California taxpayers, who are struggling to keep their own jobs, are subsidizing other people’s vacations. That’s absurd."

Of the money accessed in Las Vegas, more than $1 million was spent or withdrawn at shops and casino hotels on or near the famous Strip. The list includes $8,968 at the Tropicana, $7,995 at the Venetian and its Grand Canal Shoppes, and $1,332 at Tix 4 Tonight, seller of discount admission for such acts as Cirque du Soleil, the data showed.

Many Las Vegas casinos block the use of welfare cards in ATMs located on gambling floors, but more than $34,700 was used to get ATM cash or goods at a 7-Eleven near the Encore and Circus Circus casinos.

Store owner Rupee Chima said the people using the cards don’t look like high rollers. "They’re not coming in with Rolexes," he said.

The data shows the addresses of the stores and ATM machines where the cards are used, but it doesn’t identify the person using the card.

In Florida, $1.5 million was accessed during the three-year period. Of that, $13,109 was spent or withdrawn in South Beach and the bulk of that at bars and restaurants along Lincoln Road. More than $7,000 was withdrawn from ATMs a few hours north, at Walt Disney World.

The paper said $16,010 was withdrawn from 14 cruise ships sailing from ports around the world.

There are legitimate reasons to spend aid money outside of California, advocates said.

"I think when somebody hears it’s in a fancy hotel in Hawaii or Vegas, it’s too easy to assume the (welfare recipient) is visiting that place and it wasn’t somebody who stole their card," said Jessica Bartholow, a legislative advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

A welfare recipient can leave California if they get permission from their county case worker to be absent from the program’s 32-hour-a-week job training requirement.

"If it’s a one-time thing in Miami, we would never check that out," said John Haley, commander of the financial crimes division of the San Diego County district attorney’s office, who said 24 percent of all new welfare applications in his jurisdiction contain some form of fraud. "We look for patterns of abuse."

Because of resources, investigators in Los Angeles County were checking after a recipient was gone for three months, Department of Public Social Services Director Philip Browning said.

Browning said his investigators will cut that down to one month, based on the Times’ findings.

http://bostonherald.com/news/national/west/view/2010100469m_in_calif_welfare_money_spent_out_of_state/

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Once you give the money to the person in forms of food stamps, it ought not matter how they use it. They can buy a sandwich or they can buy a hooker. Whatever floats their boat.

They are giving the people debit card which they get cash from. Cash that comes from the tax-payer.

We're not talking food stamps.

[IndigoSkies 168]

They are giving the people debit card which they get cash from. Cash that comes from the tax-payer.

We're not talking food stamps.

My point still stands. Once you give them the money, it's their money. They can do whatever they want with it. You can't or shouldn't give someone money and say they can spend it on such and such unless you can somehow incentivise the person to spend it on such and such or prosecute them for not spending it exclusively on such and such.

[^_^ 5,021]

My point still stands. Once you give them the money, it's their money. They can do whatever they want with it. You can't or shouldn't give someone money and say they can spend it on such and such unless you can somehow incentivise the person to spend it on such and such or prosecute them for not spending it exclusively on such and such.

Wow, what a steaming load of such and such.

[IndigoSkies 168]

Many people would probably spend their wellfare money on monkey sex. It ain't exactly legal. So I'm sure some people are willing to pay for some orangutan pooty's.

[Ban Hammer 13,395]

My point still stands. Once you give them the money, it's their money. They can do whatever they want with it. You can't or shouldn't give someone money and say they can spend it on such and such unless you can somehow incentivise the person to spend it on such and such or prosecute them for not spending it exclusively on such and such.

then you wouldn't mind the federal government doing the same, throwing money at various wars and other nonsense? after all, it's taxes paid in the same fashion as the money in the story, and once it's in the federal governments coffers, it's theirs to spend as they see fit.

[^_^ 5,021]

then you wouldn't mind the federal government doing the same, throwing money at various wars and other nonsense? after all, it's taxes paid in the same fashion as the money in the story, and once it's in the federal governments coffers, it's theirs to spend as they see fit.

You are such a such and suching such and such, charles!

[IndigoSkies 168]

Then you wouldn't mind the federal government doing the same, throwing money at various wars and other nonsense? after all, it's taxes paid in the same fashion as the money in the story, and once it's in the federal governments coffers, it's theirs to spend as they see fit.

Isn't that exactly what they are doing?

[Ban Hammer 13,395]

You are such a such and suching such and such, charles!

english only outside the regional forums please

[^_^ 5,021]

english only outside the regional forums please

in other news, such and such just PMd me asking why i'm obsessed with such and such

[IndigoSkies 168]

Such and such changed his username because I had put them on ignore list. Haha. It took me a while to realise such and such was the such and such who like to do such and such with such and such kind of primates. So such and such is going back to Ignore List again.