Now, the U.S. attorney's office is suing David Silverstein and Lyudmila Shimonova, accusing them of filing false claims and demanding that the couple pay back more than $135,000 in federal housing assistance since 2003

This is where the real problem is. People like this are the ones giving the assistance programs a bad name.

Because of scum like this, these programs are now in danger of disappear. Some old folks that receive assistance are being told that they are "leeches" and they are going to lose all the support in the near future.

I am sure that these scumbags voted Republican.

Irespond--I doubt they voted

Happy for them to go to jail...... after they pay back all the money with interest!!!!!! or better yet some years of documented community service.

Irespond: Voted Dem.

"I am sure that these scumbags voted Republican"......

Yes, because all Republicans want to throw welfare recipients and their children out to die on the street. Or, from another angle, they want to defraud programs so as to line their pockets on the backs of the disadvantaged.

Guess what, there are right wing nut jobs like myself who believe that assistance programs like this are necessary, especially in this current climate. I have plenty of people in my "circle" who are having a tough go at it. I will say that it is critical we do plenty of auditing to rid the system of these disgusting fraudsters. There should also be a limit to welfare for those who should be able to get back on their feet.

I am so tired of labels! I would guess that right & left leaning people would be equally disgusted with this story.

Whose money is it really??? OUR money. They took OUR money from US. Our government doesn't make money. They just tax the heck out of us.

I don't care what race, religion, nationality or they are. They stole from all Americans. They should pay everything back & go to prison.

My question is why doesn't the government require some sort of community service or some sort of service project in order for people to be able to collect from welfare? I don't think people would be abusing the system if they had to work a little for it. I know everyone on here knows someone who has been collecting welfare for over a year now and all they are doing is sitting at home enjoying themselves with no interest in finding a job for themselves, at least not while uncle sam is paying them to do nothing. Seriously if you collect from welfare shouldn't you be considered an employe of the government and required to do some work for your cash. Gaurantee the amount of people on welfare would decrease by half.

KBCA: If you watch FOX or listen to right-wing radio, you would easily get that impression. If they didn't say they hated the poor and middle-class, we wouldn't believe they said it.

Perhaps you have a bone to pick with your right-wing peers.

I would be extremely surprised if there was jail time. The article is talking about feds suing to get the money back. Sounds like they don't even have the authority to take it back (from their bank accounts, other assets, etc).

There is no talk of charges against them.

Some good comments on both sides, and then the usual BS from the IIB Club. IIB is Ignorance is Bliss. There is a necessity for assistance in alot of cases. But, unfortunately it's abused. Rob Thorn mentioned making people living on assistance work for it. Not 40 hours a week. Maybe 10, picking up trash in the community, or painting the home of some elderly or disabled citizen. Call it forced pride if you want, but for crying out loud, if you let someone sit on thier lazy butt's while being subsidized by the government why would they want to try to provide for themselves. I have seen people that lived better than my family when I was growing up. Both parents were capable of working, but didn't. They had new car, all the newest of everything. It was sickening. The oldest son was embarrassed, he's the one that told me they lived on welfare and that his parents were blood sucking leaches and bums. A real shame. He and I are still friends 30 years later. He has NEVER asked for anything and does well for himself. Overhaul the welfare and imigration system and watch our debt go down. Our politicians on both sides are the ones failing us, the Demo-rats and the Republi-cants. Make an example of these two scum, and then tell everyone else on welfare that they are going to have to work, and like Rob said, 50% decrease.

Not all Jews are considered government leeches. Mark Levin is a good example.

This couple exemplifies the 1% sucking the life blood from taxpayers and living large on free money... This has nothing to do with political affiliation, because we have leaches on both sides.

"Our government doesn't make money."

Well, actually....

"the sooner you FoxNews and AM talk radio deranged liberal hysterics start paying attention to the drivel and liberal biased propaganda that passes off as "news" by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC (let alone print liberal media like the Washington Post, New York Times, and LA Times), the sooner you will realize why FoxNews and AM talk radio are so popular."

Wow. Just wow. Are you SERIOUSLY suggesting that Fox News is an objective news outlet?

But I guess your definition of "objective" is "agrees with me," so I'm not surprised you think Fox has any credibility at all. Do you know what Roger Ailes used to do before becoming Fox News' head honcho? Do you know about Fox's massive contributions to Republican candidates during last year's elections? How many Republican candidates at some point been "contributors"/"commentators" for Fox News? How many Democratic ones have done so?

As a person who leans conservative on many issues I do tend to think that MSNBC can be quite biased, but that Fox is any less biased than MSNBC is utter bulls***.

As a single mother of 1 I was able to gain temporary housing through welfare for 6 weeks, just long enough to save 6 weeks of paychecks. Thankfully the Welfare system was there as the stepping stone I needed to get on my feet and more importantly STAY there. The system was never intended to be a permanent source of income and the abuse in this country is rampant. But I believe in it and its good to know that people have a possible helping hand , especially now. Well my experience was 10 years ago, I now own my own home, however I suffered a paralyzing stroke that has left me permantly disabled. hopefully I won't need welfare again but when it comes to feeding/housing my kid you never know.

@KBCA: true republicans don't collect welfare, we just pay for it.

@Rob Thorn I was on welfare at one point, I was required to attend a two month class every year, and after each class, I was assigned a community service part, I was forced to attend the community service or my $140 month welfare check would be stopped for good, I was given 6 dollars a day for transportation to the location, besides that I had to spend 3 hours a day looking for a job and chart it all down on a paper they gave us.

Soon as i started to attend college full time(hoping to use the $140 as bus fare) my case was sanctioned because attending college full time means I can't collect welfare at all, Thanks NJ governor Chris retarded Christie.

the point is, they most likely had something they were required to do to keep receiving benefits, but this huge amount? talk about extreme. Section 8 to my knowledge pays the landlord directly, so if they were taking that money, they were both running the scam together. Why aren't they being charged with that?

The problem here is that this couple was just not lazy enough! You have to be content with being lazy as hell, with the appropriate accommodations!

Why should you get paid to attend college? Typical liberal mentality. Get a job and work your way thru college. Time to get off the nip-ple.

A couple is leeching the welfare system and some of you are arguing politics? Who cares what political party they are? They stole money from a strained system period. The article could be about ice cream and it would turn political within 5 posts....

This is not a left or right issue ..... This is about a couple of con artist who already were doing well and got greedy. Let them thank about there greed in jail. As for Irespond what are you some kind of idiot?

Wiz why would you receive welfare to attend college?

AndreasTM do you know how much money the rest of the media donates to liberals? Every media outlet has its bias. Fox news simply saw that we had all liberal leaning news stations and saw a spot to move into and make some money

The problem with these white collar crimes is that they are usually handled in civil court and criminal prosecution is minimal or non-existant. People that commit crimes for profit should receive the same penalty as someone that robs a store with a gun. The detriment to the victim is the same.

It should be noted that a large part of the Republican agenda has been to hobble all oversight and investigation of government programs. They call it a nanny state and say it is the government over stretching it's authority. Numerous times people have called for audits of government military contracts and the Republicans have blocked it fighting tooth and nail to make sure that their civillian buddies didn't get overcharging for services or falsifying bills for products not received. The outright fraud perpetrated Cheney's buddies at his former company are a prime example

It's not like you just walk in to the welfare office and you get section eight. The waiting list is years long. They had to be on welfare of some sort for a long time before their section eight came through. So this is a long running scam of the system and jail time is only reasonable.

Not only did they steal from the taxpayer, they stole from a needy family somewhere as well.

State prison time for the both of them and lots of it.

Right-wing vs. Left-wing.... blah blah blah. There are scumbags on both sides!!! This country needs unity not division.... "divide and conquer"--well we sure are divided.

10tacle's is all upset over this fraud case and LBJ but it does not bother him when the 1 percenters and Wall Street steal Trillions from the US economy and the banksters demand to get bailed out for billions in CORPORATE WELFARE of his and our tax $$$......Nah, it doesn't bother him. but a little (relative to the trillions in fraud) welfare fraud...HE"S OUTRAGED!!

@ninnybon Well because during those classes(called interview preparation classes, but they talk about different subjects), The instructor asks people why don't they have stuff like driver licenses, or savings account. "Even if you put one dollar in the saving account, it will generate interest". Well another thing they said was why don't people go back to school? They led me to believe even if I did go to college, My case wouldn't be sanctioned and I would keep receiving the monthly check.

But that's not the point. these people scammed the government, they need to be charged as such,

You people blaming one party or the other are barking up the wrong tree. These people were scamming the system and finally got caught. Not sure how long they thought they could get away with it but they were caught by a federal welfare fraud investigator named Michael Radyshewsky.

Now my question would be why they got away with this as long as they did? It would be interesting to know just how long Michael has been an investigator. Ten years or just got the job. In other words, if he just got the responsibility to investigate welfare fraud it doesn't say much for the previous investigator that allowed this to go on so long. If Michael has been on this job for ten years then it doesn't say much for his performance.

Another thing...Democrats are not the only ones that collect welfare. I have no doubt that Democrats collect welfare but I personally know a lot more welfare recipients that are strong Republicans. Their reason for their political choice has to do with religion and guns but they have no problem collecting welfare. That's why I have to laugh when I read some of these political comments. Personally I would love for the welfare system to cut off their check so they would have to go get an honest job. Won't happen though because they know the people in the welfare office personally.

ninnybon, at no point have I suggested that the liberal side of the media isn't politically active. I'm saying it's ridiculous to imply that Fox is popular because it is the only objective media outlet in the country. At best, it is just as biased as the rest. At worst (which is by no means a stretch), it is more biased than all other mainstream media combined. And you know what? I don't even hate all of their contributors. I would even say that most of them are relatively harmless and only driven by the interests of their employer. Liberals are going to hate me for this, but I can even tolerate Bill O'Reilly. But any organization that lends its credence to freakos like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, or Sarah Palin for ANY extended period is a threat to our unity as a country.

Well since the government stole the money first perhaps people in government ought to go to jail first. Don't they do any sort check of the application? You would think anyone giving a million dollar home as an address wouldn't qualify for welfare in the first place.

If it hasnt already been mentioned, anyone who is on welfare or any government assistance should be subject to random drug tests along with that community service. That will cut assistance requests by another 50-75%. Im tired of buying new HD TV's for the ghetto fabulous crackheads in my city. I cant even afford one for myself. Nuf Said.

Are you kidding me, Republican? Do you even know what they stand for?

Miss placed maybe but, they are not repubs. Welfare and lieing, no that is definatly Dem all the way.

Who does not know that?

Ask the Food Stamp President.

For any of you who didn't know: As of 1997 you are only allowed to have 3 years on aid and if you are on aid and get pregnant they will not give you more cash aid or food stamps for the new addition. So that means people can't have more kids to make more money from the assistance program and two they only get 3 years in their life time so if some one uses it all in the first 3 years they can never receive assistance again. Just an update as some are saying that people are having a bunch of kids to get more money or using the system so they don't have to work, this was true but is no longer true as of 1997. Some people really need to pay attention to what welfare reform laws were passed and what people can and can not do on welfare these days before spouting off about something they know nothing about. Educate yourself before opening your mouth and inserting foot. As for these two they should have to pay up the butt and they should be charged with fraud as they were stealing tax dollars that they did not need the tax dollars that could have been helping a family that could have used it to get back on their feet. If they would start charging people with fraud for this it might make less people do it.

For all the people who cry foul every time a sane person says it is time to crack down on the waste and corruption of public assistance programs...well here you are corruption at it's most blatant...This is just one glaring example...how many hundreds of millions are flying out of the coffers because people can and will step in front of those in true need.

If we don't stop the thieves those in need will suffer....yes I am a Republican. I do believe that we have a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves...we just don't need to let the corrupt steal us blind.

Rob Thorn-4686674

My question is why doesn't the government require some sort of community service or some sort of service project in order for people to be able to collect from welfare? I don't think people would be abusing the system if they had to work a little for it. I know everyone on here knows someone who has been collecting welfare for over a year now and all they are doing is sitting at home enjoying themselves with no interest in finding a job for themselves, at least not while uncle sam is paying them to do nothing

I have known many people that were on government assistance and not *ONE* of them was just "sitting at home enjoying himself with no interest in finding a job".

1. Some are people that have worked very hard to find a job and can't.

2. Some have jobs that don't pay enough money to put food on the table. (This may come as a shock to some of those on the right, but minimum wage jobs don't pay enough to support oneself, let alone a family.)

3. Some are elderly citizens that worked for many years and are no longer able to because of their advanced age.

4. Some are people with disabilities that are severe enough to prevent them from working.

or all the people who cry foul every time a sane person says it is time to crack down on the waste and corruption of public assistance programs

Question txmom, who actually cries foul over cracking down on waste and corruption in our public assistance programs? Who? Even the most lefty liberal would agree that reforms are needed within those systems. They might advocate maintaining a fair level of humane compassion when doing so, but they wouldn't cry foul to proper reforms.

I'm not trying to be mean here, but I think you've coloured the 'opposition' in such a way that you have developed fantasy traits that you attribute to them, such as crying foul over reforms. Nobody does that so long as the reforms are considered fair and proper.

Junicon....you are talking about those who need the system....those who are earnest in their desire and need to improve their lot in life by honest means....no one is arguing their need...rather the out right theft of services that do exist in this system. We need to support those who cannot support themselves, special needs and disabled in a dignified manner...but far too many get in their way by bastardizing the system and stepping in front of them in line....we need to help support single mothers or single fathers while they learn trades and skills to get back on an independent road to self-sufficiency...but too many people lie to get the same benefits and complicate the system so that those who need to work or study to improve spend tremendous effort and time just to maintain the support they need...some families have fallen on difficult time...through job loss and need to still feed their families or have a safe place for their children while looking for work...but there are those who are so familiar with negotiating the system that they litter the system designed to help those who are trying to help themselves.

IF we get the cheats out of the system those who truly need will get the help they truly need....

We need to focus the bulk of these funds for those with special needs and the truly disabled...they need advocates and they need a dignified standard of living...

Mommy 04

You obviously dont live in New York, as my ex's family will tell you yes, you are correct about the "limits" but you dont know how to "play the game". After maxing bennies from one "program" they slide right into (Called qualification) for another program. When I tried to get my Ex-Brother in law a job and I even put my name on the line for him and they gave it to him, all he had to do was show up the next morning fill out the application and report for work, he never showed, and by lunch time I was the butt of all the jokes that day. That night I went straight to his house ready to rip him a new one but in his defense he asked me to hear him out. I agreed but told him to get ready for a butt whooping of biblical proportions. He then proceeded to show me that he couldn't afford to go to work for $10.00 an hour, as he showed me he would have to have a job, making $16.00 an hour with full medical bennies to even come close to affording what he was making then on welfare. I gave up and walked out of that house, disowned my sister, and have never darkened their door since.

They need and deserve jail time, I can not believe they were not arrested. This type of behavior makes me sick to my stomach, as I see people come in the grocery store with enough jewlery on to drown a horse, and drive off in a nice car after using food stamps.

Disgusting and pathetic to take from those whom truly need the assistance , whereas I have no problem giving people a hand up.

Arrest them!!!

What they don't tell you in this article is that this woman was here on a special assistance program for Jewish immigrants. US government rolls out red carpet for these folks.

Rob Thorn-4686674

My question is why doesn't the government require some sort of community service or some sort of service project in order for people to be able to collect from welfare? I don't think people would be abusing the system if they had to work a little for it.

Because the government can't afford to manage and audit such a system. Bush took regulator and auditor counts to record lows in an attempt to help fund Homeland Security and other ventures. And now when a dime is spent to fund such government necessities, the right claims that Obama is spending to much and point to the "upward" spending trends... so adding more management and auditing is pretty much out of the question.

It's about time we put some focus to clamp down on this crap and get some integrity into what were well intended support systems. We need more of this.

Max is right, take a trip to you welfare office in small towns they check you out but when you go to the city areas just sit back and watch who get welfare the immigrants do .The goverment rolls out the red carpet for them just take some time to check it out .Go and sit there and watch and talk with the people then you will see who gets welfare.

Max is right, take a trip to you welfare office in small towns they check you out but when you go to the city areas just sit back and watch who get welfare the immigrants do .The goverment rolls out the red carpet for them just take some time to check it out .Go and sit there and watch and talk with the people then you will see who gets welfare.

Well - I think you're comparing apples and oranges here. This isn't some poor dirt farmer from Honduras. She's likely educated and from a relatively affluent family - the 'red carpet' is often rolled out in such cases because educated, affluent immigrants are desired. This one happened to be a swindler.

I have to laugh as one who watches NBC news nightly, I'll bet that 90%+ of the people bashing fox new have never sat and watched 1 full segment of fox new let alone a couple days or week. I wanted to catch some local news early before heading out the door twice in the last year so I flipped to fox (because is on earlier) and was surprised that fox seemed more fact oriented and straight-up news then right leaning. NBC is by far more liberal then fox is conservative; same seems true for ABC and CBS from what I've seen while seeing news cast while not at home and when NBC is delayed do programing delays.

Nice.

The 1% have no shame.

And this is a prime example of how some of our great social safety net programs get attacked by wealthy criminals.

.

People here are saying "they must be republican" or "they must have been democrat" You know what? It doesn't matter. I actually saw one person say they must have been liberal democrats because they were Jewish!! What they are, assuming they are guilty, is crooks. Criminals come in all political affiliations, nationalities and religions. ( even Buddhist too.)

I didn't see anyone make the comment. "He's a chiropractor, no surprise there!" but someone was probably thinking it. It seems like you people want to find someone else to blame rather than the people commiting the crime. Some people even seem to think the people who really need the public assistance are criminals for needing help in a bad economy.

You people aren't doing much to inspire national pride for all the jingoism I see.

true republicans don't collect welfare, we just pay for it.

So any republicans on public assistance are actually RINOs? Guess that explains your screen name.

It must be nice to arbitrarily change the rules of admission to a political party so that everyone in it is just like you.

NBC is by far more liberal then fox is conservative; same seems true for ABC and CBS from what I've seen while seeing news cast while not at home and when NBC is delayed do programing delays.

I actually watch more fox than other news sources, mainly because that's what other people around me watch (I live in the South) I'd say that their pundits are relatively equal in bias from what I have seen. The difference is though that the regular news-type programming (not the opinion-heads) of the 'liberal' media tend to be more straight-forward, while Foxes regular newscasters are practically mini-pundits themselves. I'm talking about Fox cable programming, not their local affiliates of course.

Fox, also, seems to make far many more outlandish claims - for instance, the whole completely ridiculous claim that the Muppets movie was some evil liberal conspiracy to brainwash kids against oil executives. Seriously, can't get much more Orwellian than that.

But, I understand where you are coming from.... the flip-side would be like silly people who whine about 'liberal' NPR radio. I suppose you could call it liberal if you consider 90% of their programming being arts and humanities as 'liberal agenda' and not just simply apolitical.

This isn't the first time I've heard of part of the 1% bilking the government out of money meant for the poor of the 99%. I'm sure it won't be the last time either. If we could release all the pot heads from jail and fill their cells with the likes of these people, our country would be a better place.

true republicans don't collect welfare

I wish you would tell my relatives that. In fact, if we could take away the welfare from all the "true republicans," they would starve to such an extent that we would be a one party system. It would also create a new 'shovel ready' job: grave digger.

Do NOT use his website form to spam email him!

[DO NOT Replace(dot) with . or you will paste a good Internet address...]

(dot)perfectpatients(dot)com/default.aspx?siteid=2255&siteName=Seward+Park+Chiropractic+Center&docName=Dr%2E+David+Silverstein&docEmail=sewardparkchiro@yahoo.com&action=contact

Do Not use Yelp to write negative things about him!

yelp(dot)com/biz/silverstein-david-m-seattle

He is an innocent Jewish man.

www(dot)sewardparkchiropractic(dot)com/doctor/chiropractor/3L/seattle-chiropractor/dr-david-silverstein.htm

Give him time to clear his good name!

They just checked the wrong box on the form. They made a simple mistake. I am sure they thought they were signing up to help the needy.

anon - new users can't use the link capability. established users can post links no problem.

LMarcT - If our government managed and audited this program, they could afford it. Unfortunately, for a very long time it has spiraled out of control under the leadership of both Demo-rats and Republi-cants. Everyone, yourself included spends so much time playing the blame game that nothing is or will be accomplished. Airplanes flew into buildings 10 years ago, so Bush dedicated money to homeland security. What a crazy idea that was. As some of us remember Pearl Harbor day, I'm waiting for someone to blame FDR. I did not vote for Obama, yet I stood behind him because I believe that is what Americans should do. Stand behind the the President. However, I can no longer do so. Just yesterday he made a speech about demanding that Foreign Governments support gay rights. He needs to clean his house before he starts that BS elsewhere. Our country is spinning out of control. I do agree with your statement "It's about time we put some focus to clamp down on this crap and get some integrity into what were well intended support systems". Unfortunately, too much focus and money is being spent on politcal speeches for next years election, than trying to get to the root of our problems. Check this out: In 2010, researches believe approximately $4 Billion was spent on the midterm election..... The population is 310 million. That is a TON of money spent that could be better utilized. Mind you, it's very important that our candidates get out to address the issues, but 4 billion. Oh well, this all goes on blind eyes and deaf ears. But don't be mistaken to think that I'm not going to do my part and vote. It certainly will NOT be for Obama, he needs to step down and move on.

The other half of this story is the incompetent govt bureaucrats that couldnt be bothered to check that somebody was claiming to be living at their office or is getting the passport stamped for all kinds of countries.

Ok, I need to set a lot of you straight because you half read and know less than you think you do. The cash this woman received (for the most part) was through scamming s.s. All of you people who think you can get all types of big cash from welfare (even with 2-3 children) is hardly nothing at all. Maybe some transportation money and a utility bill, although the way these people were living I doubt it would even go that far for them.

You can't make a career out of welfare! You can't get more than a few hundred dollars a month, and you can only collect a check for a maximum of 5 years (60 months)! Keep in mind that they were scamming several agencies, but if you actually pay attention to the article or even do the minimum of research on these programs and benefits you would know that whatever welfare check she received was the smallest portion of everything combined. I'm in no way defending any of their actions, I'm just trying to clarify something about the welfare system that most people don't understand. Really! Welfare reform happened back in the latter half of the 90's and people's claims about the recipients are just so far off from reality. Now as for these other agencies, where they received the bulk of their benefits, those agencies aren't part of the welfare system. The state welfare programs only encompass a monthly check (for 60 months max, consecutive or accumulative), food stamps, health care, and child care assistance. And the requirements for qualification differ with all of those, as well as the amounts. The bulk of what benefits these people scammed came from agencies outside of the welfare system.

I just wish people could be more informed on the agencies they like to demonize, or are convinced to demonize by politicians who are too motivated by money and power to be concerned with backing up their rhetoric with easily verifiable facts.

Or, peanut, the flip side is that budgets have been cut to the bone and the agencies no longer (if they ever did) have the resources to dedicate to tracking down the details of every single claim (yes, every single one, or how else can you be sure to find the frauds?) and are forced to largely rely on random claim checking (where frauds can fall through the crack) and trusting people to mostly be honest. Oversight is very expensive. Either fully fund these agencies and/or oversight agencies or accept that these frauds will continue to happen because there will always be dishonest and downright criminal individuals out there ready to take what isn't theirs. They are the criminals. They need to be dealt with. If our fellow citizens could be trusted, this country would be in much better shape than it is in so many ways.

Death to all trolls

10tacle.........just what is so liberal about CNN? Ever watch Jack Cafferty? I've seen him blast Obama and the DEMs on more than one occassion. With people like you, there is no in between, no middle, if it's not all the Fox way, then it must be the liberal, marxist, communist way. Bullcrap! When Fox continually panders to the likes of Coulter, Palin, Trump, Beck, Gingrich, etc., there is no way you can legitimately call it even handed. I've watched many discussions on CNN which included both a DEM and GOPer, or a liberal and a conservative, to discuss the issues. Now often does Fox do that? Of course, CNN hasn't accussed the Muppets of brain washing our children, so I guess that does make them suspect, right?

Astonishing. Laughing and living it up while watching the poor demonized on a daily basis for needing assistance.

Brain Candy "You can't make a career out of welfare! You can't get more than a few hundred dollars a month, and you can only collect a check for a maximum of 5 years (60 months)! Keep in mind that they were scamming several agencies"

"whatever welfare check she received was the smallest portion of everything combined."

"Welfare reform happened back in the latter half of the 90's and people's claims about the recipients are just so far off from reality. Now as for these other agencies, where they received the bulk of their benefits, those agencies aren't part of the welfare system."

"The bulk of what benefits these people scammed came from agencies outside of the welfare system."

I think, you Brain Candy...are the one missing the point, even though you spelled it all out.

They were scamming ALL THE SYSTEMS, yes...welfare included...but simply because the rest of the agencies werent TECHNICALLY called welfare, doesnt make them NON-GOVT agencies.

It's still our tax dollars, and thats all the matters.

And frankly, having MULTIPLE AGENCIES is what allows the abuse and loafing to occur. I suspect, these agencies dont talk to each other...and actually encourage the folks living on welfare to go to another agency when their time expires at another one.

I have friends who work for DHS...they tell endless horror stories about lifers of the system calling, demanding their "raise in their paycheck" because they had another kid...or complain to them because their electric bill didnt get paid BY THE GOV (not by them) and how dare they not pay their electric.

Yes, you only get X amount...but if you work it right, every single year you're maxing those amounts out...

Most of us couldnt live that kind of life - not just from the morality aspect of it...but from the sheer REALITY of it. No, it isnt a TON of money...but it's just enough that people are content, and if you sell your food stamps for cash...you can get whatever you want, including drugs.

I also know a few people who work as mail carriers...and always comment on facebook about the poverty housing stinking like pot the first week of the month, after everyone has gotten their checks.

It's not coincidence, it's reality.

And pretending a few reforms fixed all the problems is the height of ignorance, but I suppose that can be bliss.

I'd rather pay double into the system to root out the fraud and abuse, and get it to the point where it TRULY IS A STEPPING STONE FOR THOSE WHO ARE DOWN ON THEIR LUCK...not a place to permanently rest ones lazy arse...

We live in the most technologically advanced age ever...and we cant get agencies to communiciate and share info? We cant figure out who the lifers and scammers are?

It's not a matter of we cant...it's a matter of WE DONT. We, too...are apparently just as lazy and unmotivated as the people on the system we deride. So, we'll continue to reap what we sow...

In Wisconsin, if someone is on housing assistance, an inspector comes PRIOR to move in to inspect the unit. I am a property manager and have managed low income properties during my career. The housing case manager has paperwork for the landlord to complete. The residence is inspected at least annually by the inspector. Apparently in this case, the inspections never took place? Had they inspected, this blatent abuse of the system would never have occurred. For those of you who claim that lifers on the system don't exist, you are mistaken. As a property manager, I have seen generations of people on housing. GENERATIONS. As long as you can continue to irresponsibly reproduce, grandma, mom, grand-daughter, great granddaugher, etc. can continue to collect, living off of one another's check.

Shuklack

Question txmom, who actually cries foul over cracking down on waste and corruption in our public assistance programs? Who? Even the most lefty liberal would agree that reforms are needed within those systems. They might advocate maintaining a fair level of humane compassion when doing so, but they wouldn't cry foul to proper reforms.

Progressives do and very many on newsvine....they scream and shout how those in need already suffer, which I agree many in need absolutely suffer, but suggest or support a politician who wishes to root out corruption, waste or theft of services as legislation then you are painted with a broad brush as a greedy bastard. Liberals may well agree that reforms need to be undertaken. As a conservative I advocate maintaining a fair level of human compassion with regard to reform but then terms like fair and compassion are subjective.

Now how compelling is this story? Just look at the comments and you can see the nation divide right before your eyes. What if we could adequately divide the country like NoCal and SoCal were considering doing at one time, but now just do it along partisan lines. One side of the country belong to the MSNBC crowd and the other to the Fox News crowd and see how effective each nation would be. Since each side would be composed of like minds I wonder if both sides would flourish do to an impressive amount of cooperation from its citizens? As it stands now all we have is a curious amount of continual infighting and maybe this is done to distract the masses. Think about it, why don't you ever see a president, regardless of political affiliation (but for this example say he is a democrat), and simply say to the people of the U.S. that the republicans in the congress and senate are holding us up, stopping us from making progress so the country can move in a positive direction. Therefore what I need you the people of this great country to do in order to stop this government inertia and political infighting is to vote for all democrats your upcoming state elections. That way we will gain control of the Congress and Senate and get some legislation passed and get this country moving. I don't ever remember seeing G.W. Bush come on TV and say to the American people that he needed everyone to vote republican in their state elections so the republicans will gain control of the Congress and Senate. Why would they not publicly push for that unless they always wanted to have that built in excuse that this party or that party is stopping the country from moving forward and getting things done. It always seems to come down to money and when some one says something isn't about the money, it's about one thing, the money.

Me, too, Okiegirl12! The past ten days, my son and I have had $5 - plus everything we cleaned out of our piggy banks over the weekend to get by on. Since I'm employed full-time (which I'm extremely thankful for), there's no help available in times like now. There won't be much of a Christmas but we'll be thankful for what we do have. My son's dad died 18 months ago so there's no child support or social security. I'm also supplementing my oldest son who's a disabled Iraq veteran since the govt. and VA have been holding out on his benefits since he returned in 2005. We're still waiting for his turn with the appeals process which can take YEARS. And these scumbags have the audicity to accept WELFARE while traveling the world???!!

I hate to disagree with you IRESPOND this is only a very very small problem with the welfare system. The real problem is people that get on the system, and then realise that if they dont do anything more than halfway attempt to improve their situation but continue to play the pitiful me / its my enviroment / the man is holding me down card, then they can stay on the system forever. of course they arent traveling to the far reaches of the world on lavish vacations and relaxing on the beach, but I am sure knowing that the goverment is going to keep you fed, your medical issue handled, roof over your head, why would you need to travel and relax on the beach...Having all your needs met by the welfare system seems pretty relaxing to me.

Okiegirl12: There is something wrong...it's called welfare fraud! These people have stolen from the American people & the US Government. There are people that actually need assistance, particularly in this economy. I've been out of work a year but due to a small pension from my former company, I would not qualify for welfare, even thought after my mortgage and utilities and insurance and car payment (yes, I need to keep a car to look for a job) I don't have any money left over for food or healthcare. So I do understand that there are people that need federal assistance. These people are complete scum as they have stolen from people that truly need assistance and their story plays right into the hands of people and government representatives that want to reduce or end federal safety nets.

Makemyday, working full time does not necessarily disqualify you from assistance. Depending on your income and your housing/utility costs, you may be eligible for SNAP, the nutrition assistance assistance program formerly known as food stamps. Your younger son may be eligible for Social Security if his father is deceased. You need to do some investigating, and more importantly, apply. The formula for SNAP is tricky, and you may be incorrect in assuming you are not eligible. If your older son is disabled, he may also be eligible for SNAP, and if he lives with you, his disability may help your household qualify.

If you are embarrassed, you are not alone. Many, many people who never ever had to ask for help are now in the same position as you are, some of them in the 60's, 70's and older. You owe it to your sons to be a bulldog on these issues. I have two disabled children, and missed out on much-needed medical assistance and Social Security Disability my daughter's entire childhood because I didn't know any better, and the one time I applied for any help through the state, I was told she did not qualify. It was over a decade later that I found out that everyone is denied the first time around, and that persistance is the key.

As far as the couple in the story, they are disgusting and they are criminals. I hope they are prosecuted and put in jail, and their story is posted in every assistance office in the country. It is tough enough for the people who really do need help. Fraud hurts taxpayers, but it also hurts the honest people who would never lie to get assistance.

Thanks, POed in AZ, for the info. One of my 'excuses' for not looking into programs which could help is due to the lack of transportation. Although our town has a decent public transportation system, it still takes a lot a time waiting, transferring, etc., when trying to get around. I work full-time the same hours most of these offices are open. Although I've built up a LOT of unused vacation time, we are short staffed at my job so it usually means coming back to an enormous workload with ridiculous deadlines. Again, I'm thankful for my job and benefits! I will check into SNAP but would imagine my income will disqualify me. We live in a very small apt. but it's clean and a great landlord. It seems almost impossible to get ahead or even break even. But, I can honestly say despite our setbacks, we have it better than many others who have lost their homes, jobs, etc. My oldest son has a car we use occasionally but it's on it's last leg with nearly 200,000 miles on it. There's no TV here but we obviously have internet so we get by. Again, I really appreciate your message!

Even though I don't have children at home anymore I live on $12,000 a year. I can't get food stamps. Sometimes I have to get help from my church. Do you know how that makes me feel? I have cancer so I'am on disability. I don't even want my kids to know. $1,000 a month dosen't go far.

I hate to disagree with you IRESPOND this is only a very very small problem with the welfare system. The real problem is people that get on the system, and then realise that if they dont do anything more than halfway attempt to improve their situation but continue to play the pitiful me / its my enviroment / the man is holding me down card, then they can stay on the system forever. of course they arent traveling to the far reaches of the world on lavish vacations and relaxing on the beach, but I am sure knowing that the goverment is going to keep you fed, your medical issue handled, roof over your head, why would you need to travel and relax on the beach...Having all your needs met by the welfare system seems pretty relaxing to me.

What's even worse is that people who are using the welfare system the way it was intended to be used- as TEMPORARY help - get screwed. Some years back, a friend of mine who was a single mother was working part-time while she was going to school to gain the skills to get a better job so that she could get OFF welfare. She wasn't getting a huge amount of assistance to begin with - and when she was given a few more hours of work at her job, her benefits were cut way back. Yet people who are doing nothing but sitting around collecting their welfare checks get to live high on the hog.

That is the true problem Vicki. The amount of people abusing the system overwhelms the whole thing and the people who need it as a temporary help can't get it. There needs to be a full overhaul of the system and it needs to be done now.

VickiC: Most people (except for perhaps these shysters in the above article) don't live "high on the hog" while on welfare. Seriously, would you want to live on welfare?

Having said that, I'm very aware there are people who take advantage of the system because it means they don't have to work, even if they're still living at the poverty level. However, as a landlord in a working class neighborhood, I've also seen many people collect welfare temporarily while going to school to better themselves or to help feed their children (fathers not paying child support is an issue for another time). I have observed a few women who seem to have too many children that they can't take care of. It may be partly true that's because the more kids they have, the more money they get. But it's also true that the churches encourage these women to have more kids, by branding them sinners if they use birth control (or abortion). The schools are prohibited from teaching sex education, responsibility and birth control. I support teaching abstinence along with the rest. I have often wondered if people would be more responsible if welfare would help only with your first TWO children. After that, you're on your own. I know that raises a lot of issues, but as a far left liberal crazy, I believe in helping people (NOT big corporations) have a better life and I think this might help.

Someone else above suggested community service in exchange for money. Great idea. As long as we find a way to offer day care so people can attend to this. Why not offer (require?) free training in early childhood education, so some of these women can then work in free daycare centers for other women -- so they can work or look for work. How 'bout getting unions to train people on welfare to be plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters, etc. or hospitals to teach welfare recipients to be CNAs? There are so many common sense things that can be done to assist people who feel helpless and get them on track to a better life.

Clearly, this is because you don't know the tricks to the system. Which is, admittedly, a problem with the system itself. Welfare shouldn't be something where you perform arcane rituals in the dark of the moon to become eligible, nor should it be something that discourages you from working because welfare pays better.

The Feds need to check the State of Florida for Social Security Cases. Their Children are getting Social Security, Food stamps. Parents are making alot of money from their Children. They are using the system

bleeding it dry.

It's stories like this that gives everyone who gets assistance a bad name. I was on welfare for two years while I went to college. For the very little I got--$302.00 and foodstamps for my children and self (25 yrs. ago), we managed to make it. (If I had gotten my child support of $304/month, we would have been ineligible!) I got my degree, and I have been working since. (I did a 4-year degree in 2 years, that's how committed I was!) I don't hold anything against anyone who is trying to better themselves and existing on welfare at the same time. It's hard, very hard, and it's not fair to lump all in the "welfare queen" basket.

As far as travel went, I went to visit my family a couple of times a year--35 miles away. I couldn't afford the gas, and the 20-plus-year-old car wasn't reliable enough to go much further, let alone out of the state!

It's revolting to see this kind of fraud. When I got our benefits, we were investigated, visited, and put through the mill to make sure we didn't get one dime too much. It was almost too much work for the money, but we had to have it, because it was ALL we had.

I hope these charlatans do some jail time. I also hope that the people who approved their assistance are checked out for competence. It's not fair to us, who really did need and use the system for its intended purpose, to bear the burden of the corrupt.

(I just read where a mother in Texas shot her two children and then committed suicide because she couldn't get foodstamps. This was an utter act of desperation, and the system failing to work with those in need. I know there's more to this story, but what is this world coming to?)

Do NOT use his website form to spam email him!

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[DO NOT Replace(dot) with . or you will paste a good Internet address...]

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(dot)perfectpatients(dot)com/default.aspx?siteid=2255&siteName=Seward+Park+Chiropractic+Center&docName=Dr%2E+David+Silverstein&docEmail=sewardparkchiro@yahoo.com&action=contact

Do Not use Yelp to write negative things about him!

yelp(dot)com/biz/silverstein-david-m-seattle

He is an innocent Jewish man.

www(dot)sewardparkchiropractic(dot)com/doctor/chiropractor/3L/seattle-chiropractor/dr-david-silverstein.htm

Give him time to clear his good name!

They just checked the wrong box on the form. They made a simple mistake. I am sure they thought they were signing up to help the needy.

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Well now we know what low life this chiropractor is maybe Medicare/Medicaid should audit his claims to see if he is cheating there too....

Amen!

The worst example I know of, personally, is my son-in-law's grandmother. She entered the country from Brazil at about age 62 and never worked a day here. She lives with her daughter in a huge mausoleum of a house in Silicon Valley backed up to a golf course beyond their huge swimming pool. Somehow, she has been collecting what my son-in-law says is Social Security and apparently Medicare, too, virtually since the day she arrived. The house is worth in the neighborhood of $1.5 million, and part of our meager income is being transferred to that family!!! I can't believe it. How does she qualify for that? I asked my son-in-law and he shrugged and said, "We didn't make the rules, we just follow them." His family is snobbish toward us, and my own daughter now refers to me and my husband as "poor." No wonder! Someone please tell me what's going on here.

Sherrie you should report them. You can report her anonymously to the welfare department. If we want to stop these kind of abuses it is up to Americans to report abusers and criminals. Think about it, for each one of these kind of people abusing the system like that there is a person out there that truly needs the assistance but can't get it. Truly sad.

I would love to, but it's my understanding that there is some hole in the SS law that allows her to do this. I think if she enters the country with no means of support and/or is old enough, she just goes right on the dole. Our laws don't make her family responsible for her. After all, if we are handing out money right and left to illegal entrants, of course we are supporting someone who entered legally.

Sherrie,

I feel your pain. It is all around me in NYC. New immigrants just arrived with that "brand new" look on their faces using food stamps to pay for food.

Drug dealers on social security, well-dressed Russians exiting a big shiney Cadillac to enter a food pantry and come out loaded down with groceries. Go ahead, call me prejudiced. Just live in my shoes for one week in this city.

I have not always been able to buy enough food for the pay period and I just have to make due. No assistance for me and my family--we "make too much"!

Sherrie-299765,

A foreign national, even if with a green card, canNOT receive any benefits whatsoever from SS unless s/he has paid into the system. Period. There is NO "hole" in the system.

And you say she's never worked a day here? Right.....

Sounds like you're trolling to me.

Sherri's story is another one of those"my sister's best firends uncles mechanic says......". She has no idea, she has no first hand knowledge, she is depending on what someone else told her. No specifics.

This is true - at least in my extended Cuban family in Miami. I know of two who are over 62 - never worked a day - have Sec. 8/free phone/S.S. and food stamps. Live better than I do and I have worked for more than 45 years.

Somewhat Informed,

Either you are misinformed, or are harboring criminals. Again: A foreign national, even if with a green card, canNOT receive any benefits whatsoever from SS unless s/he has paid into the system. Period.

Is there some exception for Cubans the rest of us don't know about?

They could be US citizens.

US-Obama Approval: 49% Approve, 47% Disapprove (ABC/Post 12/15-18)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/19/us-obama-approval-49-appr_n_1159043.html

Where else do you think they learned the process - the illegals do it best.

Maybe if I hire a couple they will show me how to get free medical care. as it is My medical premiam is $4k a month for me and my employees. After having paid this which seems to be covering them to, I am intitled to recieve some of the benifits

When I tried to report... goverment said they can't do anything.. they are illegals

i used to live across the street from a welfare office.one day a Cadillac pulled up and the driver and i got to talking.he owned 3 fingernail salons and was getting welfare.then he proceeded to call me a fool and an idiot for not collecting welfare.i punched him in the gut.the police came and said he provoked me.then towed the guys Cadillac.never heard why

The late rap star Ole Dirty Bastard took a news crew and a limo to pick up his welfare check.

You are all full of it. I do not believe there was any conversation in front of the welfare office. Made up fiction. And Dan Pat is nothing more than the nosey neighbor that thinks they know everything. We all know them, they are the ones who see you put your trash on the curb at night and are instantly on the phone with the police telling them they think you are disposing of a body. LOL Dan, hide, the helicopters are circling!

shellie it was a light yellow Cadillac and he was Vietnamese.the welfare office was in long beach.dont remember the street anymore as it happened 10-15 years ago.your entitled to your opinion

Whenever I see a rent subsidized applicant for a home almost every single time there is a man sitting in the parked car waiting and when all the papers are signed and the furniture moved in and you go to visit or call there is the man there in the house. It is so extremely common and outright fraud that any woman claiming to be living alone with kids should have some investigation of the lies because from my observations almost ALL of them have a man they did not mention in the application process. In fact last week I had a man calling talking about how he has good income and can afford this and that but was all uptight about what he percieved as regulations the welfare rent subsidied tenant have to follow. I kept telling him none of that matters if he is not on welfare. He finally admitted nonchalantly that his girlfriend is meeting with the welfare office to get signed up for the free rent program so if she qualifies then the rules would affect their family. So right there from the beginning that couple is planning to leave his supposedly abundant income off her application so she looks destitute.

When I was receiving assistance they use to do random checks, its sad that people who dont need help are getting this kind of assistance. They were making off assistance more than some ppl do working what is up with that. Then people who truly need help get told no.....

i did speak with a manager of a disability office.she was sickened by how many people were collecting disability that didnt deserve it.her estimate was 9 out of 10 shouldnt be getting it.i told her i was on it for a month with a back injury then went back to work.she said thats the way its supposed to function.ill bet many managers care they are just limited by what they can do about it.maybe its time to up the penalties for fraud and hire some private investigators.give them a portion of the money they save the government

Here the illegals husband works and the wife claims the welfare. She gets all the benefits for her and the kids. While he brings in the tax free cash. She gets housing, medical and food stamps afdc. She just fails to claim him on the applications.

This is what Homeland Security needs to focus on instead of the Mexican border. There are thousands of these type of folk in the country who receive two years of free higher education, subsidized housing, unnecessary home attendant/health aide services food stamps, medicaid card ambulette service to go to adult day centers, etc, as soon as they arrive from European countries. They assign the home attendant to care for their grandchildren while they parade in mink coats around the neighborhood and go to the casinos. They dress like paupers when visiting the HRA office. Meanwhile retired frail elderly US citizens are denied home care services or are having their hours of service reduced due to "budget cuts." Social workers are instructing families to place their parents in a nursing home when they are unable to pick up the slack once hours are reduced. Starrett City in Brooklyn, New York in addition to other places is a breeding ground for this type of fraud which is condoned by the social services department.

people....some of these are "loop holes" ways to get around rules.... corporations do it every day....people do it on taxes every year.....heck even our great Sarah Palin used loop holes in her political career up here in Alaska.

close the holes....revamp the welfare process......and while you're at it...do the same to the tax code....time for big corporations to pay their taxes.

Yes there is a lot of fraud in the WA State welfare system, just as there is in many other state programs.

This being said,

johnQcitizen

i did speak with a manager of a disability office.she was sickened by how many people were collecting disability that didnt deserve it.her estimate was 9 out of 10 shouldnt be getting it.

Must have been a Labor & Industries official. That is one of their patented lines. (or should I say "Lies") They have been claiming that for at least the last ten years.

An intelligent person might ask what proof I have for saying this. I am an L&I pensioner in the State of Washington. So is my Wife. It took ten years for L&I to finally decide that I am 100% disabled under the law also since my wife is also in the same boat, we endured many many accusations that we were defrauding the system. after the fourth or fifth investigation, them refusing to pay the wife's benefits for over five years, they decided to pension her. Between the lawyer and the Department screwing her out of 4 years of back benefits we were forced to file bankruptcy. Fortunately, we were able to save our home.

Not everyone out there is defrauding the system, actually L&I claimant fraud rates in Washington are well below 3% where employer and provider fraud are well above 10%. so in many ways what the state is claiming is accurate, but what this illustrates is pure carelessness.

Not doing due diligence as the lawyers would say. This should not have gone on as long as it did, hell it shouldn't have happened in the first place, a simple internet check would have shown that the address of the party is on the shore of lake washington, would of took all of two minutes and should have automatically flagged the application for physical investigation.

This is pure stupidity, and is clearly the fault of the Government.

It's actually $11k PER COUNT. The government being what it is, they will find charges. Sad part is that this could bankrupt these people, and they would end up on welfare anyway. Stupid.

You don't need welfare in Jail!

This is an example of a blatant disrespect for the law.

There are millions of people who need help, but because of people like this, there aren't enought monies to go around.

It costs more to put them in jail than wefare would give them. Prisons are one of America's last big industries.

Why would you have to "jump through hoops" to get Unemployment benefits? You are either eligible or you are not. It's just that simple.

Exactly, where was the social services worker when this went on? One drive past the house and only an idiot would conclude that this was Section 8 housing.

Well put common man. We aren't getting our moneys worth, we are getting our money stolen.

What What What? You guys WANT public employees now? Make up your minds. Just yesterday you were all belly aching over all the overpaid useless government employees. And what's with this sudden love affair with regulation and oversight? I thought you guys wanted smaller government and deregulation so business could shed their "uncertainty" and start hiring again. You guys flop more than a fish on land.

No chance at prison because they are wealthy and white. But at least the government can hit them with massive fines.

Wealthy and white equals no prison? Oh for crying out loud. There are plenty of wealthy and white, not to mention famous, folks that have been locked up for one reason or another.

formerstew are you saying the prison population is equal in percentage to the regular population? because if you think that you are very misinformed? I don't know the actual numbers but its something like 80-90% people of color in jail and that is no where near the population in general...So I think they had a point and I agree that if it was a black woman it would be national news and would probably even be brought up in the GOP presidential debate...

Yawn! Irrelevant statistic you just made up on the spur of the moment, signifying nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Next.

Sw philly... wher did you get that statistic?. Number of minorities in prison is around 60% and do you know why they are in prison? Because they commited some kind of a crime...imagine that! Of course prison population is not equal in percentage to general population (race,ethnicity etc.) That statistic tells you that minorities tend to commit more crimes.That is all there is to it.Please dont make it black and white issue.

Although black Americans only make up 12.5% of the US population they make up 48.2% of the population in federal, state, and local jails. According to the 1998 national survey on drug abuse 72% of users were white and 15% were black, despite this black people were arrested at a higher rate than whites.

Yes the justice system is racist. Stop trying to write it off.

Try actually reading the drug laws and about the three strike rule and you will have your answer as to why the prison population is so skewed on way. tigntink, you are correct.

Martha Stewert (wealthy and white)was thrown in jail for something congress and soros do all the time

They can fine you and jail you for lying on the app and they do it all the time ,plus once you are caught you can never apply for benifits again....They have a system and it works look it worked here they were caught so stop with all your right wing fantasies that they will end social programs....The greedy rights dream of all dreams to never help poor people and allow people without means and stuck to just wither and die....The GOP is a greedy corrupt self serving disgusting evil right next to the devil organization.........GOOD SAMARITANS THEY ARE NOT.... You righties need to stop thumping your bibles and try reading the new testament and you will find that nothing you stand for has anything to do with Jesus...UUUGggghhhhh.....

I think they should have ALL their assets confiscated! and really? only republicans steal?

i'm appauled at their behavior regardless of political affiliation.

Not under a bridge! Then they would demand a quarter from everyone who crossed over it. Put them out at the end of a major airport runway.

I agree , the government should confiscate the home, his "office" and sell them at what they had received and the fines as well as his Jauguar. I also think they should do that in every case of fraudulent claims including those doctors and clinics who commit fraud on Medicare by double and triple billing. Freeze every account put a lien on all property whether its a corporation or an individual. As an old gentleman once told me as I was trying to sell him some life insurance, he said he didn't want to leave anybody anything, he wanted them to scuffle like he did. I would then take the kids and put them in foster care and add that to their bill. This is not only a crime against the government, it is a crime against every family or person who truly needs help.

You are being dishonest. If those were your only assets you would be eligible for over $800 a month in food stamps as well as many other programs. The only way you could be ineligible on that income for a family of six is if you have substantial assets such as a large bank account balance.

Yet you find the money to pay for internet. Not exactly believable.

The cynicism here is thick and dead ends reason.

Public libraries have well used computers. People have friends who let them use their computer.

Angie - If what you say is the real deal, then someone, somewhere, dropped the ball. Even if you only supported yourself, $1,100.00 a month is considered a poverty level salary. Supporting a family of 6? That would mean the poverty level has a poverty level. There must be some other reason you are being denied assistance.

Angie I feel bad for you in the situation you are in. An awful lot of folks find themselves in a similar situation these days I fear. I am a retired social worker for the State of Vermont's Economic Services Dept. (TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid etc.) The problem you are having may be because of the options that your state chose to participate in the federal programs. Most people dont know it but the federal assistance programs are NOT one size fits all mandates from Washington. The feds allow a carte blanche of "menu options" for states to chose from for the TANF Food Stamp and Medicaid programs. Some states are more liberal in the options they chose and some are more restrictive. It sounds like where you are is one of the more restrictive states. Vermont to its credit has a more liberal (this is NOT a dirty word people) list of options for our federal programs. And I saw how this helped hundreds of people in my caseload over the 20 plus years I worked for the Department. One in particular was a woman who came on assistance when her job ended at a state run institution for mentally challenged people that was in the process of closing and downsized her out of a job. She used the TANF FS AND Medicaid programs to support herself while she went to college, got an RN degree and for the last 20 years has worked in that field. She is but one example of the good things that can happen when a welfare system is run as a hand up and not a handout to people who have had the rug yanked out from under their lives. I wont deny that there are cheaters and neerdowells on assistance and I saw those people too over the years, but in my experience the people who abused welfare fell into about 3% of the people on assistance. The other 97% were interested in improving their lives to the best of their abilities. For some like the lady above that meant an RN degree, for others it might have meant getting a GED or finishing a High School diploma. Anyway dont give up Angie, find out what the rules are for your particular state and become familiar with them so you can advocate for yourself, or connect with a local community action agency and have them help you to sort through this!

Angie, I hate welfare fraud as much as you do. With all due respect, if you are not skilled enough to make a big paycheck, why do you have so many people in your family? A married couple and four kids is my assumption (I could be wrong) from your post. I had one child because that is all I could afford to provide for. If you had four "accidents", please call me so I can tell you where the babies keep coming from.

I deal with tenants every day and that women with 5 kids had a man involved somewheres. The claim is "poor me my man done left and I can't even feed the kids". Usually coming from a very well fed woman. I sound cynical but time and time again I see these welfare cases lining up to move in their free rent housing and suddenly the man shows up to move the furniture in and big surprise when you visit or call guess who is always there? Yes the man who supposedly doesn't exist.

And its been going on a long time. I knew a couple in 1970 exactly like that. He had a reasonably good job, but all his money went to pay for the brand new Cadillac he bought every couple of years.

They got divorced so she could collect welfare on her and their 4 kids.

And before anyone starts down the race path, they were not "minorities."

Social Services showed up the same day every month, so they threw his cloths in the car the night before the visit and brought them back in the night of the visit.

"Thar's gold in them thar programs" if you know how to play the game and scam the system.

Unfortunately the people that do this feel they are "entitled" to llive off everyone elses money and will be the first in line at the ballot box to make sure the politician that promises them the most gets elected or re-elected.

James you think it is the republicans doing the handouts??? Welfare is a democrat program that they use to purchase the votes of the entitlement users.

Republicans have to work to pay for all the entitlement programs handed out by the dems.

You need to take a look at who supports these programs before you spout your liberal propaganda.

Well then Deb I guess Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana and all the other Southern states, which incidentally are red states yet they are also the biggest welfare states, are filled with democrats. My, what a coincidence that the reddest of red states are indeed the biggest welfare states. th

Advice to you Deb, before you tell others what they need to do, you might want to actually know a little bit about what you talk about. It's helps to lessen the chance of making a fool of yourself.

Shellie....

Not according to CNBC

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31910310/The_Biggest_US_Welfare_States

#5 Vermont...

#4 Massachusetts

#3 Tennessee

#2 Maine

#1 California (Is anyone surprised by this one?)

ekk Shellie...seems all of these are the list are pretty blue with the exception of Tennessee which seems more purple..

Advice to you Deb Shellie, before you tell others what they need to do, you might want to actually know a little bit about what you talk about. It's helps to lessen the chance of making a fool of yourself.

So you resent government programs that offer charity to those in need simply because unscrupulous people try to game the system? Or is it merely the lazy, white trash, men. And what about the wealthy couple in the article? Guess it was OK for them to do it since they were wealthy and gainfully employed.

"D" does have a "Man" in the picture. Her ex husband who hasn't paid her a dime of child support for over 5 years, but has full rights to see the kids and occasionally stalks her as well. She doesn't have a boyfriend and currently works 2 jobs (one part time, for a total of 12 hours a day), and has to care for her kids when she isn't working.

Nice to see you are all so kind with your opinion of her. Frankly I think she's a better person than any of you. As for me, I'll let GOD be the judge. At least I don't resent people who are poorer than me just because they once in a while actually get a little help. I resent wealthy and privileged people who spit on them, and call them worthless, because NO ONE has the right to do that.

You turned her in to the authorities of course......no because you didn't want to be a rat or didn't want to get involved ..... but you are happy to complain about it. Turn in a welfare cheat today.....there will be few of them tomorrow and the people who really need it will thank you.

TURN IN ALL WELFARE CHEATS!!!!!!!!!! If you know of people abusing the system...turn them in!! Then welfare will be for the ones that truly need assistance....

Amen!

I think part of the problem is that when someone is in fact "turned in" to the welfare system, the people running the system try to avoid dealing with it, because that would mean they would have to get off their dead butts and go out and look around and do something, instead of rubber stamping forms. So not much would change. Pretty lame, but that's the way things work these days.

Several years ago, my car was rear-ended by a car full of obviously illegal alien young men. [Don't start on me for how I knew--it was obvious, and anyone that lives where there are large illegal populations will know that it is obvious. No English, junk car, no insurance, dressed like they were still on a farm south of the border, etc.] Their car was not even in good enough shape to be legal to drive. They immediately fled the scene, but I got their license plate number. My daughter went across the street and had to argue with the police who were eating at a fast-food place to get them to come over and take the license number. They absolutely didn't want to file a report and kept saying that I "wouldn't get anything" because the car was registered to a woman whom they told me would not be insured and "didn't have anything to get." I insisted on the report--for my insurance, which of course is high because of so many uninsured drivers in CA--and never heard another word about the hit-and-run with substantial property damage. The same mentality exists throughout the agencies that should be ridding us of these deadbeats. My question is, what can we really do to change this situation? We are being used at every turn, and our politicians don't care, Republican and Democrat alike.

I call BS Sherri. Try a writing class. Maybe you will lean how to make BS believable.

Shellie, I assume you were not at Sherri's accident scene. Who do you think you are to call her a liar? You are nothing but a bigmouth hiding behind a computer monitor. Fleet makes a great enema that will get rid of that backup of toxic waste that is causing you to have such an attitude.

fail insults... and the republicans only want the rich to receive welfare.

Funny how the truth get blocked

Carl, it makes no sense to tie this to Obama, especially since they were scamming the system more than half of this time during the Bush years. No one thinks people like this were entitled to this entitlement. They were simply shameless, greedy thieves.

and you are going to employ how many welfare investigators to police those restrictions?????? I can just see them in the "Clubs" trolling for welfare recipients now.

If you know someone who is cheating on welfare (most of which is administered by the States) go to the authorities and turn them in, you know some one who is cheating on their taxes turn them in.....or stop complaining about it......you have the power to make change if you want to use it most places have welfare cheat hot lines......or are you just repeating the Right Wing Norquist Rove line that everyone who is receiving "welfare" are just living off the Government teat?????? When was the last time you saw someone buy beer with Food Stamps?????

But if you have cancer like myself you are sick all the time and weak from chemo and radiation treatments. Even when I do have a good day you really think anyone wants me around working.

You can't get booze or cigerettes with food stamps.

Are you just ranting or do you actually know what the program involves?

In the "club" all the time? Who are you talking about? What episode of THE WIRE are you writing?

They sell the debit cards. There was just a big investigation on people buying the card for cents on the dollar. The original debit card owner walks with less cash but now has cash money to buy whatever they want whether it is smokes, booze or hookers.

Don't want smokes or booze. But send the hookers! LOL!

Freda you must not live in a city where a lot of the recipients aren't in club all the time, living in a nice apt, driving a new car, talking on smart phones, and wearing designer clothes. A lot of us posting see that DAILY.

no impatient, you THINK you see that daily. You have no clue about what you are SEEING. You ASSUME you know. Unless you are living with these people, monitoring their every move you do not KNOW anything! You assume.

P.S. My sister is on vaction right now. I have her car while she is gone. It is a brand spanking new fully loaded BMW Convertible (MY car is a Toyota) . I bet you money everyone who sees me diving it ASSUMES it's my car.

I totally agree with you, they were not able to do all that finagling alone, I know many people that are in need of assistance and they are not able to get help, they just happened to have made 19 cents over the monthly requirement!

Many of my friends make 19 cents over the monthly requirement. What is going on with the 19 cents thing?

T Bo -- that's pretty funny! Perhaps you're aware of a creep named Donald Trump, he of the bad hair? He's NOT a democrat; in fact he briefly was running for president of the united states as a republican. He has filed for bankruptcy more than anyone you've ever heard of. Doesn't pay his bills or his taxes.

Donald Trump bankrupt? Not a chance! With all of that real estate he owns, there's no way he is bankrupt in any way shape or form. The only reason he files Chapter 11 is to protect his assets while he refinances his real estate loans.

Actually. The Donald has screwed lots of people with his bankruptcy filings. he's not very good at managing his finances.

For legendary tycoons, Donald Trump tops the list, but how many times has Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy? The 90’s recession wasn’t picky about who it affected. Donald Trump felt the pinch as well. His decision to use high interest bonds to finance the assembly of the Taj Mahal casino caused life to get very stressful for the tycoon.

In 1991, unable to pay a $3.5 billion loan, he declared business bankruptcy. He also came close to filing personal ruin. At the time, his personal debt was estimated to be around $900 million. Due to the bankruptcy, banks and bondholders lost millions. They came to a compromise with Donald Trump. The banks gave him lower interest rates and a longer time frame to repay the debt and Donald Trump gave the investors half the ownership of the Taj Mahal.

Not even a year later, Trump Plaza Hotel folded and Donald had to declare bankruptcy. Again, he worked out a deal where he’d give up 49 percent of the hotel to Citibank and the other lenders and he’d get more time to pay the loan back. It took him two years to repay most of his debt with many sacrifices. He had to give up the Trump Shuttle.

The bankruptcy saga didn’t stop there. In 2004, Donald filed for bankruptcy protection and restructured his debt. He reduced his ownership of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts to 27 percent and gave bondholders stocks to help lower his debt and then stepped down as CEO. In 2005, things settled down and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts came out of bankruptcy with a new name, Trump Entertainment Resort Holdings.

Unfortunately the reemergence didn’t last long. On February 17th 2009, Donald Trump filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a debt ratio of $50 million in assets to his $500 million in debt. This filing made the third bankruptcy for Trump Enterprises.

and the rest that truely need help......well they can just die.....thanks seamus221. Point the Finger who should loose their benefits that granny with no children, that vet with no leg, that child with no clue????? who who who stop making general statements POINT THE FINGER!!!!!

Catch the cheats, turn in cheats and dodgers, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater because some abuse the system......if that was the case you would have to dump most politicans too.....they are the extreme abusers of the system.

A good friend of that "pillar of the community" Bernie Madoff, right?

And when you're parents get to the [point that they need something cause they cant afford it you'd have to pay out of yoiur pocket too, Or is it youre as greedy as such you'd just let them die? I would tend to believe the later with your comment.

By this backwards logic we should get rid of the military because a few soldiers tortured prisoners.

By extension, if there were no banks, they couldn't be robbed. Hey, you right wing ideologues DO have some good ideas. You just came up with a total solution to end bank robbery. Impressive deployment of human perspicaciousness and deductive reasoning. Brilliant, really.

You must be with the government.

The whole thing is symptomatic of the "me first, screw the poor" attitude that is prevalent among the 1% of all parties.

The scary part of this story was that Homeland Security knew every trip they took. We have become a police state when all travel is monitored. Hell, everything is monitored. Phone calls, texts, e-mails, travel. you name it. Big brother is watching, always.

doesnt matter who they voted, doesnt matter if they voted, what matters is the inadaquate, functioning of the office, that approved this ridiculous, matter, and off course we are talking about non native Americans again, who did the back ground check, who inputted the social security numbers, who called and confirmed the stories, they might need to look in this side of the issue,

sell house, sell car, force liquidation of mutual funds, sell retirement, give to St JUDES HOSPITAL< and then MAKE THEM LIVE THE LIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If it was a Hispanic or Muslim we would have devoured their whole community. Blamed each one of their KIND as leeches as we are on moral high grounds as Zionists are our friends living off of OUR 25 % of total foreign aid to small ONE country Israel , where part of that money is used on industrial espionage on our US based companies and then they come out with cutting edge technologies that we pay for to acquire based on the astrnomically priced basic reseach that was done here and then stolen .

So what Silverstein did pales in comparison

And, when you happen to be the US company who "buys" that Israeli company, it's like pulling teeth to get them to give you what you've bought. I've never seen so much stonewalling. And, yet they get away with this, too.