California welfare recipients withdrawing money at casinos
By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times
California welfare recipients using state-issued debit cards withdrew more than $1.8 million in taxpayer cash on casino floors between October 2009 and last month, state officials said Thursday.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order requiring welfare recipients to promise they will use cash benefits only to “meet the basic subsistence needs” of their families. The order also gave the state Department of Social Services seven days to produce a plan to reduce other types of “waste, fraud and abuse” in the welfare program.
The moves came after the Times reported Wednesday that officials at the department failed to notice for years that welfare recipients could use the state-issued cards to withdraw taxpayer cash at more than half of the tribal casinos and state-licensed poker rooms in California. The state initiated the debit card program in 2002.
An executive order requiring welfare recipients to promise they will only use the money for essential requirements?! Does the government REALLY believe that’s going to make a difference? “I promise I won’t waste the free money!” Yeah, sure. Wanna buy a bridge in Brooklyn?
I don’t have any problem with them cashing their checks at a casino. After all, they might not have a bank account, etc., where it is convenient to cash a check. Check-cashing businesses may charge goodly fees. Casinos have, AFAIK, no fee for cashing a check.
On the other hand, if they are actually gambling with money our taxes are paying them for the ‘necessities’…THEN, I have a big problem with it.
I’ve seen too many people qualify for state aid who aren’t destitute as welfare was intended. Recently a person move to SLT from Nevada and she qualified for California aid. She’s in her 20s and able to work but somehow she’s convinced our welfare system she needs help even though she’s living in a house of someone who is also receiving support. When will our state employees start checking what is the true stories before giving away our money? Is there a place to report abuse that will truely be investigated?
Until our community can offer better paying jobs for locals who need to feed their family, a lot of good honest people will be dependent on the food stamp program. Hopefully the dishonest people on the program won’t ruin things for the ones who really need the help.
Amanda, they’ve been ruining it for two generations now.
No wonder this country (state) is in a mess.
To Amanda Adams
It is not the responsiblity of the community to offer better paying jobs. It is the responsiblity of the individual to get an education, learn a trade, improve oneself so they can deserve a better paying job. In most cases I’ve seen the people don’t want any job, they want the taxpayer to support them. The attitude you are expressing supported by the government give away programs is a major contributor to our financial ruin in this state. The food stamp program and housing support programs should not be the responsiblity of the taxpayer. It should be the moral responsility of all of us through religious institutions, our own volunteership and donations.
Yeah!! What Tahoeadvocate said!
I forgot to mention in one of my earlier comments that the person who came from Nevada a received CA aide did so only after being here a week.
I also see another aide receipient who has a bumber sticker on her car which says “working is for people who haven’t figured out how to PLUNDER the government”.
These are not the people emergency aide was intended to help.