Prolly not the rich, just college students who spent all their food money on beer.

Who cares about the fine? THIS is the scary part:

The state issued more than $172 million in coupons to recipients who were not entitled to them and did not give $79.5 million to others who were entitled, Bost said.

Ra ra beaurocracy.

Entitlement programs in CA are horrendously complicated. When I was with Andersen Consulting we did their automated welfare claims processing system for Merced County--I'm surprised the error rate was that low.

They should fine all the rich people that used them.

Hey, why should the rich be punished?? They need to eat too!

I think someone skewed robin hood's code

I don't think the rich used them, so they wouldn't cost the state more than their printing. I mean, most wealthy people wouldn't be caught dead with food stamps. It just wouldn't be worth the embarrassment, for them.

Well, it doesn't say they went to the 'rich', specifically. They went to the 'not poor'. I sure as hell ain't rich, but I also don't qualify for food stamps either.

Can you spend food stamps on beer, or does it have to be on 'food' as the name 'food stamp' implies?

Error rate of what? The *average* error rate is *what*? Man those government jobs are just as sweet as everyone says they are.

Side note, food stamps are a good idea gone bad. I used to work in a small grocery, there were quite a few locals that used food stamps (and didn't need them, my opinion). But the lengths some people went to to cheat the system were amazing. 2 good examples:

1. Food stamps are for just that -- food. Not newspaper, motor oil, and in particular, cigarettes. So it would be busy, and this lady would bring up a huge cart of stuff. After it was all rung up she'd whip out the foodstamps. There's no way I was going to go and ring everything back up again, so she'd get away with it.

2. Food stamps were issued in 1 dollar increments. If someone paid for an item with food stamps, all the change under a dollar would be returned to them in coins. Cheapest item we had were fireballs. Lady would buy 1 with food stamps, get 95 cents change. Then buy another, 95 cents change. Repeat ad nauseum.

It's not hard to imagine why people using foodstamps have such a stigma against them.

Food stamps are a pittance and you have to be VERY bad off to get them. Welfare, where it does exist, is hardly enough to live on either. Those who complain about these MEAGER entitlements should check the welfare benefits in their area.

Reagan lied about a "welfare queen" decades ago and her legend lives on...

They should take a look at New York too.

I wonder if Old Dirty Bastard is still on welfare/getting food stamps...

bigfatbuddhist: Actually, food stamps are very lucrative in some areas. I used to take my trashy welfare hoe aunt grocery shopping. She would fill 3 carts with the most expensive items and still have plenty left over. She made sure she always had a child under 5 so she got the max without having to work at all. It's pretty sick. These people ate far better than those of us who were paying for it for her.

stressed,

My wife had to get a month's worth of food stamps after her paycheck was stolen. She got around thirty five dollars for a month.

And, outside of AFDC, I have yet to live in an area with welfare payments. It's just not that prevalent. And, the free medical care is difficult or impossible to get.

We don't have much of a safety net in this culture. With a stroke of a pen, a wealthy person can take more from the coffers of our government than a thousand "welfare queens"...

I love entitlement.. now if I can only figure a way to be entitled to millions, I'd be much happier

bigfatbuddhist: I know it is probably a lot harder in some areas. This was in Arkansas. I also had to have help for a short time (I was pregnant and forced on bedrest, already had a 2 year old, and my husband kicked me out). The medical I got was terrific and the foodstamps were more than enough. But, it was VERY temporary. I know there (Arkansas) at least, it really does pay. But, they don't have a cash welfare either.

mamma,

My examples were from Lubbock, Tx. You'd think that, if you had to live in a place like Lubbock, the benefits would be better just to make up for that...

buddhist: :) I actually love (and miss terribly) any place southern. Anywhere in Texas sounds wonderful to me right now. I married a wonderful man in the Air Force and we are in Alaska now. :(

Ah, I was a military brat for the first thirteen years of my life. It takes a bit of getting used to, but you sure get to see a lot of different parts of the country. It took awhile to get out of the habit of moving once every two and a half years...

It is definately interesting. It is 5AM and very bright daylight right now. I have enjoyed our conversation. I am going to rest a bit before time to get my Hubby up. :) (I am a terrible insomniac) Have a wonderful day!!!! :)

Your headline writer missed the point by a mile. The folks getting the food stamps incorrectly are usually Mexicans living in California. Since many Mexicans do not have any documentation to show that they are in California legally, in theory they shouldn't get food stamps. In fact, they do.

I work in the grocery business in Arizona and it sickens me to see what these people can buy with their food stamps...

When I was a cashier, some guy buy $80 worth of frickin' lobster! My broke ass was stuck eating ramen or frozen dinners, yet this sum-a-ma-biatch could use his food stamps for lobster! Then there are the food stamp cash benefits... they can be used on anything. They can buy alcohol, cigarettes, anything. They're supposed to be used for stuff like soap, toilet paper, or other things that can't be bought with food stamps, but it's heavily abused. These farkers can even get cash back to go buy their drugs with. Plus they (for the most part) don't have to pay a single cent for their prescriptions!

/bitter about people getting MY money

My Farking Tax Dollars! AAAAAAAGH!

Thats what you get when you decide that the government should have its fingers in everything. My God I moved to CA from Texas and I've never seen more people looking to pawn off their troubles on the government.

Isn't giving food stamps to the rich kind of like giving a Kia Sephia to a race car diver?

/rhetorical

I used to work for GA DFACS (dept. family and child serices --AFDC and food stamps divisions) And BELIEVE ME-- there is abuse. Granted, this was 10 years ago, but people do not change that much and will find a way to abuse the system!!! One guy bought ground meat for his DOG cuz food stamps wouldn't buy dog food. Another couple of illegals only qualified their natural born son to receive the limiy o $112. Their reaction- "how do we live on only that much?" GET A JOB YOURSELF!!!!
Truly, there were some that really needed help- severely disabled girl who was battling insurance, old coupe that lived apart to get more benefits and she took the bus every day to be with him and help him as he needed nurse care and could not get it...
But for the most part, clients would often not show up for their recertification interviews and then CUSS US OUT!!
for a late check that was thier fault for not coming in to verify thier "efforts" at work.
They managed to show up lickety split even tho supposedly they had no mode of transportation...
Also, if they got FIRED from a job, benefits came rolling in. But if you quit, then no. So guess what stuff I got to read from managers of fast food places as to why Bubba and Mary Jane got fired!!!!! yech.

WIC (women, Infant, Children) is the only program I feel comfortable with. It is COUPONS for SPECIFIC items-- milk, cheese, plain non-sugared cereal, rice...the BASICS.
I find that I often buy these marked items myself because we are on a tight budget.

Lethal_Lisa: Normally I would agree with you.. But in the US the food with the highest fat-content is usually the least expensive.

Go figure.

Slim fast is dumb anyways. Cook your own healthy food. Its less expensive, its got less preservatives, tastes better, and you get the satisfaction of cooking. I mean, how difficult is it to grill veggies and chicken?

Hold on.

California might be on to something.

The Bush administration should give its big tax cut to the rich... in food stamps! That way, they won't be able to just stash it all in off-shore accounts like cash -- they'll have to SPEND it.

Maybe they found a way to make Reaganomics actually work!

/flame

That way, they won't be able to just stash it all in off-shore accounts like cash
Assuming of course that everyone who qualifies as "rich" does that. Just like everyone who eats cheese also eats babies.

Lethal_Lisa:

Look around. In this country most of the poor people are fat.

Look around. In this country most of the poor people are fat.

And this means they should be able to purchase Slim-Fast with food stamps?
No, no, no!
This means they have a crappy diet, due either to ignorance of good nutrition, or, more likely, poor self-control.

But in the US the food with the highest fat-content is usually the least expensive.

Chuck steak is both cheaper and leaner than Oreos. Trust me, obese indigents didn't get that way by eating too much chuck steak.

Lewis: Hear hear. The cause of obesity is usually ignorance, not fiscal. Of course youll get fat if you eat fast food all the time! Jeez. You need to put some moderation and balance into your diet.

I eat pretty healthy, except for the weekend pizza and wings binges I have every few months. :O~
And Chipotle. I just cant get enough of those chipotle barbacoa fajita burritos.

...

I think Im the only person left who actually likes to eat fruits and veggies :(

werkbot

The $62 million fine is chump change compared to the actual tax dollars at stake. For example, Mexican children are eligible for the school lunch programs regardless of legal status. In California about $2.5 billion in federal and state education money unrelated to food stamps or lunches is distributed to districts and schools based on their school lunch numbers. In addition, teachers who work in schools with high participation in the lunch program and food stamps get their student loans forgiven. In San Diego County alone ALL teachers with Perkins loans at over four hundred schools qualified to have their student loans forgiven during the 2002-2003 school year.

This not a rant by an isolationist, it comes from the UCDavis site: http://migration.ucdavis.edu

And these jackasses are complaining about the 20-30 million cost of an election to recall the governor. He's the bozo whose administration is screwing this up and causing these huge fines. We'll be money ahead if we ditch that f*up and the new gov fixes this problem.

The Bush administration should give its big tax cut to the rich... in food stamps! That way, they won't be able to just stash it all in off-shore accounts like cash -- they'll have to SPEND it.

But what if they just buy 300 billion fireballs and stash away the rest of the money? Think of the children!

Seriously though, most wealthy people have their money invested in America, and if money is being kept in off-shore accounts it's a sign that something is wrong, not that the people are "evil" or whatever.

Well with the QUEST cards, it's not so embarassing to use "Food Stamps."

Yes there is rampant abuse, but somehow I have the feeling that if you were stuck with a lemon of a car most people's response wouldn't be to junk it and walk everywhere.

What we need is a new car, or more specifically a new method to determine if the need is real.

RECALLGRAYDAVIS.COM...

/plug

for most of my childhood my family was on welfare. In various different states. And while I'll be the first to say there is abuse most families really don't get all that much. We used to get about $150 a month in food stamps. For a 4 person family. We'd got another $100 in other help when my baby brother was born. Which for the most part was just for diapers and such.

Anyway my point is not everyone abuses it...and for alot of people even if they were abusing the system they aren't getting all that much. (by the way the benefits my mother collected stayed about even for all the time she was on it, in AZ, NC, PA, and CA. Most of the benefits were when I was under 7 and my mother was trying to care for 2 children and still work and just couldn't make ends meet, and then when I was 12 and my mother was caring for 3 children and her "husband" had just died.)

oh and we couldn't get medical benefits in CA. But most everyone seems to qualify for foodstamps.

NathanAllen - Well with the QUEST cards, it's not so embarassing to use "Food Stamps."

Yeah, because it'd be a shame to embarrass people who aren't even responsible enough to find a way to feed themselves. Maryland does the same thing, the best part is the name: "Independence Card".

If I ran things, they'd get "Dependence Cards" which, upon being swiped at the grocery store, would activate a siren and display all the items they purchased on a large monitor so everyone who actually earns money can see what they are buying the person. If they want everyone but themselves to buy their food, they can put up with a little embarrassment. Might encourage them to start fending for themselves.

California should pay the fine with food stamps.

Another reason that Gov. Joe Davis has got to go.

Rosalea : for most of my childhood my family was on welfare. In various different states. And while I'll be the first to say there is abuse most families really don't get all that much. We used to get about $150 a month in food stamps. For a 4 person family. We'd got another $100 in other help when my baby brother was born. Which for the most part was just for diapers and such.

A couple (or woman alone) who gets pregnant on welfare should face complete elimination of benefits. If you're taking forced charity for people, it's outrageous to demand more, rather than acting responsibly.

I got one for you. And terrible as it sounds, I am involved. I had to take custody of my very young grandchild, who has some minor health problems. I work and have insurance. The child is on one of the states medical insurance for children (free) When I obtained custody, I called these folks and was told I COULD NOT remove him. That they do not go by what I make but what the parents made, regardless of the fact I have custody. I thought this was strange, until I learned that if the parents get custody back (lets hope) in the future the child would have to be without any form of insurance before he could qualify for the State insurance for children. So here I am willing to take responsiblity and put him on my insurance but can't...go figure

Sorry that is without insurance for over a year before the child can qualify for the state program...

No wonder California is about to go bankrupt. Let's nail Gray Davis to the wall!

GEAH: oh don't get me wrong I'm not saying poeple shouldn't take care of themselves. However my mother was on welfare during a 2 year period when my father walked out on us (so a single mother with 2 small children who had to drop out of school and work full time and couldn't handle paying the bills AND for daycare..)...and then was on it again for about 6 months after my father died (they got back together after 2 years, she got pregnant about 4 years after they got back together, and he dropped dead of a heart attack when she was 7 months pregnant) and she at the time was 7 months pregnant. Just because people (and you are probably one of those people) think welfare is always just charity for people who can care for themselves and don't have bad patches...well that doesn't mean you're correct.

Like I said there is abuse in the system, it does need work. But you can't just get rid of that system all together. I'm sorry, as much as it embarassed me as a child I know I probably would have starved as a kid if we hadn't had some kind of assistance. And as it was I didn't exactly eat well.

If a pair of illegal immigrants has a child on american soil, if I'm not mistaken, that kid is American right? Anyone born on american soil is American aren't they?

(And how could they prove that a child was not born in America?)

Can the parents then be deported, even though the child has the right to remain in America?

I know this is off topic, but someone mentioned illegal aliens having a kid and it made me wonder about this.