09 October 2010

California Welfare Follow Up

From the American Thinker this week, we get a similar story of UK welfare waste.  Click through to the UK Daily Mail's story on how a women from England earns roughly $65,000 a year and has never worked a day in her life.

As opined above, these programs are the true costs of our economic undoings.

California Cuts Welfare Access on Cruise Ships and at Casinos

Forgive me dear reader for the largess in posting.  Both work and personal life have kept me from my non-paying job of running the blog.  Obviously, paying the bills is quite important and that means the jobs that pay come first. 

As the title of this post shows, the LA Times published an article on Monday that state welfare recipients will no longer be able to use their debit cards to withdraw funds at popular vacation destinations, including The Strip in Vegas or on Cruise ships.  The total costs of these fraudulent uses has cost the California tax payers an estimated at $69 million.  For a state that is in a perpetual budget crisis these years, it seems like a great use of state funds for those whom are supposed to need help.  

As one person noted on www.militaryphotos.net, “these are the same people that go to Wal-Mart at midnight when their new monthly allowances are deposited into their debit accounts to stock up on Chips Ahoy!, Doritos, and other non-nutritious and non-essential, life sustaining elements.”  Simply brilliant is the waste and fraud that Governor Schwarzenegger’s Department of Social Services Director John Wagner, reiterated their commitment to “rooting it out” and “to ensure that these resources are going to the people they are intended [to help].”  It’s nice to know that they are “doing something to root out the waste and fraud” but why in the world were these transactions approved to begin with?  

SIXTY-NINE MILLION DOLLARS of waste!  At the state level!  This comes from a state that has a $20 billion dollar, and climbing budget defect!  California’s tax base is fleeing their crushing obligations, but no worry to the welfare abusers, we’ll find away to give the taxpayers IOUs to fund your cushy lifestyle!  Just make sure you reward us come election time, please.  

How hard is it to create a database of essential items that can be purchased with a welfare issued debit card?  It certainly can’t be hard to partner with retailers much like a medical flex spending account operates.   Welfare recipients could shop at partner retailers who database appropriate food, over the counter medicine, and life essentials like toilet paper and swipe their card without the need to send in their receipts for oversight to the Social Services Department of California (or the FedGov too for that matter).  The partner retailers can tell the recipients what is “approved” or “disapproved” when they hit the checkout line and their behavior will be appropriately modified, instantly.  Should the need arise to shop at a non-partner retailer, the welfare recipients will need to justify their purchases with an itemized receipt.  Should they fail to turn in their receipts or purchase something off of the non-essential list, their next month allowance will be docked, permanently, for the amount of the non-approved items.  

If you seriously need help in these tough times, I can understand that.  I am not completely heartless to think that we as a country can’t afford to straighten out the financial mess and jobs disaster first, and then tackle a welfare state revolution.  I know some of my readers might think that I am crazy, but the true middle class American that has been indirectly affected by the negligent actions of our leaders, deserve some support to at least remain healthy, clothed, and housed if they have been a victim of unfortunate circumstances.  Notice that I didn’t say these nameless victims are entitled to live in their own house, with two or three Escalades (or two or three vehicles period), a new 48” flat screen TV, phone, internet, cable and a PlayStation3.  If those of us still working and paying taxes have to sacrifice for your sustainment, so too should you have to sacrifice until you can again become a productive member of society.  

So insane is this story about the waste and misuse of welfare funds, it should be a major wake up call to the average moron leftist that socialism does not work and it IS stealing,  PERIOD!  These people obviously will not have the means with which to pay back their stolen vacations, nor will they be charged and incarcerated to make up for their debt to society.  Instead, they will happily and fatly go to the polls on Nov. 2 and vote against us, the hard working citizens of the United States (and California) in an effort to keep receiving their Gooberment handouts.  51% to 49%, is working quite nicely for the filthy politicians who live high upon their place of elitism.  Let’s just hope we can discourage the 49% from going to the polls this year. 

Remington Upgrading M24 Sniper Rifle

The tried and true Remington 700 has been a workhorse of US military sniping for almost a quarter-century.  Now, it's getting a face lift.  According to the Military Times the M24 variant will get a caliber upgrade (which will increase it's effective range), as well as a new suppressor and optics system, and a detachable box mag.  This is sure to keep your back yard sniping monkeys (author included) drooling over a tool 99.9% of us don't have a need for.

These changes come at the behest of the Tenth Mountain Division's request for a new weapon to "reach out and touch someone," with.  Considering the long engagement distances seen in the mountains of Afghanistan and the use of other, larger and further reaching calibers of our NATO allies, it was only a mater of time before the US Armed Forces got a similarly capable weapon.  Not that the .300 Winchester Magnum round will produce a new distance record in the near future, it at least provides our boys with a bit more to make the most out of their mission.

As always, to our men and women in harms way, stay safe.