Harrahs AC

[DaBurglar]

So, quoting from a prior post:"when the government gives money out to poor people (as an example) to buy food and other things, that money gets put directly back into the economy so it is in effect simply transferred within the country (the US) and thus the wealth remains ours."

GEEZ, what was the person who wrote this smoking at the time they wrote it?

Apparently the author of the statement doesn't think about WHERE the government got the money from? DID the government EARN it?

Also the author of the statement didn't think about a little thing called "welfare fraud"? There is a black market for the assistance that the government doles out. Right now its running at about a 50 cents on the dollar exchange rate.

The assistance money the government doles out DOES NOT go directly back into the economy, it goes DIRECTLY to the people who own the stores and quicky-marts where the assistance money is spent. These shop owners stash the money into a safe at home.
The author of the above post once again, in spectacular fashion, demonstrates his complete ignorance of the topic being discussed, while at the same time "inventing" things out of thin air to try and fool the few readers who might actually bother to read it who do not understand (or care) about what is being discussed.Please provide the source for the statement regarding "welfare fraud" and these 50 cents on the whatever BS........and unless the above author owns a "quicky mart" (too much SIMPSONs perhaps) , the statement about people simply "stashing the money they get from their store in a safe" is BS too.....

[Tedlark]

DaBurglar if you don't think what I wrote actually happens then I know for certain your favorite part of Disneyland is Fantasyland.

[DaBurglar]

DaBurglar if you don't think what I wrote actually happens then I know for certain your favorite part of Disneyland is Fantasyland.That is NOT AT ALL my question or issue with what YOU posted.......nice try, you are not getting out of it that easy.....And I used to live a few blocks from Disneyland in Orange County, CA.......of course, there is no way you could have known that, right?

[olds442jetaway]

I haven't had the time to read all of the posts below, but I do know that welfare fraud is rampant. I used to see it first hand right across the street from my former employer. Everything from borrowing kids to get a bigger check, to selling food stamps on the black market. They also sell their free prescription drugs on the street as well and sometimes for big bucks. I could go on and on but then I might be accused of being something that I am not. I go by what I see and experience for myself and draw my own conclusions from these first hand experiences. Not to mention the luxury cars that some of these people drive. Not in their names of course. That said, there is a significant element that needs legit aid and are in sad shape.
     It is always the few that ruin it for others. I can give you a first hand example of something happening right in my own state Ct. My 92 year young dad has had a lifetime handicap parking permit for many years. If he feels good that day, he leaves the spot open for someone else. We just got a notice from the state that due to abuse and people selling or otherwise abusing the permits, there will no longer be lifetime ones and the ones out there like dad's will be invalid in a couple of weeks. I had to drag dad to the doctor, get the doctor to waste his time filling out a new form for the state and actually apply for a new parking permit for dad by mail. This one is only temporary for a few years, but luckily, it came back in the mail yesterday approved with the new permit. That is just one live example of the sad state of affairs in this country ruined by waste, fraud, and abuse by our own people and of course the illegals as well. Never mind the ISIS threats. That is an entire subject for another thread. Don't get me going on that one. I am ready to reup even at my age.

[DaBurglar]

I never said Abuse and fraud do not happen.....of course they do!!   And it is awful, and frustrating and absurd that the government is unable to actually do anything significant about it except to just REACT when they uncover specific cases......This was not the point I was making or the argument I wanted to put forth.....I questioned SPECIFICALLY the 50 cents/50 percent figure cited by the poster who ....well, you get the point.   Where does THIS figure come from exactly??Medicaid/Medicare waste fraud abuse and incompetence is an even BIGGER (FAR FAR BIGGER) drain on the resources of the federal programs that are supposed to benefit and help a LOT of people.....look it up, its maddening.But here is where I get annoyed, when people point out or bring up the FACTs that fraud waste abuse and incompetence occur, they seem to be arguing that, therefore, we need to GET RID OF COMPLETELY all these so-called Freebie programs......this of course is equally wrong and absurd.Let me go on record stating right now that we need a Third Party candidate to campaign on a specific platform of INTENSE Government reform and repair for all these fiscally "leaky" programs (which should include ALL major federal outlays INCLUDING defense.)   Seriously, this is what needs to happen, but it never does......anyone want to guess WHY?   Why the federal Government is unable to STOP what is an obvious issue, the waste, fraud, abuse and incompetence that happens everyday?    My Answer:  Politically, there is no "Future" or payoff in such a focus or campaign......any politician in either current party (Dem or Repub) who devotes the lionshare of their energy to "cleaning up" things will be thwarted, buried and frustrated at every turn for a lot of absurd reasons.    That is why we need a THIRD alternative party to what currently exists.......a party devoted to reform and commonsense with compassion, a party NOT preoccupied with re-election (or thwarting the opposing party's agenda!)  and a party that neither is a poorly disguised venue for racist social policy (republicans), NOR a party devoted to creating a perpetual class of "VICTIMS or VICTIMHOOD" so as to solidify election support for the immediate future (Democrats!)But I reiterate my earlier point which caused the Poster to misdirect this thread into a discussion on fraud.......GOVERNMENT Programs, like food stamps (or SNAP as it is now known), and similar assistance,  Gets Money put into the economy because the people receiving it, regardless of whether it is legit or fraud or whatever, HAVE to spend the money on something.    They do not simply lock it up in a 7-11 or Kwike mart safe and let it rot for eternity.      I am not advocating that this is ideal, but my point earlier was that at least the actual wealth (in the form of money) remains circulating in the economy and is not "LOST".......the TRILLIONS spent in foreign wastelands is GONE and the taxpayers received NO RETURN, nothing, nada.    This is outrageous.....criminally so.So before I set about supporting efforts to take away EVERYONE's "freebies" simply because a certain number of people receiving those freebies are doing so fraudulently, or wastefully, I need to hear what is being done about the far more significant sources of waste fraud abuse etc (like the f-35 joint strike fighter fiasco)......Plus, as many instances of fraud and abuse as people assert exist (again not denying they do but exact figures are obviously not available),  I am confident that it is STILL the case that MOST people receiving help are legit (whether it is 51-59  or 70-30  or 85-15 I don't know, but the point is you cannot harm legit people simply to thwart the a-holes)I use Medicare as a recurring example:   As the US population gets older and boomers retire, the number of people using Medicare will rise significantly, which means there will be more and more cases of fraud and abuse mixed in with all the MANY legit and needed cases.......what else can be done except to focus and FIXING the system and making it HARD to abuse and commit fraud?   even focusing on going after the actual perpetrators is questionable because THAT also costs money to do and more often than not, you never recover anywhere near the amount stolen or wasted!   Sad but true.....