I am closely familiar with a single case of abuse of Michigan Tax-Payer dollars to the tune of approx $200,000.00 a year. Along with medical conditions brought about by her inactivity, her rent is paid, and she receives spending money.
This person meets the minimums for the ADA and qualifies for the kind of medical care most of us who are providers still pay dearly to receive. While she receives this care, it seems unimportant to take care of her health, and requires repeated procedures. She receives no other income other than public assistance, but would be capable of handling computer related tasks, in fact has internet even on the public dollar. She is a very intelligent individual who has simply made a decision to not provide for herself and family as it is STILL available to those who work the disability angles.
This person has several children who have learned how to abuse the system. One of the children has risen above this but also was removed from the home by her will when it was discovered he was no longer a source of income for her. (he turned 18.) AS SOON as he wasn’t a plum in her pie, he became a drain in HER economy, and she got rid of him. I said previously she was very intelligent. She doesn’t hate him, she just faced the reality that if he stayed, he would have to provide for himself, and thus doing so would add to the household income, and disrupt the qualifying process for her own assistance.
WE SHOULD BE SO SMART. This woman is capable of computer tasks in the least, yet while we provide seriously unqualified help for people who can CHOOSE not to work, they will continue to not work. Her assistance is legal. It is what we pay for. It is what Michigan voters decide is appropriate when they elect the liberal “cradle-to-grave” types such as Granholm, etc…
Yet this is only ONE of… how many? The health and human services component of Michigan’s budget alone is roughly 40% of the overall budget <link here> and totalling about $16,000,000,000.00 in the 2006-2007 gross totals.
While not all of the beneficiaries of our largess may not be as bad as in this particular case, there are many different levels of need that should be handled by family, and local organizations, and NOT by general welfare provided by the state in it’s current form. The state of Michigan is clearly unable to break these dependencies as it continues to provide unlimited and sometimes unqualified support to people who simply DECIDE they do not want to provide for themselves.