There were many things about former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm that irritated me to no end. Every day I feel so utterly blessed that she's gone.
Her economic policies failed; she was obsequious to unions, not asking them to sacrifice during dire economic times. She devoted an inordinate amount of time and attention to ridiculous initiatives like "Green Jobs" and "Cool Cities," and some of her departments, like Corrections and Human Services, were grossly mismanaged.
In interviews reflecting on her tenure, Gov. Tinkerbell often points with pride to how she preserved the so-called "safety net" for the supposedly downtrodden. Michigan was a severe welfare wonderland under Democrat Gov. Jim Blanchard back in the 1980s. It wasn't until three-term Republican Gov. John Engler took office in the early 1990s that progress toward welfare reform began. Engler and his Republican counterpart in the Wisconsin State House, Tommy Thompson, pioneered welfare reform before the Republican Congress persuaded President Bill Clinton to sign welfare reform legislation in 1996.
But even with the reform of the Engler years, waste, fraud and abuse still permeate Michigan's welfare programs. We've heard whisperings in the past about Michigan welfare recipients using their Bridge Cards (electronic debit cards) to get cash for slot machines in Detroit casinos, and college students stocking up on junk food (and obviously using their own money for beer).
Recently we have learned how extensive this abuse is. Lansing State Journal columnist John Schneider, who doesn't suffer fools gladly, exposed the severity of the problem in today's column. It is maddening to see so many college students abusing the system, on a number of levels. First, their cavalier attitude about stealing from the taxpayers is disturbing and appalling. It speaks to poor parenting, a sickening sense of entitlement, and little or no scruples. According to Schneider, there was a Facebook page based in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., called "I Love My Bridge Card" and flaunting food assistance abuse. One kid wrote: "Feasting like kings, WITH MORE MONEY FOR ALCOHOL!"
Second, it wastes money that might otherwise go to help truly needy and deserving families and individuals. Things like paying the heating bill for a poor family or helping with transportation costs for a struggling single mother trying to work and take night classes at a community college.
Lastly, the fact that such flagrant abuse has dragged on unabated demonstrates the naivete and incompetence of the woeful Granholm administration. How could they let this go on for so long? Haven't they ever heard of audits, investigations, or monitoring? Or were they so full of themselves and their grandiose green weenie programs that they didn't think anything else even registered on the radar?
The fact that Granholm could be so foolish and naive is bad enough. But perhaps even more outrageous, there are still peple in this state who admire Jennifer Granholm. Now THAT is incredible.
I thought of this entry in reaction to learning about the Leroy Fick brouhaha.
First, they came after college students' beer money.
Now, they have their sights on the millionaries lottery winners.
Who is next in Food Stamp America?
Posted by: Brent | May 22, 2011 at 01:05 PM