Talk about a corrupt system.... MA... welfare $$ going where?

OFF THE WIRE

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/29196280/detail.html?taf=bos
Mass. Welfare Money Spent On Resorts, Nail Salons Mass. Welfare Recipients Spend $2.3 Million Out of State...
BOSTON -- A Team 5 Investigation found more than $2.3 million in Massachusetts welfare money, meant to help the needy buy food, pay their rent and clothe their children, has been spent in locations outside the state in a three-month period, including pricey vacation destinations like Hawaii, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
In July, lawmakers signed off on a plan to stop welfare recipients from buying alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets with cash assistance. But critics told Team 5 the state’s so-called crackdown doesn’t go far enough.
Click Like For Boston News Updates:“People want to help people who are in need; that’s the way we’re built in Massachusetts. But by the same token you don’t want to be taken to the cleaners,” said Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute.
Team 5 obtained three months of electronic benefit card transactions by welfare recipients, and sorted the data by state and address. The money was accessed from October 2010 through December 2010. It’s a straightforward analysis that officials at the Massachusetts Dept. of Transitional Assistance said they’ve never done.
“Currently, with the systems that are in place today, one could look at this kind of information on a regular basis,” said Mike Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
Currently, there are 73,000 households receiving cash assistance, and benefit amounts are determined based on a variety of factors, including household size, monthly income and household expenses.
Team 5’s analysis found $2,335,188.50 was spent in 45 different states as well as the Caribbean, raising serious questions about how the Commonwealth’s neediest people can afford to travel on the taxpayer’s dime.
Public assistance recipients spent $224,734.81 in sunny Florida, $207,967.37 in New York, and $58,310 in Pennsylvania, according to state records.
“Is the state helping these people become too independent?” asked Sean Kelly.
“Um, no. I do think that there are people who have relatives in those places,” answered Julie Kehoe, commissioner of the Department of Transitional Assistance.
“If these people are poor enough where they need this kind of financial assistance, how can they afford to travel?” asked Kelly.
“Again, I don’t know. You know, I do think most people can’t,” answered Kehoe.
It isn’t just where they’re traveling that’s of concern. It’s what some welfare recipients are purchasing with taxpayer money. State records show one person blew $200 at a nail salon in Miami, Fla., another shelled out $200 at a resort in Ogunquit, Maine and there were multiple purchases across the country at specialty grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, amounting to hundreds of dollars.
“These examples cry out for review because they certainly scream of potential excess and abuse,” said Widmer.
Other eyebrow- raising expenses include hundreds of dollars at a time dropped at doughnut shops, and trips to the amusement arcade Dave and Busters.
“That’s absolutely wrong. That’s not a necessity. I mean, these programs are to give a hand up. A hand up means food, clothing, staples of life,” said Stergios.
Kehoe had no response when asked why taxpayers are footing the bill to let people have fun.
“Do you think that’s a fair question for taxpayers to be asking?” asked Kelly.
“Of course I think that’s a fair question. Anything is a fair question when it comes to taxpayer money,” answered Kehoe.
Kehoe told Team 5 Investigates these out-of-state transactions are a small percentage of the $700 million in cash assistance provided to Massachusetts’ poor every year.
That appears to be true, according to the data Team 5 reviewed. Of the $91 million in transactions during the three months Team 5 looked at, the vast majority was spent in Massachusetts.
And of the $2.3 million that was spent outside the state, $1.1 million was spent in nearby New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
But the remaining $1.2 million in purchases that took place in popular vacation destinations are what critics say deserve a much closer look.
“They have to start auditing this in a very serious way because these are our tax dollars,” said Stergios.
“I think these expenses really raise the question, are these individuals eligible for public support?” said Widmer.
“Why do you think your office didn’t pick up on these things?” asked Kelly.
“The reports and data we look at are really not at the transaction level,” said Kehoe.
Yet DTA's Fraud Investigations Unit consists of 22 people and costs taxpayers $1.4 million. Kehoe said investigators won't question any recipient's whereabouts unless they've been out of state for more than 60 days because right now there are no rules preventing recipients from traveling and spending benefits outside Massachusetts.