As the stimulus program winds down, we learn more about how our federal dollars were spent.
The latest story reports that the inspector general for the Social Security Administration examined the $250 payments made to senior citizens under the stimulus bill. The inspector general determined that 72,000 of the $250 payments — $18 million in all — were made to the dearly departed, and another $4.3 million went to 17,000 prison inmates. Nice to know that our frankensteinian government is seeking to stimulate the dead, and the imprisoned! Is anyone checking to see whether the trade in cigarettes and illicit goods at San Quentin has flourished as a result?
The article reports that a little more than half of the improper payments to those already dead were returned, and I suppose we should be grateful that so many relatives were honest. The article makes no mention of how many prisoners acted similarly, however.
Webner House 