by Jonathan Clayton

Created on: March 01, 2009

Government Assistance. Earned? Or Burned!

After reading several different articles, and watching countless commentaries on the issue of Government assistance. I decided to write to this topic because there are two sides to every story. Just about every single day, I hear or read about some type of Social Security, or Welfare fraud. The truth of the matter is, fraud within these programs is rampant! I personally know of several different private investigating firms who handle nothing but Social Security, Welfare, and Workman Compensation fraud cases. If you speak to any of these establishments, they will tell you that their business is booming!

Now, that is side one, and here is side two. There has always been fraud when it comes to these programs! The reason is quite simple. No oversight! If the people who are in charge of their local chapters for Federal or State assistance would do what we used to call" Due Dilligence", I truly believe the fraud in these organizations could be cut by a third! It would be extremely advantageous to everyone involved if the Government would allocate the funds for more case workers! If you run the numbers, we could quite literally cut the cost of these programs, by roughly thirty million a year! And that is a conservative estimate!

The reason I feel so strongly about this subject, is because I'm 100 percent disabled myself! Practically on a monthly basis, I see people when they're in the Pain Clinic, walking with crutches, wearing back braces, having to be physically helped to sit or stand. Being pushed from appt. to appt. in wheelchairs, etc. It's an absolute disgrace! This is the reason why.

I live in a small rural community where the population is 5500 or so. Just about everyone knows each other in one form or another, and these same people who live off someone else's taxes, are the very same one's I see each month at the Pain Center! When you see them walking and running, and playing sports. Working on cars. Mowing their lawns. Going fishing and hunting. Well, it really sticks in the craw of someone like myself!

You see, I'm permanently disabled, and I can't do any of the things that just about everyone of these people can! It is people like this that give the programs that are meant to help the disabled a black eye, and a bad reputation! What most people who have never been in a situation where they had to have help or die, is this. There are a great many of us who have to have Governmental assistance in order to survive! Not because we have a choice! But because we don't have any other choice! It's these good people who are made to suffer because other truly healthy Americans, are free to manipulate the system, and get a free ride off someone elses hard work!

Now. There is a great deal more that could be said about the current situation concerning Governmental Fraud. But what would be the point? Nothing will change because the Disabled are not in possesion of a money fueled, high powered, governmental lobby. So the voice of the disabled will never be heard!

In conclusion of this article there is one suggestion I would make to the powers that be. Every single person who recieves Governmental assistance on any level, should be forced to take a drug test every month that they recieve State or Federal aid. I truly believe this one simple act, could save the programs that were designed to help Americans that are in desperate need in the first place!

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