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As many as 19,000 welfare recipients are unaccounted for after voter registration pitches are marked, 'Return to sender, address unknown'
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191000 people in Massachusetts and vanish all of them welfare recipients at one time.
Read space station the state officials admitting they can't find them and -- its worst.
The missing recipients are gain about 99 dollars a year in benefits now that is taxpayer money.
Governor Deval Patrick trying to downplay the mess.
-- know those people are still on the -- many if not most people receive their benefits electronically not finding.
But for the 4%.
Mailings that we're return you bet your -- we're gonna -- we're gonna -- through them and and make sure that that the information we have as of today.
But the 4% I mean that's 191000 people is enough to fill the Boston Garden that's a lot of people producing I don't care they -- -- a lot of people not all of whom do you or I know.
Are actually on the on the wheel but isn't.
So how did Massachusetts -- track of all these people and where's all that taxpayer money really going Republican Massachusetts state represented Sean -- joins us and is still haven't.
Did the governor correct that not all those people in 191000 are actually receiving welfare what do you tell me about how many people are missing.
How many of those missing are believed to be -- welfare payments and perhaps incorrectly.
Well this is information that we don't have -- Greta that we should already have they've known about this for many many months now.
And it is consistent with the administration and the department of transitional assistance to not come out with information to keep it secret and to keep it from the public.
So I question the verification process here in Massachusetts.
Whether it's adequate whether it's being followed just in the past year alone we have been inundated with fraud and abuse scandals here in this program.
We had five major drug busts in our in BT program where people -- traffic in their -- for drugs selling them for fifty cents on the dollar.
So we've got some real serious issues here that we need to be looking at -- -- it's just a drop in the bucket with a 191000 people.
Okay now the state income for the 191000 people they got caught -- glad during the course of that I have a voter registrations are correct.
I know they didn't.
So the so state didn't come forward in the state know about it and keep the -- -- recently the state knew about it and kept it hidden.
Well I'm sure.
-- knew that all these.
People the addresses were returns the letters were turned on -- It wears on by a four error request from the Boston Herald I believe that this that information came to light and like I said.
The GTA operates really under -- cloak of darkness where it doesn't think information is not made available to the public.
Even though this is a taxpayer funded public assistance programs.
-- patriotic if you give me for so wintry weather 191000 people who are missing.
Whether or not they really are receiving the payments I suspect that some portion of the -- not all that's the first question.
The second question that he -- it is a question that incompetence year bureaucratic incompetence.
Or is it something where the state was well aware of but look the other way whether for political reasons.
Or for some -- -- some kind of figure out.
You know I think there's something confidence going on I think that the department is mismanaged.
And there is some looking the other way going on here there's really no incentive to get rid of the fraud and abuse in the program.
Because it really.
People get warm -- to get more money the more people they have on the welfare rolls.
So you know it is the -- like the fox guarding the henhouse here when they are doing their own oversight of their own investigations and their own eligibility.
It -- -- under that theory then didn't even if you don't live in Massachusetts -- should be angry if you live in some other state because of its federal tax money to -- more money than what people you have on the -- the rest of us are paying for your portion of your 191000 missing people who are getting welfare right around.
That's right and and we're talking you know if you talk about all -- states that have these programs there's fraud and abuse and all of the programs.
We're talking about billions and billions of taxpayer dollars.
And people just continue to look the other way.
And it's really time that we've got serious.
About fixing these programs and making the eligibility requirements much more strict -- asset verification doing identity verification.
And making sure that the people who get into these programs really belong in these programs because.
We don't have enough money to go around as it is we have senior citizens who can't pay their bills who can't -- their prescription medicine.
We have -- people in the military who are on food stamps it's just a disgrace.
And children are -- are involved here as well and also suffer when this money is misused or -- an inappropriately to people who shouldn't be getting it.
Here are the senate I don't understand why it wouldn't be -- such great.
You know pride if -- able to ferret out waste and fraud and really straight enough this is yet time and time again people just look the other way just ignore this and -- Vonage has its extraordinary that people don't have.
You know politicians don't really had you know I enjoy like fixing this.
Yeah and you think they would credit.
But for some reason this is like one of those third -- in politics and people don't want to touch it but I'm really determined to make a bit of difference in this program and make it better here in Massachusetts.
For the taxpayers here there's hardworking taxpayers out there -- -- two and three jobs to support their families.
And -- having to hear these stories of fraud and abuse and in our system.
But then of course says since the rest of us are also -- -- in the pavement as far as federal taxpayers that we all hope that they -- out to an every other state does is well represented thank you.
Thank you Greta.
