Demonizing people who receive public assistance was a staple of Ronald Reagan's first campaign for the presidency in 1976. He helped popularize the term "welfare queen" in stump speeches, which would refer to "a woman in Chicago" who "has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veterans' benefits on four nonexisting deceased husbands."
"She's also got Medicaid, (is) getting food stamps and is collecting welfare under each of her names," Mr. Reagan said, and "her tax-free income alone is over $150,000."
In fact, the woman had been caught. She was using four aliases, not 80. She had been charged with $8,000 in fraud, not $150,000. Even today, people are not letting the facts get in the way of a good story.
KMOV-TV (Channel 4) and Brian Hook, who blogs at missouri.watchdog.org, have been reporting that $11.83 million in federal "welfare benefits" distributed by the state of Missouri between January and March were spent out of state.
Mr. Hook reported that "while many purchases were in neighboring states, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in vacation spots" such as Florida, Nevada and Hawaii.
The television station sent an "investigative" reporter to Las Vegas. He was shown on tape dramatically pointing to ATM machines from which he said Missourians had used their electronic benefits transfer card to withdraw hundreds of dollars in public benefits.
And now ... here's the rest of the story.
The only way to get to $11.83 million in "welfare benefits" over three months is by including food stamps as "welfare." Almost one in six Missourians depends on food stamps, which pay about $1.40 per meal.
Food stamps make up the largest part of public benefits — by far. In January 2011, a typical month, according to a Department of Social Services spokesman, $119 million in federal food stamp assistance was distributed by the state of Missouri.
Of this, less than 3 percent, $3.5 million, was spent out of state, with $2.6 million spent in bordering states.
Food stamp benefits can't be cashed out at an ATM. They can be spent only on food, and not on liquor, cigarettes or pet food. There's no fixed residency requirement, and households receiving food stamp benefits may have good reasons to use them across state lines.
The same is true for payments under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, created by the 1996 federal welfare overhaul. Missouri households participating in the program receive an average monthly cash grant of $239, which can be accessed through many ATMs.
Missouri distributed $10.2 million in TANF benefits in January, again, a typical month. Of this amount, just 3.5 percent, $362,682, was spent out of state, with $251,631 spent in bordering states. One percent, $111,051, of TANF benefits was spent in non-bordering states. There were six cash withdrawals in Nevada and one in Hawaii, totaling less than $1,000.
Some scandal. Some journalism.
But some Missouri lawmakers aren't letting facts or perspective get in their way. They're pursuing legislation that would prohibit use of TANF benefits out of state and permit drug-testing of welfare recipients, which could result in needy children being thrown into the street.
We're not surprised at the Legislature; smearing the poor makes for good politics.
