Rambling Time

It has been almost eight months since I have done one of my ramblings.  For some of you that read my blog you may be thinking that all my posts are ramblings.  There have been some interesting things going on in the city, state and country and I figured I would give my two cents worth.  I usually comment on ten stories, but I will cut it down to five.  So let's get started.

No Slots in Worcester - Only part of me is disappointed in this because the hole that sits in Kelly Square will continue to be there.  I said before that I was neither for nor against slots until I saw what the proposed host agreement would be.  Since both sides walked away from the negotiations, there is nothing for me to be disappointed about.  I thought the City Council handled this very well, they did not succumb to outside pressure and they tried to make a go for it.  No harm, no foul.  It didn't work out, so let's move on.  Now what to do with that land?  I beg, no housing, we don't need it.  

Car Jack This! - How about the carjacker that carjacked an unmarked police car, with a Worcester Police Officer in it.  The Darwinist in me had a very good chuckle over this.  I am glad that the officer was not injured seriously and was able to apprehend the dumb suspect.  However, doesn't everybody love a dumb criminal caught story every now and then?  That it happened in Worcester makes it that much more enjoyable.

Sick the Media - I must admit that I think the media can be demanding and pushy sometimes when trying to get an interview, but if you don't want to talk to them wouldn't a simple "no comment" or send a family member out to keep them at bay.  Don't do what a lady in Providence did last week by throwing glass, swinging a bat and then for a finale letting loose her pit-bull on the female reporter.  I understand that the woman was upset and didn't want to talk, but now she is facing charges for her outrage.  A simple "No Comment" would have gone a long way.

Really? - An Austin company is selling lollipops made out of breast milk.  I don't want to say this is disgusting because there are worse delicacies out there.  But what happens if this business makes a go of it?  How many women will need to be on the payroll, and to keep costs down will this get outsourced to a third world country and pump women, and possibly young girls, with hormones so they can produce milk to meet demand?  PETA tried to petition Ben and Jerry's to use breast milk instead of cow's milk, in PETA's eyes humans are more expendable than animals.

I'm Sorry I Slapped Your Son - A South Carolina woman was arrested last week when she went to her son's school after learning that her son had been suspended.  When she arrived to the main office she slapped a boy whom she thought was her son.  However, the boy she slapped was not hers; he was just waiting to be picked up because he was not feeling well.  This woman obviously suffers from face blindness.  How does she not know the boy was not her son?  There are many things wrong with this story but the fact that the mother's first inclination was to hit should be the first thing addressed.  I hope she gets the help she needs.

Bonus: Congratulations! - Over the past few weeks many high schools and colleges have been having their commencement activities.  To the graduates out there I can only offer the same advice that Mary Schmich offered in an article in 1997.  "Wear Sunscreen! If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience."  Congratulations and God Bless!

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife

It's Finally Time

Last week, residents of Massachusetts found out that they are worth more dead than unemployed in the Commonwealth.  An audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) released by State Auditor Suzzanne Bump found a significant amount of irregularities within the department that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.  The cries for change of the state's welfare system are beginning to ring loud, and this time I don't think it can be ignored.  It remains to be seen if the rumbles from the state house are calls for action or just noise to pacify the constituents.

If you have not heard by now the State Auditor’s office in their investigation of the DTA found that $2.4 million was paid to people on assistance that had been dead for at least six months.  Also discovered in that audit was $120,000 paid to people who began to receive benefits, after they were dead.  How did they apply?  This is what made the news and created the cries for change, rightly so, but there were other issues with this audit that should not only result in reform but people losing their jobs.Oversights like that can happen; I get that, but $27 million worth?  To make matters worse, in order to correct this mistake by the DTA, they paid their employees $3.4 million in overtime.  How do I get one of those jobs?  Make a mistake then get paid more to fix it, living the dream.

The most common complaint of the welfare system in Massachusetts is that there are no boundaries or restrictions of what the assistance is used for.  This too was brought to light in the audit and no it was not the use of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards at Tattoo Parlors or Liquor Stores, it was the amount of money being accessed out of state.  Apparently using Massachusetts EBT cards out of state is not illegal.  The top cities where the monies were being accessed were Myrtle Beach, Orlando and Las Vegas.  Hmmmmm, sun, fun and gambling on the taxpayers’ dime.  They must be getting the essentials while at Disney World.

So Massachusetts, now is it time for reform?  The system has been broken for so long that it cannot be fixed without it being completely gutted.  Do our elected leaders have the intestinal fortitude to do this?  The problem is that the recipients are not using the DTA for "assistance"; they are using it for a source of income.  The abuse of the system is outrageous and it's a slap in the face to the taxpayers of Massachusetts.  How is it that someone who works twenty years for a company and loses his job gets twenty six weeks of assistance?  But someone who has never worked, and has no intention of finding a job gets permanent assistance?  I think it should be the same, don't you?

I want to believe that these findings by the auditor are the exception rather than the rule, but these numbers are staggering and they have been ongoing.  I don't doubt that there are people that need the DTA, but the agency should not be used as a source of income.  When asked about these finding by the state auditor Gov. Deval Patrick essentially said that he did not believe the report.  Talk about being part of the problem and not part of the solution.

If there is genuine outrage over this audit on Beacon Hill as the politicians claim then reform now; reform to a point that the "Welfarer"-in-Chief of Massachusetts cannot veto.  EBT cards were created to help; the DTA was created to help, so let's reform this program and this department so that they are doing just that.  Itemize expenses so each month rent, utilities and transportation costs are automatically paid from their account and deducted.  Whatever is left over can go on an EBTcard with the recipients picture on it.  EBT cards should only be accepted at grocery stores and pharmacies.  If there is a way to do it, make sure the transactions happen in Massachusetts and not the U.S. Virgin Islands, as the audit reported.

It is finally time to make these reforms.  Come on Massachusetts, let's make them.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife