welfare

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UK: Disabled People Should Work From Home or Lose Benefits

Critics slam 'nasty' Conservative Party

(Newser) - Critics of the UK's ruling Conservative Party say welfare reforms unveiled Wednesday show why it is nicknamed the "nasty party." Under the new plan, disabled people, including people with mobility or mental health issues, will be instructed to look for work they can do from home or...

Ex-WWE Wrestler Now Charged in Favre Scandal

Ted 'Teddy' DiBiase Jr. allegedly received $3M in welfare funds, used to purchase house and boat

(Newser) - The son of WWE legend The Million Dollar Man is accused of using federal funds meant to help poor children to buy toys for himself. Ted DiBiase Jr., a former pro wrestler himself, was indicted Thursday on charges of wire fraud, theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and money laundering...

Brett Favre Denies Wrongdoing, Blames 'Unjust' Media

But media outlets are pushing back on his claims

(Newser) - Brett Favre has been silent for months on the subject of the Mississippi welfare fraud scandal swirling around him, but no longer: The NFL Hall of Fame quarterback released a lengthy statement to Fox News Digital in which he denies any wrongdoing. Favre insists he had no idea the money...

Favre Biographer: Don't Read My Book, 'He's a Bad Guy'

Remarks came after texts emerged showing ex-QB knew more on illegal welfare payments than claimed

(Newser) - "I love Mississippi and I would never knowingly do anything to take away from those that need it most." That was a May 2020 tweet from former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. He was responding to accusations that he'd illegally received welfare funds from his home...

Favre Must Pay $825K Within 30 Days in Illegal Welfare Case

Miss. state auditor says ex-NFL star faces a lawsuit if he doesn't return TANF funds

(Newser) - Update: It's pay-up time for Brett Favre, unless he wants to face a civil lawsuit. That was the warning Tuesday from Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, who said in a statement that the former NFL star still owes $828,000 in illegal welfare funds and interest, per the Mississippi ...

Brett Favre to Repay $1.1M in Welfare Scandal

Former NFL quarterback got ensnared in embezzlement scandal

(Newser) - Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is repaying $1.1 million in welfare money that he received for multiple speeches where he did not show up, the Mississippi state auditor said Wednesday. Auditor Shad White said his office received $500,000 from Favre on Wednesday, plus a commitment that Favre will...

Rachel Dolezal Makes Short Trip to Jail

She's booked on welfare fraud charges in Washington

(Newser) - The former NAACP branch president best known as Rachel Dolezal was booked Monday into a jail in Washington state, where she faces welfare fraud charges . Dolezal, who was born white but identifies as "transracial," was photographed and fingerprinted at Spokane County Jail around 3:30pm, then released on...

Rachel Dolezal Charged With Welfare Fraud

Investigators say she failed to report $84K

(Newser) - Rachel Dolezal has been misrepresenting her income, according to investigators in Washington state. The former NAACP chapter leader—who was born a white woman but describes herself as "unapologetically black"—has been charged with welfare fraud and could get up to 15 years in prison if convicted, the...

Lawmaker Wants to Drug-Test the Wealthy

If they want generous tax deductions, at least

(Newser) - In many states, welfare recipients must submit to drug testing before they can get benefits. A lawmaker from Wisconsin says she wants wealthy Americans to get the same treatment before they can enjoy generous tax deductions, Yahoo News reports. Rep. Gwen Moore's "Top 1% Accountability Act of 2016"...

Aussies Cut Benefits for Anti-Vax Parents

New rules nixing childcare payments take effect Jan. 1

(Newser) - Parents in Australia who don't have their children immunized by Jan. 1 will soon find themselves embroiled in what the country calls its "no jab, no pay" laws—meaning if they don't take their kids for vaccinations by then, they'll lose childcare benefits, rebates, and a...

Mayor Thinks People on Welfare 'Flaunt It,' Has Plan

Maine mayor wants their names, addresses listed online

(Newser) - "The days of being quiet are gone," Robert Macdonald writes in a column in the Twin City Times . And what does the Republican mayor of Lewiston, Maine, want to break the silence on? People on welfare are "gaming the system," he tells the Portland Press Herald ...

Family Loses Welfare Because of Girl's Cancer

She couldn't go to school, so Michigan cut off benefits

(Newser) - When Martha describes how her 12-year-old daughter, Lisa, suffered while battling brain cancer—seizures, strokes, more than two years in and out of hospitals—it doesn't seem at all surprising that Lisa wouldn't have been up for attending school during this time. But as her mom (using pseudonyms)...

Kansas Bill: No Welfare Cash at Movies, Psychics

Gov. Sam Brownback expected to sign new social services bill into law

(Newser) - A new social services bill in Kansas could issue some of the country's strictest rules on how welfare recipients spend state funds. Though the federal government has banned the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash benefits on booze, gambling, and adult entertainment, Bill 2258 would block their...

Man Raped at 14 Has to Pay Child Support
Man Raped at 14
Has to Pay Child Support 
in case you missed it

Man Raped at 14 Has to Pay Child Support

He found out only recently that he fathered a child 10 years ago

(Newser) - Nick Olivas got the shock of his life two years ago when he was hit with a child support demand from the state of Arizona—for a child he fathered when he was 14 years old. In that state, a child under the age of 15 can't consent to...

Octomom Charged With Welfare Fraud

Nadya Suleman faces more than 5 years in prison

(Newser) - She's baaaack: Octomom is making headlines again, and she's apparently not going to start doing it in a good way. Nadya Suleman has been charged with felony welfare fraud, the LA Times reports. More specifically, she faces one count of aid by misrepresentation and two counts of perjury...

War on Poverty Isn't Working
 War on Poverty 
 Isn't Working 
OPINION

War on Poverty Isn't Working

Robert Rector thinks we've forgotten LBJ's goal of getting people to help themselves

(Newser) - Today marks 50 years since Lyndon Johnson declared his "unconditional war on poverty." Yet the percentage of Americans living in poverty has remained roughly unchanged in the decades since, despite some $916 billion in federal spending on means-tested welfare programs in 2012 alone, Robert Rector from the conservative...

Reagan's 'Welfare Queen' Was Way Worse Than That
Reagan's 'Welfare Queen' Was Way Worse Than That
investigation

Reagan's 'Welfare Queen' Was Way Worse Than That

Slate digs into the incredible story of Linda Taylor, accused murderer and kidnapper

(Newser) - Ronald Reagan made the term "welfare queen" a politically charged term as he ran for president, telling the story of a woman in Chicago who abused the welfare system to incredible heights. Over the years, the tale of a Cadillac-driving government cheat has all but entered the realm of...

Almost 1 in 3 Bank Tellers Need Public Assistance

And that's costing taxpayers almost $900 million a year

(Newser) - You probably don't think of bank tellers the same way you think about, say, the fast food workers protesting today , but they, too, have ample reason to complain about their wages, a new report suggests. Nearly a third of tellers are on some form of public assistance, according to...

Fla. Rep. Pleads Guilty to Coke Charges

Judge gives Florida's Trey Radel a year of probation

(Newser) - Congressman Henry "Trey" Radel pleaded guilty to cocaine possession today, but will avoid jail time. A DC Superior Court judge sentenced the freshman Republican from Florida to one year of probation, and ordered him to receive drug treatment in his home state, the Washington Post reports. Radel had already...

Lousy Fast-Food Pay Costs $7B a Year in Gov't Aid
The Hidden Cost of Cheap Fast Food: $7B in Aid
in case you missed it

The Hidden Cost of Cheap Fast Food: $7B in Aid

Maybe those burgers aren't such a bargain, after all

(Newser) - Think that dollar menu is a bargain? All that cheap fast food comes with a hidden cost to taxpayers, according to a new report. Researchers at UC Berkley have found that low-paid burger-flippers cost US taxpayers $7 billion a year in social welfare programs, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A...

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