When Welfare Goes Wrong...

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Even at 10% I don't find that dollar amount to minor. Maybe the UK's burden as a percentage of the total tax amount is smaller, but I am pretty sure Calif has a budget larger than the UK. So no, it is not an "extremely minor" amount of money.

You misunderstand me Merc: I wasn't suggesting that fraud accounts for a 'minor' amount of money; I was suggesting that of the amount we lose to fraud, a large percentage of that will be made up of a lot of minor acts frauds for minor amounts of money. The vast majority of those who fiddle the system do not do so for great amounts of money. There will be a few hardcore people who take a lot out of the system, but the majority of fraud is the kind I've already mentioned: people claiming unemployment whilst sneakily doing a few hours of cash-in-hand work.

Like I said before: I find it difficult to begrudge that extra £30 a week (or whatever) to some parent who is struggling to get Christmas pressies for their kids, or new school shoes. Unfortunately, these small-scale frauds are the ones that are chased most. Because their combined weight is so heavy, and because casual workers are easy to spot (investigators traul the 'hotspots' like building sites, bars and market stalls, particularly at this time of year) they are caught and punished.

Personally, I'd leave those alone and focus on the ones who are really taking the piss. There are people out there claiming every possible benefit; lying to the authorities about their partner living with them, when their partner earns more than the fraud investigators. Families living quite well thankyou very much and still claiming all the benefits they can. They're much harder to catch, requiring stakeouts and full-on investigations. So we focus most heavily on the small fry.

What I wold like to see is a moritorium on prosecutions for those taking on Christmas work. Those jobs are rarely anything more than a few weeks' work. The money they earn will go back into the economy: the poor don't save, they spend. At present, if someone is claiming benefits they can take on up to 16 hours a week of work without losing those benefits...but their benefit is reduced accordingly: they are allowed to keep £10 of what they earn over and above their benefits each week. We should be letting them keep a higher amount. If people could legitimately claim benefits and also earn, say £30 a week above their benefits, more people would end up in legitimate (and protected) part-time employment, which may well be a stepping stone to more permanent or full-time work.

As it is, in order to survive and give their families a decent life, many are trapped into illegal and unstable part-time work, dictated by how willing thir employer is to conspire in their fraud.