Entitlement Society: Lottery Winner Says She’ll Keep Taking Food Stamps

Say Anything ^ | March 7, 2012 | Rob Port

[Carriage Hill]

2 damned house = 2 damned houses

[toolman1401]

Hoping that you are correct. I also suspect with all the publicity this case is getting that someone within the local government will take notice of this travesty. She will have the distinct pleasure of paying some nice property taxes on the assets she is acquiring.

[Carriage Hill]

They got her!

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/08/michigan-woman-who-won-1m-lottery-but-kept-using-food-stamps-loses-benefits-141935620/#ixzz1oW1eiqjJ?test=latestnews

[Dr. Ursus]

Obama will call her and apologize for taking away her food stamps!

[Yorlik803]

Maybe she should be made to pay back all the assistment she gotten over the years.
The money she used was meant for food. She used it on a tax on the stupid.
PS...I play the lottery. Since I cut back on drinking and cigars,its the only vice I allow myself.But I use my own cash.

[Scoutmaster]

She's not the only lottery winner in Michigan collecting welfare. Michigan (like Florida) doesn't count lottery winnings as income.

Leroy Fick won $2 million in Michigan in June 2010 and stayed on electronic food stamps. He said people who complained are busybodies, after he collected $850,000 cash and stayed on welfare.

""If I'm eligible, I'm eligible. Right?"

http://www.minbcnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=619315#.T1i2sszlVTJ

[Bigh4u2]

"Michigan (like Florida) doesn't count lottery winnings as income."

Uhh.. Yeah it does..

"Under DHS policy, a recipient of food assistance benefits must notify the state within 10 days of any asset or income change. DHS relies on clients being forthcoming about their actual financial status," DHS director Maura Corrigan said." Michigans problem is that they have to way to 'verify' lottery winnings at this point. But they do consider winnings as 'income'.

[Bigh4u2]

Let me try this again.

Michigan has NO WAY to ‘verify’ lottery winnings, but they do consider it ‘income.

[Scoutmaster]

Sorry that my research was not thorough and thank you for pointing that out. Was that the case when Fick won his?

In the article I posted, it says quotes a politician as saying he's taking immediate action. "I've already contacted the legislative service bureau to start work on legislation to change the policy."

[Bigh4u2]

The policy has always been the same as far as lottery winnings being considered ‘income’.

The problem is the ‘reporting’ of income from the Lottery office.

Without rules mandating the Lottery office report winnings to the state, there is no way the state can check to see if welfare recipients had won.

That’s why they are now going to introduce legislation to mandate it be reported.

My assumption would be that the Lottery office will have a ‘checklist’ of welfare recipients on file to compare ‘winners’ names too.

[EDINVA]

Eligibility for benefits usually entails assets as well as income. IIRC you are entitled to your primary residence and a vehicle up to $X. Somewhere along the line, I read that she was ‘busted’ by the state. (Most legislators, lest we hadn’t noticed, don’t know the details of bills they sign, much less bills that preceded their time in office).