Massa: "Rahm Would Strap His Children to a Locamotive for a Vote" (confronted him in the shower)

NBC Chicago ^ | March 08, 2010 | ANDREW GREINER

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

For the record

http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/1st-37th/vol_016/h016.html

Mrs. Myrna Driedger (Charleswood):
Mr. Speaker last week we saw just how soft and mushy this government has become on welfare abuse. By scrapping the welfare fraud line, this government is scrapping over two million dollars in savings a year.

Can the Minister explain to Manitobans why taxpayers can use dedicated fraud lines such as Crime Stoppers, the TIP line to turn in poachers, Operation Phone Busters to report telephone scams as well as lines to report income tax evasion and insurance fraud, but now Manitoba taxpayers are no longer going to have the convenience and use of the welfare fraud line to protect them from the cost of welfare abuse?

Hon. Tim Sale (Minister of Family Services and Housing):
I appreciate the question, Mr. Speaker. It is interesting that in 1989 the former government hired a certain Mr. Ron Hikel to review the structure of the income security system. Mr. Hikel chose a random sample, entirely at random, 372 cases. He looked at those cases, and he came up with the fact that three, three cases, may have had–and he used the term “may have had,”–some possible fraudulent activity involved in them.

One of them was a waitress who did not report all her tips. One of them was someone who sold a clunker that he had declared ownership of but forgot to sell or rather sold and forgot to declare the small amount or did not declare. Three out of three hundred and seventy-two. Nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Hikel said what the department ought to do is strengthen its intake procedures. He said, furthermore, that of all the overpayments that were created during the time of that sample that he looked at, 60 percent were due to errors on intake. So, that is precisely–

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Clusty has better info on Hikel:

http://clusty.com/search?v%3afile=viv_1167%4021%3aVvGoDU&v%3aframe=list&v%3astate=%28root-0-999%29%7croot&id=N252&action=list&sw=%7cLinkedIn%7cProfile%7cCare%7cEric%20Massa%7cFamily%7cHikel%20Ancestry%7cWorkplace%7cPoverty%7cAnnual%20Report%7cJustice%7cCongressional%7cAverage%20rate%20premium%20for%20Schedule%201%7cLegislative%20Electronic%20Publications%7cB.C.%7cReview%20of%20the%20impact%7cElectable%7cHugh%20Davies,%20Marilyn%20Evers,%20Geoff%20Garrett%7cTownsend%7cHigh%20School%7cSector%7c%7c&sec=1268138509&;

[POWERSBOOTHEFAN]

It’d be difficult for me to look him in the eye!*Hee Hee*