The last time California did and audit of the LA county welfare rolls they confirmed that close to 50% of the recipients falsified their incomes to illegally obtain welfare payments, were receiving multiple benefits under different identity information, were illegal aliens or were otherwise fraudulently receiving welfare benefits.
Many unemployed people stay on welfare because it's to their advantage because they make more on welfare for not working than they could working a low wage job. A large percentage of these able bodied welfare recipients are also making money on the side via working for under the table for cash jobs or by criminal activity such as drug dealing and prostitution. Lots of people, perhaps even a majority, make a very good(and tax free) living on welfare supplanted by drug dealing and hustling other illegal and illicit activities
Requiring that welfare recipients apply in person and provide finger print verification and be re evaluated for benefits on an annual basis would stop a lot of the fraud and prevent people from receiving multiple benefits under several false identities.
Requiring those able bodied professional welfare recipients who are now riding and milking the system because they make more money on un taxed welfare benefits by not working than they would by working and paying taxes like the rest of us than they make working would provide incentives for them to actually get a job.
An added plus it that the physical act of having to show up to a job site would occupy the time they now spend working on the side in the same huge underground cash based economy that serves the illegal alien population or spend getting cash illegally by drug dealing and other criminal activities. This would put a crimp on their under the table incomes and make actually working for a living a more competitive option for them.
“Requiring that welfare recipients apply in person and provide finger print verification and be re evaluated for benefits on an annual basis would stop a lot of the fraud and prevent people from receiving multiple benefits under several false identities.”
Now wait just a minute there. This would require goobermint workers to actually WORK! That is simply not feasible.