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kyburgA US woman has pleaded guilty to fraud charges after coaching her children to feign learning difficulties in order to obtain state benefits.
The federal court heard that Rosie Costello, 46, of Vancouver, Washington state, collected more than $280,000 (£143,000) in benefits over 20 years.
She began the coaching when her daughter was four and her son eight.
Take a look at that figure - $280,000 over twenty years. Median income in the US these days is around $32,000 - that's half make more, half make less. Frankly, that sounds like a whole lot of work for $28,000 a year or less. Essentially homeless, too.
And not stupid work either. Telling lies that big? It's taken twenty years - and they didn't catch HER - they caught her son! No, not stupid. Crafty as hell.
I just don't get the appeal of such a thing. Work that hard, be that bright - get next to nothing for it, when with those kinds of smarts, you could do INCREDIBLE things...I don't get it.
It'd be less work. Seriously.
And the effect on the kids is yet to be measured entirely. It's like they just didn't know how much they were shorting themselves. Ghad, what a life.
And then, measuring the effect on the general population when someone with children who really needs those services comes along.
*steams*
Yanno, I think a decent penalty for fraud like that is repaying the state by recycling. Out of landfills. Unprotected. For however long it takes. And then parole-type surveillance for the rest of their lives. No, I don't believe in the death penalty. That would be over too soon.
The federal court heard that Rosie Costello, 46, of Vancouver, Washington state, collected more than $280,000 (£143,000) in benefits over 20 years.
She began the coaching when her daughter was four and her son eight.
Take a look at that figure - $280,000 over twenty years. Median income in the US these days is around $32,000 - that's half make more, half make less. Frankly, that sounds like a whole lot of work for $28,000 a year or less. Essentially homeless, too.
And not stupid work either. Telling lies that big? It's taken twenty years - and they didn't catch HER - they caught her son! No, not stupid. Crafty as hell.
I just don't get the appeal of such a thing. Work that hard, be that bright - get next to nothing for it, when with those kinds of smarts, you could do INCREDIBLE things...I don't get it.
It'd be less work. Seriously.
And the effect on the kids is yet to be measured entirely. It's like they just didn't know how much they were shorting themselves. Ghad, what a life.
And then, measuring the effect on the general population when someone with children who really needs those services comes along.
*steams*
Yanno, I think a decent penalty for fraud like that is repaying the state by recycling. Out of landfills. Unprotected. For however long it takes. And then parole-type surveillance for the rest of their lives. No, I don't believe in the death penalty. That would be over too soon.
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-27 03:54 pm (UTC)You know...
Date: 2007-02-27 05:45 pm (UTC)sheesh...
no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:49 pm (UTC)And I'm having trouble with my legitamite disability compensation. Ye ghods.