On Saturday, Legal Insurrection posted an article about the location of a large part of the fraud found in unemployment claims.
The article reports:
On Thursday, the Department of Government Efficiency revealed that three deep-blue states—California, New York, and Massachusetts—were responsible for $305 million, or 80%, of the $382 million in fraudulent unemployment payments issued since 2020.
DOGE also reported that 68% of unemployment benefits paid to parolees flagged by Customs and Border Protection as being on the terrorist watchlist or having criminal records were issued in California.
The DOGE team found that $59 million in unemployment benefits was paid to 24,500 people listed as over 115 years old. Another $254 million went to 28,000 people between the ages of 1 and 5, while $69 million was distributed to 9,700 people with birthdates more than 15 years in the future.
It is interesting that California, New York, and Massachusetts were responsible for 80 percent of the fraud. Slightly less than one-third of Americans live in California, Texas, Florida or New York. Having a large population makes it more difficult to track every case and makes fraud easier.
The article also notes:
DOGE also reported this week that since 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol (under the Biden administration) has paroled over 6,300 individuals flagged on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist or with criminal records into the country with “minimal screening.” Though their paroles have now been revoked, all received Social Security numbers and could access federal benefits. Among them:
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- 905 received Medicaid, including 4 on the terrorist watchlist ($276K paid out)
- 41 collected Unemployment Insurance ($42K total)
- 22 received federal student loans ($280K)
- 409 got tax refunds in 2024 ($751K)
- An undisclosed number received SNAP (food stamps)
I believe in helping people, but I also believe that charity begins at home and ideally does not involve the government. If I want to help my neighbor, good for me. However, for the government to take what I have earned and give it to someone who didn’t earn it is not a viable business plan for a nation. As Margaret Thatcher once stated, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”