Help Wanted: Babysitters. Salary: Six Figures.

Photo from: misocrazy

For anyone who read, even casually, about the welfare wars of the 1990’s, it seems strange that there is so little conversation, political or otherwise, about the topic these days.
That may soon be changing, of course, as the proposed Obama stimulus plan attempts to direct money toward the poorest segments of our population.
For those of you who desire a trip down memory lane, back to when the papers were filled with tales of welfare queens and the like, check out this interesting Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Raquel Rutledge:

The two-story house on 17th St. looks typical of the working-class homes on Racine’s west side. Three bedrooms, one bath. Assessed by the city at $122,000.
Yet inside, a young woman has tapped into a home-based money-making operation that netted her and her three sisters more than half a million in taxpayer dollars since 2006.
And they did it with the blessing of the state.
All four had been in-home child-care providers. Collectively they have 17 children. For years, the government has paid them to stay home and care for each other’s children.
Nothing illegal about it under the rules of Wisconsin Shares, the decade-old child-care assistance program designed alongside Wisconsin’s welfare-to-work program.
“It’s a loophole,” said Laurice Lincoln, administrative coordinator for child care with the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services. “Do we have concerns about it? Yes, it can be a problem. But if it’s allowed, it’s allowed. We really can’t dispute it.”

If you are anti-Obama, you can gnash your teeth and say: The new stimulus package will make this look like small potatoes.
If you are pro-Obama, you can perk up and say: This is what he means when he talks about getting rid of rotten government programs.
(Hat tip: Daniel Goldin)