From July 2007 to June 2008 MN paid out $486.1 Million in welfare. The next closes state… Wisconsin at $2.4 Million. We spend way too much in welfare.
Source: MN Dept of Human Services
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Misleading or just inacurate? Either way, you weren’t paying attention at the fair.
Those figures reflect where the welfare money was spent, not how much was paid out. Wisconsin actually pays the same in welfare (or close enough so that it makes no difference); but instead of paying more out in cash (like MN does), they pay the majority out in child care and education services.
How much MN spends on welfare is pretty standard, I just think it is spent in wrong ways. Wisconsin has a much better model then we do.
My link is broken…damn.
Let’s try that again!
And yet why would someone on welfare be buying online purchases for $3,000?
And really ep0pee, a MPR link?
The data is straight out of Seifert’s mouth! Tom probrably saw the graphic at the MN State Fair GOP booth!
MPR…grumble…liberal bias my ass! *storms off in McCain-style rage*
*does yoga to calm down, hugs a tree and saves a whale*
But yes, MPR is the only one with the article still up. Pioneer Press (where I originally saw this data 2 weeks ago) took the article down.
OK- the explanation makes more sense now. But holy crap- why is that $ leaving the state at all?
What a stupid system. Those EBT cards have little to no accountability at all. (This was evidenced by the recent transaction that The Wife and I witnessed at Target. Probably a MN card being used in AZ if I had to guess.)
And $500 Million/year in a state with a population of 5 million is too much.
If it was divided equally, each MN resident would have to pay $100/year to provide welfare. Rough math of course since we don’t divide the tax burden equally, instead we penalize the “successful”. Anyone in this blog’s vast audience most likely pays more than the $100 share.
And that’s (if I understand the map now) just for the cash/EBT benefits. Not the other social services that these welfare recipients are surely using.
So while the original way we got to this post was off, the message still stands.
Yes, those figures are just the EBT/Food Stamp spending.
Is this too much? No. Is this money being spent on unproductive and wasteful programs? Yes.
C’mon, MN is only the 7th most welfarest state in the union! Not like we ain’t trying here…
BTW, MN Dept of Human Services budget for 2008: $4 Billion.
More than $100 per resident for cash payouts to people with no jobs is too much in my book.
Is this too much money? Yes. And the reason that I think so: this graph. If the people that live in MN are getting this money-how are they able to spend it in other states for so much? This means they are able to travel….vacation….but wait…I have to save to do that. There isn’t a tax payer that is paying for me to vacation or to buy things online. (btw-as the only station that is on my radio is MPR, I would like to know why that isn’t good? Because-well-I love that site, and station)
This is for Tom-I am not a republican!!!
The graph does make more sense, but (now I’m late in responding to this) why are we letting so much of our funds go in these ways as opposed to everyone else?
So we are #7 “most welfarest”? Is that adjusted for population? Who is above us? (I’m WAY too lazy to look it up myself).
I googled ‘welfare spending by state’, first result.
The money is enough, it is the program that is a problem. Obviously there is something wrong in a system that allows our tax dollars to be spent outside the state. Seifert is right (I just threw up a little in my mouth), this needs to be investigated to see why/how this is happening.
Taking this graphic as evidence that MN spends too much on welfare is wholly inaccurate. All the graphic shows is where money is being spent; the graphic shows no evidence that MN should cut back on its spending or is spending too much. Investigate and fix the system, don’t talk about extremes.
I’ll talk about extremities all I want. Arms. Fingers. Even toes.
OK – New York I understand… but what’s with Alaska? Damn Eskimos.
Heh, I got a finger for ya!
Too lazy/sick of reading about welfare to research Alaskan spending. But my guess would be they have to count the oil payoffs as welfare.