American Mike wrote on Nov 26, 2007 11:19 PM:... They should come inspect my home. After putting out $850.00 a month to keep my kid in a community college program, there isn't anything left to put food in the fridge. Could I be arrested for self-abuse? Hope they don�t find out he�s on cup a soup 5 days a week and taking dumpster diving as an elective. Finally a Supreme Court ruling that makes sense. My shopping basket has Albertsons raisin brand flakes, a pound of 80% lean ground beef, pack of flour tortillas, a couple of fresh veggies and Good Day milk. The people with the EFT debit cards have their carts full of prime rib, lobster, halibut and Golden Arrow milk. Didn�t read the articles about meth use and enforcement, but would hazard a guess with more stringent inspection and drug testing of all residents of many welfare recipients homes, a huge portion of the meth problem would disappear, more kids would be up for adoption, and the crack heads would live behind bars.

MJ wrote on Nov 27, 2007 5:00 AM:Finally the Ninth Circuit got one right. Next step is to send an ICE agent along for the ride. Then we will really see the welfare roles reduced!

Not About Privacy wrote on Nov 27, 2007 6:41 AM:If you're feeding off the public trough then the public has the right to check up and make sure they're not getting ripped off.

britneywho wrote on Nov 27, 2007 7:45 AM:I think it's good to continue home checks and drug testing also.

Taxpayer wrote on Nov 27, 2007 8:03 AM:You are asking for taxpayer dollars to pay your way through this life. If you want it you should be required to submit to certain conditions. If you don't want to comply with those conditions then don't take the money! This is NOT unreasonable, it is a precaution put in place to prevent the long recognized ways of defrauding the government! Get over it or get a job!

It just makes sense. wrote on Nov 27, 2007 9:09 AM:When someone is on the dole they have less rights to privacy. This particular regime in Wash has made significant inroads in the privacy area for normal people as well.

Hick wrote on Nov 27, 2007 9:25 AM:I posted a comment last night and the NTC censored it. Come on NTC don't censor comments that respect norms of decency.

Rights? wrote on Nov 27, 2007 9:46 AM: With Aug 8 patriot act, Welfare or not, do we really have any rights left to protect? The way I read it my home has no doors or reasonable hours anymore. My worry is for the children in all of this. That it is ok for brandishing badges to frighten the little ones or give the impression to the older ones that something "wrong" is going on... what happened to innocent until proven guilty? Have you seen the aclu's web page?

Does the ACLU wrote on Nov 27, 2007 9:59 AM:spend money without knowing where it is going? Taxpayers have rights too. If fraud is present that is an assualt on the taxpayer and our rights.

Aw c'mon guys wrote on Nov 27, 2007 11:04 AM:it is Christmas! Don't be Grinches, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme more!

No Mas Welfaria! wrote on Nov 27, 2007 11:07 AM:Waaa - the poor freeloaders actually having to play by the rules! How about having lass babies without responsible fathers who actually have jobs? Or how about having NO babies unless you can prove you can afford one? The ACLU is a bunch of treehugging whiners!!

Ken wrote on Nov 27, 2007 11:09 AM:It is about time that those that expect the free benefits be on notice. This is a way to curb a bit of fraud, abuse, misuse of taxpayers money. I think that there should be many more visits to make sure those that receive welfare are not abusing the system. I think that it should be taken a bit further, and make those that receive these free benefits do work before receiving the money. When I was in Germany, the welfare recipients were walking along the roads and picking up trash before they received their money. That is why Germany streets were so clean. It should be done here in America.

esteban wrote on Nov 27, 2007 11:31 AM:People abuse the welfare system?

How about wrote on Nov 27, 2007 11:56 AM:deporting illegals and putting these welfare people to work? This will help everybody all the way around. Except 'Ahem' some.

Fred H wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:02 PM:Throw in a foll-blown Immigration Inspection to determine alienage, then a drug test and we are nearing perfection. We should make it miserable (if not difficult) to receive perpetual welfare. If you are getting free money and you don't like the rules, get a job!

Same for the Wealthy... wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:11 PM:I hope ALL "welfare" (government handouts) recipients are treated equally. When the government gives mega handouts to the wealthy, I hope those rich fat cats also have to submit to such intrusive practices. Big corporate farmers and their sweetheart subsidies soak up more funds than poor people ever did. Add the corrupt defense industries and you can see who the real "welfare" cheats are in this nation. THE RICH!

britneywho wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:14 PM:If I had the opportunity to collect Section 8, food stamps, Medi-Cal or what else the state has to offer I would gladly let them do home-checks. Our country is lucky enough to have these resources available. South of us have no such options.

Greg in Oceanside wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:22 PM:Not only should welfare administrators have the right to inspect the home of the recipients, we shouldn't have to have ICE do inspections also. It should be a matter of policy that Illegal aliens should not get any support whatsoever, so ICE shouldn't be needed. But, we know that's not the case, so I fully support ICE's involvement with home inspections, including proof of citizenship.

A Welfare Beneficiary wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:24 PM:It's appalling the lack of compassion for people who may legitimately need welfare, and lack of knowledge about the law going on in here. I was the beneficiary of welfare because, hey, people, EMERGENCIES do happen. I was hospitalized for three weeks and nearly died due to a tramatic accident. My heart rate was so low the doctor said I was "knocking on death's door." Due to the accident I was basically rendered crippled and unable to work for many months. Coming from a low income family, I had no one to turn to. Fortunately, the government gave me aid that helped me through the recovery process and more importantly helped me survive at a time when I basically thought my life was over. Without that aid I wouldn't have been able to turn my life completely around and get a PROFESSIONAL job based upon a good education I earned through my own means, and I now have a very comfortable salary and benefits. Also, suprising is the lack of knowledge people in here have about the law. This doesn't come down to, hey you benefit from the government you lose your civil liberties. The test is whether a search and seizure is "reasonable" and in cases where a person is denied a choice to consent or not, that usually means it's per se "unreasonable." Plus, dangers exist for how this could be implemented. Anyone familiar with DUI checkpoints, and how they're only lawful if ALL people are checked instead of the officers picking and choosing who to check due to equal protection issues. That issue would also exist here if the law enforcement is given unfettered discretion to pick and choose what applicants to single out. That's from a legal standpoint, regardless of any normative justifications for it. It would have been traumatic for law enforcement officers rummaging through my family's house before I received the benefits. I had nothing to hide, but there's something offensive, insulting, stigmatizing to have representatives of the government going through your laundry, personal belongings, things that you keep in your house to keep private, perhaps for sentimental reasons; and to have that occur when you haven't anything done anything wrong/illegal but are only asking for help, that's insulting. Until you guy's go through an emergency, nearly lose your life, and wonder if you'll ever recover...many of you should just shut your mouth.

Concerned-1 wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:38 PM:Pinch me! The ACLU lost a case? The Ninth District Circus actually made a reasonable decision that benefits the main stream American Citizen? Yikes, maybe there's a chance to save our country yet.

Freeze! wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:57 PM:Open your door, it's the Food Stamp Police! Also along with the WIC Police, Section 8 Police and all the other freebie Police! Oh, Oh here comes the Smoke Police, everybody down on the ground I smell cigarette smoke in the apartment and there is minors here, someone is going away for a long long time!

Someone is lying here wrote on Nov 27, 2007 12:58 PM:Bring in the waterboard!

Idea wrote on Nov 27, 2007 1:03 PM:How about these folks take the jobs that our leaders say Americans won't do? Up goes legal employment, up goes tax revenue, down go taxes for all and most important down goes the illegal alien population. Problems solved!!!

To: A Welfare Beneficiary wrote on Nov 27, 2007 1:11 PM:I too was a beneficiary of the welfare system at one time in my life. I was greatful for the assistance I received at a very hard time in my life. I also feel that, as taxpayers, we have every right to know that we are not being ripped off by people who are wrongfully seeking benefits or who lie on their applications about things such as who is living in the home to get benefits they wouldn't normally qualify for.

Concerned-1 wrote on Nov 27, 2007 2:44 PM:If there weren't so many well-fare rip off artists out there, government wouldn't have to resort to such measures. It's a fact, deal with it.

Singa wrote on Nov 27, 2007 4:16 PM:I worked 3 jobs, when my son was young, and I was newly divorced, just to stay off the welfare roles. These mothers are not above doing the same, if they don't want the searches. They are also to make sure that there aren't other people living off of the welfare (boyfriends, etc.) I have to agree with the court. I also favor "workfare" as I've sometimes heard it called. This thing of 2nd and 3rd generation welfare families (don't EVEN mention how many of them are illegal!!) is ridiculous!

Karl wrote on Nov 27, 2007 4:59 PM:Singa, go girl. I hope all is well with you and your family.

Karl wrote on Nov 27, 2007 5:40 PM:Congrats "A Welfare Beneficiary" your recovery is so full you now know how to bloviate. Since you are now an expert on spending tax dollars, put your money where your mouth is. How can we pull the welfare class out of the pit you were in?

The real criminals are... wrote on Nov 27, 2007 5:47 PM:the LAWYERS involved in this class action. They hold up the banner of "civil liberty" when in fact it is all about lining their pockets with cash. As for the FREELOADERS who abuse the system, that is what you are ...a Freeloader. Not gonna work no more! Go get'em!

To Karl wrote on Nov 27, 2007 6:15 PM:"How can we pull the welfare class out of the pit you were in?" ... Let me start by saying I'm not the person you were responding to, but have also been a recipient of public assistance. The answer to your question is a simple one. First you must limit benefits and force improvement. Allow someone who is involved in some type of advancement, such as vocational training, to keep their full benefits while they are educated and start weening them off as they begin to earn a living. Anyone who doesn't voluntarily enter such training should be cut off within a reasonable period of time given their specific situation. I was allowed, by our government, to sit on my butt until my youngest child was 6 and would have been able to get additional benefits if I continued to have children. That's ridiculous. You have to force people to live within their means and not the means of the taxpayers. It may be tough ... but sink or swim is a pretty good description of what needs to happen.

To Karl wrote on Nov 27, 2007 6:22 PM:What an astonishingly inhuman remark, Karl. Regardless of what morally reprehensible beliefs you may hold; the nation as a whole has passed federal legislation to benefit people who suffer from a life-threatining accident and are physically handicapped, and thus rendered physically unable to work...but I suppose you also spit on the wheelchaired vets, and those who are mentally disable with such diseases as schizophrenia. Me, on the other hand, I'm perfectly content paying taxes for those who truly need it. If Singa, hopefully this would never happen, was in a serious car accident, I would gladly pay some tax dollars to help her and her family out if she was temporarily unable to work and she has kids to take care of. But, Karl, what do you propose? Eugenics? Kill them all off so you won't have to worry about how to "pull the welfare class out of the pit"...no, seems like you're content with having a national police force storm people's houses; not eugenics yet Karl...but perhaps you will have your way soon. As for the absurdity of your rhetorical question for how to pull the welfare class out of the pit I was in...well, I have no idea how to help people who have lost limbs, are sent to emergency rooms, who can barely function by being able to do simple things like bathe...that's a tough one Karl. Perhaps I should counter with an equally absurd rhetorical question---how do you propose we fix the jury system after someone like OJ was acquitted? Bloviate? I'm not that boastful, actually I'm quite modest in person despite my successes ;)

Re: To Karl @ 6:22pm wrote on Nov 27, 2007 8:13 PM:Boy are you completely off the mark. Disabled vets, car crash victims and the mentally disabled are clearly not the people he's talking about. There is a very definitive welfare class and there are many of those who take advantage of things they shouldn't be getting in the first place. I too support helping the people who truly need it ... but the people who have kid after kid and live with the baby's daddy while collecting benefits that say there is no known father are not the people who truly need it. You need to pull your head out of the sand so that you can see & understand that a lot of people who are getting these benefits either don't qualify or are scamming them ... and I've known some of both.

Callie wrote on Nov 27, 2007 8:16 PM:When I was a child, my mother had to go on welfare for a few years after she and my father had divorced. It was standard practice at the time for caseworkers to conduct home inspections. We might not have liked it, but it didn't hurt us. What does hurt us, and indeed innocent American citizens and their children who desperately need to depend on welfare benefits, for those who commit welfare fraud to get away with it and give those citizens who truly need assistance a bad name.

Re: Re To Karl wrote on Nov 28, 2007 9:01 AM:Not off the mark at all. I shared my personal story of how I was a victim of a tramatic accident and Karl debased me and my near death experience. Tramatic accidents are precisely what I was talking about, but despite me explicitly saying that those who go through an emergency should receive help, Karl insultingly said "How can you pull the welfare system out of the PIT YOU were in?" Having nearly died, lost a lot of blood which made me need a blood transfusion, and thought my life was over, I'm extremely offended having survived and hear someone say something like that. Karl hides anonymously, but NO ONE would get away with saying that to my face. Not after what I went through. That is all I'm talking about, and I was quite clear. I do not have an opinion about whether people should receive welfare if they are NOT going through a tramatic accident, physically disabled, or mentally disabled. But for the latter categories they should receive help. It's human to say otherwise, which is exactly what Karl WAS talking about. I was talking about tramatic events, but Karl inhumanly implied even those people shouldn't receive help.

Social Security and Supplemental Security DISABILITY CAREER RIP-OFF Artists wrote on Nov 28, 2007 12:38 PM:Move to San Diego Backcountry where you are FREE from mandatory checks and Neighbors Prying Eyes. As a Low Income WORKING POOR and BackCountry Resident what I have OBSERVED on a Day-in Day-out Basis makes me WRETCH from the ankles up.

To: A Welfare Beneficiary wrote on Nov 28, 2007 1:44 PM:I am not unsympathetic to your prior situation. I actually agree that there should not be selective enforcement - make everyone who goes on the dole go through such an inspection & prove that they are legal citizens of the U.S. before they collect a dime of my tax dollars. A half million dollars in fraud is but the tip of the iceberg.

Bugged wrote on Apr 9, 2008 2:33 PM:Ok then. Now do an article on Corporate Welfare, mmmmmKAY?

Half of San Diego would starve if IT got cut off without notice.

Ed wrote on Apr 25, 2008 9:11 AM:Honestly, Welfare Recipients get everything they need to get on the right track yet refuse to do so. They are given housing, daycare, $$$, food, medical insurance....These are all things the rest of us have to work hard for but these people get them for free. Is this fair to the hard working-tax paying citizens? The answer is no. All welfare recipients should be required to perform some sort of community service in order to get their aid. We have "welfare families" in our county. I know b/c I conduct welfare fraud investigations. Its hilarious that we mention a name and all of us know who that person is, who their siblings are, who their parents, and who their children are...Is this the type of future we want for our kids??? The answer is no. Knock on every single door, open every closet, run every SSN, make them all drug test...I'd rather have my tax dollars pay for all the above services rather than supporting other people's families when I have a hard enough time supporting mine. Yes, there are some people who don't abuse the system but as the saying goes, "One bad apple does ruin the bunch."