Wisconsin: The new war on the poor

Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators are launching a brand-new war on the poor in Wisconsin under an absurd belief the poor may have too much money. The inequality of wealth in America right now is a growing political issue threatening our democracy, but no intelligent person seriously believes the problem is way too much money in the hands of poor people. Just last week, a major economic study concluded the income gap between the richest 1% and all the rest of us in this country is now larger than it has been since 1928, the year before the stock market crash led to the Great Depression.

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Politicians like Walker created this new platinum-plated plutocracy with millions in tax giveaways to self-proclaimed job creators who don’t bother to create any jobs and across-the-board percentage tax cuts that throw bulging bags of large-denomination bills to the wealthy and shiny coins at working people.

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You know the problem. Public assistance programs benefit poor people. Republicans don’t like poor people. Poor people just aren’t as honest as rich people. Before receiving any help, poor people need to be investigated within an inch of their lives.

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So did the newspaper find much real evidence of fraud? Well, no. Last year, it said, only about 400 applications for benefits out of 300,000 in Milwaukee County were referred for intensive fraud investigation. The blockbuster revelation: About half were ineligible for assistance. What that reporting leaves out, of course, is that the other half of those whose eligibility was questioned, in fact, did qualify for assistance. And 200 ineligible applications out of 300,000 is infinitesimal—six hundredths of a percent.