Unemployment benefits fraud soars in 2009, By Jason Stein, June 6, 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Fraud in Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance program has more than tripled over the past two years to $17.7 million in 2009, according to state figures. Many of the improper payments are being recovered and they are still only a fraction of the total amount the state pays out in benefits to struggling jobless workers. But as part of a national trend, overpayments due to both fraud and honest mistakes are growing more quickly than jobless benefits as a whole and last year, in Wisconsin alone, totaled $51.1 million. The improper payments further stress a state jobless fund that has already been forced to borrow $1.4 billion from the federal government to keep making payments during a time of chronic unemployment…”
Day: June 8, 2010
UN Food Price Index
U.N. food price index increases 22 percent, Associated Press, June 7, 2010, The Oklahoman: “Families from Pakistan to Argentina to Congo are being battered by surging food prices that are dragging more people into poverty, fueling political tensions and forcing some to give up eating meat, fruit and even tomatoes. Scraping to afford the next meal is still a grim daily reality in the developing world even though the global food crisis that dominated headlines in 2008 quickly faded in the U.S. and other rich countries…”
Weatherization Program
Weatherization program ramps up after slow start, By Christine Vestal, June 8, 2010, Stateline.org: “Of all the programs funded by the federal economic stimulus law, one of the most criticized has been the boost given to weatherizing homes. Taxpayer groups and critical members of Congress said the $4.7 billion set aside for installing insulation, plugging air leaks and putting in energy-efficient furnaces and air conditioning systems would result in wasteful spending. Other critics questioned whether tiny local authorities that do this sort of work could gear up to spend the avalanche of new funding in time to meet tight stimulus deadlines…”