Show The Chiselers and Politicians Profit Utah's Welfare Commission has put the finger on a weakness in the federal has governments government's relief program which long needed attention In a letter to county welfare directors the commission noted that federal failure to establish eligibility standards for re re- recipients recipients of public welfare encourages lax administration on the state level The commission singled out a number of states as having lax standards of eligibility Among mong them were Oklahoma Washington Texas Colorado Massachusetts Massachusetts Massachusetts and Georgia Georgia- The horrible example is Louisiana where standards for eligibility eligibility eligibility eligi eligi- are so lax that of every 1000 persons over 65 are getting old age assistance This percentage getting relief compares with a national average of out of every 1000 residents over 65 and anda a Utah percentage of of every 1000 The commission expressed itself as favoring legislation setting up liP minimum standards of eligibility l ty before federal funds would be made available to any state This said the commission would prevent political manipulation to get votes and insure a more equitable distribution of federal funds We Ve think the State Welfare Commission Commission Commis Commis- sion has mac made an excellent point There are arc three significant things relative to this matter of eligibility standards for relief and the encouragement of laxity in welfare administration First is the simple fact that the present system is an open invitation to toa a state to be lax in order to get a bigger share of Uncle Sams Sam's largesse The more people of Louisiana for example who are on the welfare payroll the more money Uncle Sam pours into the stale state stale at the expense of the rest of the country The the board matching program without rigorous standards invites a state to match big in order to get more And this in turn invites manipulation and utilization of the welfare program for political purposes Second the present system encourages encourages encourages ages competition between the states stales Utah's people for example look across the line into Colorado and see sec a freer system of welfare expenditure in operation opera opera- tion and tion-and and they challenge our administrators administrators administrators adminis adminis- and legislators to do as well With no arbitrary federal standards that kind of competition might well continue until almost everybody is getting some kind of relief check check and and were we're all looking looking looking look look- ing frantically for a perpetual Santa Claus Glaus to foot the bill But most important is the fact that lax welfare standards threaten to spread the available funds so thin that those in real need of help are deprived of an adequate level of assistance Here in Utah we have established fairly strict standards of eligibility We Ve have thus reduced the number of individuals individuals individuals indi indi- on our relief rolls But we have used the savings to do better belter by those who are left on the rolls During the past year the increase in welfare allotments has been much greater than the increase in the cost of living Today our average grant to old age assistance clients is among the 48 states and our average grant in aid to dependent children is seventh Strict standards of eligibility do not hurt those in need of assistance Actually they help them It is only the chiselers and the politicians who profit by the laxity in welfare administration which is isto isto isto to far too great an extent encouraged under present federal welfare policies We Ve e owe the Utah Welfare Commission Commission Commission Commis Commis- sion a vote of thanks for calling the situation to public attention We Ve hope their vigorous criticism will get attention atten atten- tion and tion-and and action action in in Congress |