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I was on public assistance many years ago when my children were young. They would go to great lengths to find that extra $10 or $20 that people might not be declaring, even if it was a gift or money found on the ground.

Sometimes, I needed that small windfall to buy luxuries like toilet paper or toothpaste not covered by food stamps. Sometimes social workers would even invade people's homes to make sure there was no man living there. I've seen people dropped in a heartbeat over the smallest infraction. It dawned on me that it was a way to keep people in poverty by discouraging any attempt to better their lives.

Once again, the process of trying to uncover what they call "fraud" was not only demeaning, but undoubtedly it cost more than the amount they were attempting to save. We've seen the same thing with states that require drug testing for people on any kind of government assistance - it enriched some medical labs (Rick Scott), but cost the government far more than they ever saved. So the wealthy people like Rick Scott go free, but some poor families end up hungry.