Should this woman still be allowed to collect state aid?
 

From what I read so far, she made the bills, whose fault is it that she thinks she needs aid?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/07/us/mic...html?hpt=hp_c1

(CNN) -- Amanda Clayton hit it big playing the Michigan Lottery. Like many winners, she used her $1 million prize to buy a new house.

But the Lincoln Park, Michigan, resident is receiving money in another form -- $200 a month in state food assistance, according to CNN Detroit affiliate WDIV.

"I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn't, I thought, maybe, it was OK because I'm not working," Clayton, 24, told WDIV when it asked whether it was appropriate for her to receive the money.

Now a state lawmaker is trying to stop such assistance, which is not illegal. He says the food assistance should not go to those who have found riches through the lottery.

"We need to continue to protect our taxpayers' dollars ... and taxpayer dollars should be going to those who really do need assistance," Michigan Rep. Dale Zorn of Ida Township told HLN's Vinnie Politan on Wednesday.

The Michigan Department of Human Services said it agrees that the system needs to change. The agency told WDIV that it is difficult to verify if the financial situation changes for a person who gets public assistance.

"DHS relies on clients being forthcoming about their actual financial status. If they are not, and continue to accept benefits, they may face criminal investigation and be required to pay back those benefits," the agency told the affiliate.

"Our Office of Inspector General will continue to vigorously pursue any and all abuse and fraud in the welfare system," the agency added.

In October, Clayton walked away with $1 million in the "Make Me Rich!" lottery game show. She also bought a car, WDIV reported.

After taking a lump sum and paying taxes, the unemployed woman said she ended up with just more than $500,000.

Asked if she had the right to the public assistance money, Clayton answered, "I kind of do. I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses."

Why was she playing the lottery?

Lottery = tax on people who are bad at math.

Also, obviously this is a generalization which I don't have data to back, in my experience most people that play the lottery are not in the situation that they should be throwing away even $5 a week on it (or however much it is). Most people I know who DO have the extra "throw away" money only play when it's ridiculously high, and even then they know they are throwing their money away.


The woman from the article is a moron, plain and simple.

No math needed to be done...it's almost a truth. 5 dollars is minimal.

here is one study on how much poor people spend on lottery

This statement sticks out right here because I know so many people that could relate:

My parents never played the lottery, but I have a grandmother who did -- and probably still does -- and I had a lot of uncles and aunts who also played. One might think that would have influenced me to play, but if anything, it probably did the opposite. After all, even when I was eight years old, I could see that my uncles and aunts, despite playing the lottery every day, weren't exactly rich. And my relatives always made it clear that they knew they were on a fool's errand.

In Texas, assistance is given on a card, and that card can only be used on certain items. If she's struggling so much and has no income, why is she playing the lottery?

Also, she's complaining because she now has 2 houses to take care of. Did you not think about that before you purchased house #2? Sheesh.

It pisses me off when I see folks screwing the system up for those who really need it.

Most states give aid on cards that can only be used for certain things, yet many those people still drink and smoke and play the lottery as well as other financially poor ideas. Some do under the table cash jobs, work but still qualify, or some sell their benefits to others (if you give me $20, I'll let you have $40 from my benefits card). The people who do this mostly do not understand how silly this is because they've not been taught differently. DS's article explains well why the poor play the lottery.

SNAP benefits are given on a card in Michigan just like in TX. I've given up wondering why people buy stupid crap they can't afford but at the end of the day this woman isn't struggling and she should have to repay whatever benefits she received.

I would think that the fact she's on public assistance should have disqualified her from the uber dumb GIVEMEMONEYNOOOOOOOWWWWW lump sum payment.

Generally speaking I don't think the lump sum option is uber dumb but in this case it is. If you're middle aged or older (or closer to death) I think getting the lump sum is the way to go.

I used to work with a guy who won the Michigan lottery when he was in his early 20s and he spread his payments out over the course of 20 years. He was never balling rich but he was able to afford a very nice house, newer cars, cottage up north, good investment portfolio, etc all without ever working a full time job. He's actually one of the reasons why I've never played the lottery. They say if you personally know a lotto winner, your chances of winning yourself are pretty nil.

She's been cut off and yeah, it's all over the news up here. This is the kind of story that makes everybody crazy, I think. It also usually results in some kind of legislation that ends up cutting off some people who really need the assistance and don't abuse it, which is sad.

There have also been a lot of reports about college students whose parents are paying for school managing to play the system to get food stamps.

LMFAO

Ugh. This made national. She left a pretty shit-hole area and bought a house in another not that great town (but better than where she was). Unfortunately this town is in my community. Woop.

She's a complete idiot. Her fb was pretty interesting till she made it unsearchable or deleted it. I'm glad someone turned her in.

Agreed.


Yes.

Sounds like this guy had some money training in his life.

This woman makes me angry to no end. Any state with a lottery system should require recent large sum winners to take a course in money management (Or some variation). SERIOUSLY. I'm glad she got cut off and i really hope the state makes her pay back every cent. The people of the state of Michigan should not have to pay for her stupidity.

Well, the lottery she won only comes in a lump sum, I believe, because she only won $1 million, or about $560,000 after taxes, but still... It's not enough to retire on, but it's enough to support yourself while you get an education, or to move to another state where there are more jobs.

Oh that poor 20 something year old thing only winning 1 mil....:p:D

Honestly, if someone gave me almost $600k right now (at 30) I could probably live out the rest of my days pretty comfortably with maybe only a part-time job waiting tables or working at Starbucks to augment my income.

I could, on my own, but not with kids. I think my daughter will end up costing me twice that by the time I'm done raising her...lol.

So, you could buy a small house for $100K or so (these days, after it has been completely remodeled), you could get a new car for $30K or so (modest one). That eliminates mortgage payments and gives you a vehicle for 7 or 8 years, probably... more if you don't drive much. So you have about $470K left. From there, you need about (monthly):
$200/month utilities (heat, electric, water)
$500/month groceries/gas
$250 car insurance/home owners insurance
$250 property tax
$200 clothes/entertainment/spending money

That's $1400/month. Not counting investment interest (because you could lose your shirt in the stock market and can only get *maybe* 5% on a CD/money market), that'll carry you for 335 months or 27 years. The interest you do get would basically be your adjustment for inflation. I could do it, but not with the kids. I doubt I'll live longer than 27 more years...

That doesn't really cover extra stuff like vacations, home repairs/remodels, car repairs or future cars once yours dies either... It also didn't include internet, phone, or cable service.

I definitely wasn't justifying her being on food stamps. That is just wrong. I was just pointing out that this wasn't a huge jackpot lottery.

I have a bad feeling that's she's going to burn through this money and then be back on public assistance in a couple years...when the money runs out and she still doesn't have a job. It makes me sad when I read that about lottery winners.

First things first...spending $30k on a car is modest to you? :eek: If I'm spending that kind of money on a car it better be an BMW or an Audi. All of the automakers are making pretty decent vehicles these days that are in the $15k-$20k range (that's modest).

Another thing to consider; She's young, seems to be attractive, and loaded. I'm sure she'll find a spouse who will most likely contribute to the household finances.

I'm also sure she'll be dead broke in 6 years...

Exactly what I was thinking! I just bought a brand new Honda Civic last year and it was about $18,000. That's all you need.

And another question... Where the hell are you buying a completely remodeled house for $100,000?! This DEFINITELY is dependent upon where you live.

I dunno, my 2009 Saturn Vue was $21K with my GM discount but by the time you added all the fees, extended warranty, taxes, destination charges, blah, blah, it was $28K so I rounded up to $30K. It was one of the cheapest cars I could find at the time, that I could stomach the appearance of and fit two teenagers in, anyway. Starting MSRP for a Ford Focus is $18, 600 or something like that. Add the basics like an automatic transmission, air conditioning, etc. and you get up there pretty fast.

In the area where this woman lives, you can get a house for that and I was basing it on that. She can get a foreclosure for probably $40K and have the remodeling done herself for probably $25K and get it even cheaper. Housing has tanked here, seriously tanked. My house is worth less than half of what I bought it for 11 years ago. This is the reality in Michigan.

When was the last time you bought a car? The Escape I want is about $25,000 and to lease with $1500 is $360/month. WITH a job I can't afford that.

And she's not attractive. She is complete white trash. She'll find a "thug" who sells pills for a living who will eat all her money.

In Michigan. The houses in my sub are about 3000sq.ft. The house 2 doors down, foreclosed, sold for $142,000. Yep. Good ol Detroit area.

Ironically, I just got my tax assessment on my house. The taxable value is supposed to be half the actual value. When I bought the house, the taxable value was 72,000. Now it's 46,000. So the value of my house has gone from 144K to 92K. And I couldn't sell it for that.. it's not a real estate kind of appraisal, it's a random property tax assessment. I could sell it, maybe, for $80K. MAYBE. The house next door to mine is twice the size and was flipped after a foreclosure.. sold for $109K. Big huge cape cod. Gorgeous with granite and wood floors and.. *sigh*.

I've bought 3 in the last 5 years. One being a 2 year old Escape Limited with under 20,000 miles and all the bells and whistles for just under $18k, a brand new VW GTI for $23k, and a used Land Rover for $25k. I prefer to buy used...much better value for the money.

I really wish I was still in MI. It's frustrating to look at 1500 sq ft houses that need major updating here selling for $200k+. I'd probably own at least three houses right now if I was still living in metro Detroit.

Wow seriously? My house is almost 3000 and my neighbors is about the same. It was probably work about 300,000 and went for half.

I've had awful experiences with used cars. They end up in the shop constantly, on my dime. My used Chevy ended up needing a new engine after I'd had it for two years, at only 60,000 miles. Ugh, what a hassle. And I'm certain the used mini-van I had was once in an accident because odd things happened with it shortly after I got it and the rack of the rack & pinion steering cracked 3 times @ $950 a shot. I want to buy a car, take supreme care of it and drive it for 160,000 miles myself. Then I get 8 years out of it.

You don't know that you'd want to own that many houses here because the values are still dropping dramatically. If it ever bottoms out, then its time to buy. In the meantime, you'd probably have 3 houses that are under water. I cannot pay on my mortgage as fast as the value is dropping and it stinks big time. I am so stuck here for at least 10 or 15 more years and my original plan was to sell in 2014 and get a condo (after kids are in college). Instead, I am totally stuck with the maintenance, yard care and snow removal til I'm almost 60 and that really stinks.

http://news.yahoo.com/michigan-1-mil...opstories.html

Wow...

Helluva way to spend lottery winnings...

Don't know if she's broke (probably), but she certainly is dead.

I wasn't surprised when I read it. She was back in the news after the lottery debacle for having her thug friends threaten neighbors over something stupid.

ETA: I'm sorry, she hired some guys to beat up her neighbors and she herself got into a fight with them. I remember a pic of her with the black eye.