Fraud Steals from the Truly Needy

My blogging friend, Mr. T. L. Stanley, author of the New Rosemead Times wrote a post (Poverty Caused by Corruption) that made me do a little thinking.

Mr. Stanley writes:

"Fighting poverty seems to be hot ticket for politicians every time world leaders get together and want to show everyone they are in a giving mood. For some reason, America wants to throw money at worldwide poverty. Unfortunately, the money that is aimed at poverty is usually stolen by corrupt leaders of poor countries. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is just one example of corruption. This president has driven a highly productive country into bankruptcy in 20 years. Because, political corruption is common. And, this president made the mistake of assuming that productive outputs would continue in the face of economic and political oppression."

For the full post (highly recommended) link, here.

Not only are we throwing good money at "not-so-good" countries, but we can see a lot of the problem, right here at home. Unfortunately, the Katrina hurricane and other allegations about "fraud and abuse" in programs intended to help the poor (a noble cause) help support Mr. Stanley's thoughts.

There is a lot of evidence showing that a substantial amount of the money intended to help the "poor," lines the coffers of corrupt individuals. Since the money never reaches the people it was intended for - corruption truly does cause poverty. Fighting poverty is a "noble cause," but it's also important to ensure that the resources are reaching the people that need it.

What is needed is a "zero-tolerance" approach to the people taking advantage of the poor.

If we did this - perhaps our social programs wouldn't be "going broke."