Hurricane Katrina “Victims” Stealing Your Tax Dollars

Darlene McGruder Poole

You’ve heard the old adage, “give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.”

Well, the same can be said of handouts. I recognize that some people need a hand up every once in a while. And that hand up can be the boost to self-sufficiency.

But if you keep giving them a perpetual handout, instead of an occasional hand up, you’ve taught them nothing more than how to live off the system.

Our Liberal welfare state has created an entire culture of entitlement-demanding, hands-out, living-off-the-system lazy asswipes.

Like these degenerates from Houston (via New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina):

Three Hurricane Katrina evacuees who bought houses here with the help of Oprah Winfrey appeared in court today on charges they cheated the Federal Emergency Management Agency by lying to continue to obtain rental assistance for storm victims after they moved into the furnished homes.

The three came to Houston from New Orleans after the storm devastated that city. They received legitimate FEMA help and then were aided by Winfrey’s “Oprah’s Angel Network,” which provided the financing to allow the storm victims to move into and own new homes.

[snip]

The trio was charged along with the sister of one of them, who allegedly helped her sibling cheat FEMA.

Darlene McGruder Poole, 30, of Houston, and her sister, Lashona McGruder Victor, 37, of La Place, La., are charged together with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Victor is expected to surrender to law enforcement authorities in Houston by the end of the week, a press release from the U.S. attorney stated.

Kiesha Murphy, 34, of Houston, and Angela Payne, aka Angela McKinnies, 38, of Houston, are each charged in separate indictments with making false statements to FEMA and theft of government property.

After Katrina and Rita hit in 2005, FEMA provided rental assistance payments to displaced individuals. Winfrey visited some of the victims in Houston and through her charitable organization partnered to build and furnish homes.

The indictment against Poole — who had received $23,000 in legitimate assistance after being displaced from her home in New Orleans — continued to submit declarations of need for rental assistance despite her August 2006 purchase of a home on Angel Lane. Poole also claimed to be unemployed though she was working for Harris County.

Her sister, Victor, registered with FEMA as Poole’s landlord on Angel Lane and the pair submitted fraudulent lease agreements and fictitious rental receipts to collect $14,000, the government alleges.

Murphy, who received $17,000 in legitimate disaster assistance after being displaced from New Orleans, is also accused of continuing to submit bogus rent receipts after moving onto an Angel Lane home in July 2006. The government alleges she too claimed to be unemployed though she was working for Memorial Hermann. Murphy is accused of wrongfully obtaining more than $12,000 in benefits as a result of fraudulent filings with FEMA.

Disgusting. And I’ll bet you my paycheck against yours that these women voted for Obama (if they bothered to vote at all).

Maybe they can get Oprah to bail them out of jail, too.

As I’ve noted before, about half of this country works for a living. The other half votes for a living — votes for welfare programs that redistribute the hard work and earnings of the other half so they don’t have to get off their worthless asses and get a J.O.B.

And when that’s not enough? They don’t hesitate to lie to get more.