SQUANDERING AMERICA - THEY CAN'T FUCK IT UP FAST ENOUGH! - Report: Michigan’s Unemployment Agency Paid Up to $8.5B in Fraudulent Claims During Pandemic

 

Report: Michigan’s Unemployment Agency Paid Up to $8.5B in Fraudulent Claims During Pandemic

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

NICK GILBERTSON

30 Dec 20210

The state of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) shelled out as much as $8.5 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic, according to an audit released Wednesday.

The audit was conducted by Deloitte and Touche LLP and revealed the state paid an estimated $8.4 billion – $8.5 billion in fraudulent claims between March 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021. The report notes that the state avoided paying an estimated $43.7 billion in illegitimate claims over the time period.

In total, the state received an estimated $52.1 billion – $52.2 billion in fraudulent imposter and fraudulent misrepresentation claims between March 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021.

Michigan’s UIA Director Julia Dale told the Detroit Free Press her first reaction to the report was “outrage.”

“When you look at the numbers here, to say that they’re troubling is an understatement,” Dale explained. “I’m frustrated by those who are out there willing to take advantage of the system.”

At its peak, the UIA saw claims increase by a factor of 77 in comparison to pre-pandemic days, according to the report. Moreover, claim volume set a record for the state of Michigan, topping out at 388,000 claims in a single week in the Spring of 2020 “compared with just 5,000 claims before the pandemic.” Previously, the record for Michigan’s most claims in a single week was 77,000, which occurred during the Great Recession.

Michigan state paid an estimated 2.9 percent, or $242 million – $249 million, of all fraudulent unemployment payments through the state’s unemployment insurance, per the audit. Conversely, the federal government funded an estimated 97.1 percent of the state’s fraudulent claims, or $8.15 billion – $8.25 billion, through Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Lost Wages Assistance (LWA), and other federal programs.

Fraudulent claim issues have been documented in other states as well.

NPR reported:

Other states have reported billions of dollars were also lost to fraudulent claims. In October, Ohio’s jobless agency reported it paid out more than $3.8 billion from April 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. And in California, state officials confirmed that its agency paid out at least $20 billion in the form of fraudulent unemployment aid.

On Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed an executive order “permanently establishing the Unemployment Insurance Fraud Response Team,” according to a release from the state’s Labor Department. The group will be “an advisory body within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (department),” the order states. It will coordinate with other state agencies, including law enforcement, to “identify, investigate and prosecute individuals who steal jobless benefits intended for Michigan workers.” 

Whitmer signed another executive order Wednesday that directs the UIA to “continue to use new technologies, integrate stakeholder expertise, partner with community organizations to educate potential UI claimants, and prioritize enforcement of UI fraud cases through the Response Team,” per the Labor Department’s release. 

Poll: Plurality of Americans Say They Are Worse Off Financially than One Year Ago

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

HANNAH BLEAU

29 Dec 20210

2:39

A plurality of Americans say their financial situation has worsened over the last year in President Biden’s America, and few have hopes that it will significantly improve in the new year, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Wednesday found. 

The survey asked respondents if they believe they are better off or worse off economically than they were one year ago, prior to Biden taking office. 

A plurality, 48 percent, said they are “worse” off, followed by 28 percent who said they are “about the same” and 20 percent who said “better.” A majority of Republicans (61 percent) and independents (51 percent) said their financial situation is worse, and just over one-third of Democrats, 35 percent, said the same. 

Respondents were also asked to gauge how they see their financial situation one year for now, which will be two years into Biden’s presidency. Thirty-four percent said they believe it will be “worse,” while 33 percent said “better,” and 30 percent said “about the same.” Democrats are the most optimistic of the three groups — Republicans, Democrats, and independents —  as 44 percent believe their financial situation will improve one year from now:

With President Joe Biden in the White House, Democrats now feel significantly better about their economic situation than do other Americans. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Democrats say they are better off economically than they were a year ago, compared to just 11% of Republicans and 17% of those unaffiliated with either major party. Majorities of both Republicans (61%) and the unaffiliated (51%) say they are worse off than a year ago, as do 35% of Democrats.

Likewise, many more Democrats (44%) than Republicans (19%) or the unaffiliated (32%) expect that their finances will be better a year from now.  Fifty-one percent (51%) of Republicans think their finances will be worse in a year, as do 20% of Democrats and 33% of the unaffiliated.

The survey, taken December 26 among 1,000 U.S. adults, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. 

It comes on the heels of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) effectively killing Biden’s multitrillion-dollar social spending spree and Biden closing out the year with crating approval ratings.

Biden: I Have the ‘Strongest First-Year Economic Track Record’ of Any Recent President

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

PAUL BOIS

30 Dec 20210

President Joe Biden declared on Wednesday that despite record inflation and a record trade deficit, he has the “strongest first-year economic track record of any president in the last 50 years.”

“We’re ending 2021 with what one analyst described as the strongest first-year economic track record of any president in the last 50 years,” the president tweeted, adding, “Let’s keep the progress going”:

On the same day, the Commerce Department released a dismal trade deficit report showing that the gap between the cost of imported goods exceeded the value of exported at a record high and would likely continue for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. One economist said the report showed that the U.S. economy “has never been weaker”:

In another tweet Wednesday, Biden touted himself as a hero of the working class, citing his passage of the infrastructure bill while ignoring the implosion of his Build Back Better agenda. However, as CNBC also noted on Wednesday, the current record inflation has further widened the gap between rich and poor, as lower-income “households bear the brunt of rising prices”:

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a new era of inflation inequality, economists warn, in which poor households bear the brunt of rising prices.

That’s because a bigger portion of their budget goes toward categories that have spiked in cost. Food is up 6.4% over the past year, for example, while gasoline jumped a whopping 58%. And now many people are facing those higher prices as federal stimulus programs fade away.

A recent analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model found that low- and middle-income households spent about 7% more in 2021 for the same products they bought in 2020 or in 2019. That translates into about $3,500 for the average household. By contrast, spending by wealthy households went up by only 6%.

 Chris Wimer, co-director of the Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University, told CNBC that lower-income households are increasingly being forced to choose between essential items such as gas and food.

Groceries (gato-gato-gato / Flickr / CC / cropped)

“They’re essentially looking to stretch a dollar most days,” said Wimer. “It’s going to lead to difficult choices between putting gas in the car or paying for your kids’ child care or putting food on the table.”