Welfare queen

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Welfare Queen is the term that refers to a woman who collects welfare checks (or excess amounts) through fraud or manipulation.

Some of the qualities ascribed to the Welfare Queen are the following: bearing children specifically to collect extra child-related benefits, claiming veterans benefits for deceased or non-existent husbands, and owning expensive cars paid for by welfare funds.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Origin

The first attributed use of Welfare Queen is by Ronald Reagan in 1976. While campaigning, he referred to what one critic claims was a non-existent woman^[1] in Chicago this way:

"She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards and is collecting veteran's benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands. And she is collecting Social Security on her cards. She's got Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names."^[2]

The New York Times article goes on to refute the idea that the woman was "made up", but rather that the case of Linda Taylor was exaggerated. She was charged, not with using 80 aliases, but rather four, and the amount the state is charging that she defrauded, was not $150,000 but rather $8,000. Ms. Taylor again appeared ^[3] as the investigation of her case by the Illinois state Attorney General continued. She was ultimately found guilty of "welfare fraud and perjury" in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.^[4]

Other cases of welfare fraud include Barbara Williams who was sentenced to eight-years for defrauding Los Angeles County out of $239,000 and Dorothy Woods who claimed 38 non-existent children.^[5]

[edit] References