May 14, 2009 10:26 am US/Eastern
Free Car Program For Welfare Folks Raises Eyebrows
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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People on welfare are given the car to get a job. Insurance, taxes, registration and even a AAA membership are provided to the recipient for a full year.
WBZ
They say there is no such thing as a free lunch, but in Massachusetts, there are free cars that are being given to welfare recipients in hopes they will use them to get a job and get off the government dole.
Some like it, but everyone has an opinion about it.
The program gives welfare recipients free donated used cars.
Here's how the program works: People on welfare are given the car to get a job. Insurance, taxes, registration and even a AAA membership are provided to the recipient for a full year. As soon as they are employed, their welfare money stops. "Once people understand why we are doing the program and what it entails, then they wouldn't be upset," said Dept. of Transitional Assistance Commissioner Julia Kehoe.
Say, for example, a single mother with three kids gets $618 in welfare. She gets a car, which is $500 a month. With a job, the welfare goes away and we save $118 a month and $1,416 a year.
House Minority Leader Brad Jones, says he's been flooded by outraged constituents, and he says the program is not saving money – it's costing us money. "Their own figures they say they've saved $835,000 in the last three years, but nowhere in their documentation is what the program costs, which is $1.1 million."
Those who get the cars do have to pay for their own gas, and after 12 months, they have to pay for all the costs. They get to keep the car whether they have a job or not.
It's unclear if this program will survive budget cuts. The Senate is expected to look at the car program next week.
On average, the state has given 60 cars a year for the past three years. According to the state, 80 percent of those who get them get jobs and get off welfare.
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