Unions Foster Fraud in California Program for Elderly

I saw a link to this gem of a story in an article on another subject by George Will. The gist of this story is that the California “In Home Supportive Services” program for the elderly is rife with fraud. The program is designed to provide care for 440,000 Californians who are not able to take care of themselves. The state thinks it is cheaper for these people to stay in their homes rather than in nursing homes, so it allows these people to hire a person of their choice to care for them. The article says people tend to hire relatives.

Here is the kicker: attempts to detect and prevent fraud are resisted by political forces because employees of the program are members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Domestic Workers of America which benefits from the fraud. All workers hired by the program are required to pay monthly union dues. The article draws this key connection: “The unions donate heavily to the campaigns of Democrats who control the Legislature and organize get-out-the-vote efforts on their behalf.”

Essentially, two unions and the Democratic Party benefit from fraud in this program, and thus they resist efforts to prevent the fraud. I have always wondered what percent of the California budget is siphoned off by the corrupt. I do not see how California can be totally broke given the extremely high rate of taxes we pay here.