Health and Welfare isn't spending money wisely

As if things weren't bad enough, another audit of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, shows that their programs are being so poorly administered that ineligible recipients are sucking up much of their limited resources.

Idaho public policy, as determined by our Republican-controlled Legislature, provides tax cuts for wealthy individuals and businesses. To pay for them they cut programs for the poor. Many of those programs are administered by the Department of Health and Welfare.

For the last two years audits of that department have shown that precious funds have been squandered on people who are not intended to benefit from the programs. That makes less available for those most in need.

Even with the exposure of these problems the department seem incapable of correcting its errors and the Legislature is either oblivious or apathetic.

It's bad enough that our Legislature prefers to cut programs that affect the poor rather than raise taxes to pay for them. But it is even worse that these decimated programs waste what limited funds they are given, even under the "watchful" eyes of the Legislature that endows them.

BOB WYNHAUSEN

Sandpoint