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- Salty Ginger Talk Newsletter
Some basic questions show that at least one California county relies on the honor system to register voters
Our take: Our headline here is not hyperbole. In San Diego County, you go to the registrar’s office, fill out and sign an affidavit, and you are registered to vote. There is zero requirement that you prove who you say you are. No ID, no phone or electric bill, and no birth certificate or passport. Nothing. I wonder if other counties in California or other states have similar registration processes.
Remember this the next time someone confidently tells you voter fraud is "rare." I would like a definition of "rare" before I just say OK. There are roughly 335 million people in the US. Assume half of them can vote. Assume half a percent of the voting population is voting fraudulently. That means there are over 800,000 fraudulent votes cast in a national election.
I have no idea if the amount of voter fraud is half a percent or not. More importantly, I am certain not one election official can put a definitive number on the amount of fraud either, which begs the question why some people are pushing back so hard on requiring identification to register to vote.
COURTESY: YAHOO
A woman questions her relationship when she discovers her boyfriend can’t read
Our take: A woman took to the internet to see what people thought about her committing to a man who is in his late thirties but functionally illiterate. The woman has a graduate degree and has always valued education. She says her boyfriend has a good job as a carpenter and treats her well – polite, considerate, and sweet.
This is certainly a legitimate question, but also a great exercise in critical thinking. Would you rather have a super-smart guy who’s a douchebag or a guy who did not get a great education but is a good guy? It sure seems like the latter is better than the former. It’s a lot easier to teach people to read and learn than it is to get a man in his late 30’s to stop being a jerk. Our advice would be to have a direct conversation with the boyfriend, let him know you like him and want to help him learn to read, and support him while he does it. That sounds like the basis of a long-term, symbiotic relationship to us.
COURTESY: MSN
Minnesota childcare system under scrutiny after paying out more than $91 billion from 2021 – 2024
Our take: We are glad there appears to be some follow-up in process to investigate the childcare system in Minnesota. $91 billion over 4 years is a lot more than a trip to the zoo. The preliminary report says the overseers of the federally funded childcare programs had “no mandatory, statewide process to obtain, review, and act on county-level single audits" and “had not established adequate controls to verify the accuracy of county-issued provider payments based on attendance of children.”
Just like the first story in our newsletter, it looks like using the honor system is not a great way to protect taxpayer-funded programs from fraud. I for one am tired of all the videos, hearings, and grandstanding. I am hopeful that behind the scenes there are auditors and investigators ripping these books apart and rooting out the fraud so we can prosecute every single person involved. We will also guarantee you that while Minnesota is the focus right now, the other 49 states need a similar colon inspection.
We will keep banging the same drum every time we see the chance. Deep, thorough audits of the Medicare, Medicaid (these programs are funded through Medicaid), and military budgets could lead to trillions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse being saved over the next 10 years. Wherever there is “free money," AKA our tax dollars, there are people trying to steal it.
COURTESY: NY POST
Tip of the day – How to approach difficult conversations
Add your perspective.
Use the STATE method as a means to share your point of view while leaving room for alternative perspectives to be shared and clarified.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s better to know and be disappointed than to never know and always wonder.” – John Spence