Tag: welfare

Governments Keep Letting AI Make Decisions & It’s Already Going Wrong

Where It’s Already Gone Wrong 

Netherlands’ childcare benefits scandal – 2021 

Automated risk profiling and aggressive enforcement mislabelled thousands of families as fraudsters. Debt payments were incorrectly demanded from genuine cases, the system was shaken, and the political fallout triggered the government’s resignation. 

Denmark’s failed welfare algorithm – 2024 to 2025 

Dozens of fraud detection models monitored benefits claimants. Rights group Amnesty International reported that the algorithms risk mass surveillance and discrimination against marginalised groups. The systems remained in use as scrutiny continued into 2025. 

France’s predictive policing backlash – 2025  

Civil society documented predictive policing deployments and called in May 2025 for an outright ban. The evidence shows hotspot forecasting and risk tools that are opaque and likely to reproduce bias. These systems are trained on historic data which sends officers back to the same neighbourhoods that may already have been over policed, while very little is done to educate the masses on how it works and there’s no credible path to appeal. 

USA expands biometric border checks – 2025  

Facial comparisons run at hundreds of airports, seaports and land borders. Opt outs apparently exist but are confusing to most, and accuracy varies by demographic with transparent figures yet to surface. Human lines reportedly move slower than automated ones, turning the convenience into indirect pressure to adhere to the new technology. 

Australia’s Robodebt fallout and new automation faults – 2023 to 2025 

A Royal Commission found the automated debt scheme unlawful and harmful. In 2025, watchdogs flagged thousands of wrongful JobSeeker cancellations tied to IT glitches in the Target Compliance Framework. Strategies were published and apologies made, yet incentives still rewarded speed over care.  

India’s ongoing biometric failures – 2025  

Biometric failures and outages have blocked rations and benefits for many. Authorities are testing facial recognition to patch fingerprint failures and vice versa, but if one biometric fails and another is layered on top, error can spread across services that depend on the same ID.

Keep reading

Virginia Governor Declares Emergency Over Looming Loss Of SNAP Benefits; USDA Warns Funds Running Out

USDA Warns It Can’t Use Contingency Funds To Cover SNAP In November

The federal government shutdown entered Day 25 on Saturday, with cryptocurrency-based prediction market Polymarket showing odds in the single digits that Democrats and Republicans will reach a resolution before November 3. The market currently assigns a 15% probability that the shutdown will end between November 12 and 15.

We have warned readers of the potential for major disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if the federal government remains closed. Betting odds markets and limited political chatter in the Capitol Beltway this weekend (so far) suggest a resolution to the shutdown remains muted for next week.

In 2025, around 42 million people relied on SNAP benefits, which accounted for 12% of the population. This is more than enough people to create chaos should SNAP funds run dry in the coming weeks.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned:

Due to Congressional Democrats’ refusal to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR), approximately 42 million individuals will not receive their SNAP benefits come November 1

Keep reading

USDA to Resume Farmer Aid Distribution Halted During Govt Shutdown

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said on Oct. 21 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will resume distributing aid for farmers frozen by the government shutdown.

In a statement on X, Rollins said the USDA will resume operations at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) on Oct. 23, which includes processing farm loans and managing federal aid programs for farmers across the country.

“President Trump will not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country,” the secretary stated.

Rollins said in a subsequent post that financial aid for farmers totals more than $3 billion.

In an interview with Fox News that aired Oct. 21, Rollins said that President Donald Trump has directed the USDA to reopen FSA offices nationwide to allow farmers to access and cash their aid payments.

The secretary also revealed that the Trump administration was preparing an aid package for farmers affected by China’s refusal to buy soybeans from the United States amid trade negotiations.

Keep reading

White House posts massive list of criminal illegal immigrants who were on Medicaid

The White House on Monday released a list of criminal illegal immigrants who reportedly received Medicaid benefits while living in the United States. The post, shared on the administration’s official account, included mugshots of offenders and noted the crimes for which they were arrested, along with the label “Received Medicaid.”

The new release follows weeks of partisan conflict over government funding. Earlier this month, on October 1, a government shutdown began after lawmakers failed to agree on a budget. The main point of contention was over healthcare funding and whether illegal immigrants should have access to taxpayer-funded programs.

Vice President JD Vance previously said Democrats were misrepresenting their position on the issue. “A Democrat talking point, they say ‘we’re not actually trying to give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens,’ and here’s why it’s not true,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News earlier this month.

Vance said the Trump administration cut two Biden-era programs that had allowed federal money to be used for healthcare provided to illegal immigrants, including hospital services and benefits granted to mass-paroled migrants. “Democrats want to turn it back on,” he said. “The first thing they put out to reopen the government actually turned that money for health care benefits for illegal aliens back on.”

In a separate interview earlier this month, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was questioned by LindellTV reporter Alison Steinberg about whether Democrats were prioritizing healthcare for illegal immigrants. Waters said Democrats “want healthcare for everybody” and denied that they were putting non-citizens before Americans.

Keep reading

NY lawmakers claim Hochul is targeting them for ongoing probe into alleged $11B Medicaid program scandal

State lawmakers are accusing Gov. Kathy Hochul of retaliating against them for continuing a probe into mounting claims her administration rigged the contract for a massive $11 billion Medicaid homecare program.

State Sens. Jim Skoufis (D-Orange) and Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) plan to send a letter Tuesday demanding Hochul’s administration turn over evidence surrounding bid rigging and other allegations centering on her overhaul of the $11 billion per year Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program.

While the lawmakers were finalizing plans to move the investigation forward last week, Hochul took the unusual step of vetoing several of Skoufis’ bills, including one that would reimburse pharmacies for consulting patients on abortion procedures.

The Hudson Valley lawmaker, who shocked many with his full-throated attacks on Hochul during this year’s budget votes, accused the Democratic governor of vetoing his bills as payback for pushing the probe.

“The Governor wanted me to suppress critical information related to the CDPAP investigation, plain and simple. Kathy Hochul is barking up the wrong tree if she’s looking for a hack to shamelessly cover for her administration,” Skoufis said.

Keep reading

Changes to Food Stamp Program SNAP Coming in November

Federal officials plan to enforce changes to the food stamp program, formally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), beginning in November.

The changes will cut federal funding for SNAP by $187 billion through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. SNAP gives money to people to buy groceries.

Here are the changes that are coming.

Updated Work Requirements

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the requirements that SNAP recipients work are being changed.

The requirement that recipients work a minimum of 80 hours per month to receive food stamps for more than three months every three years remains the same. While the requirement used to only cover adults aged 18 to 54, it will now be in place for adults who are younger than 65.

Another change regards people with dependent children. Parents with children who are not yet adults used to be exempt from the work requirement. Under the bill, parents will only be exempt if they have one or more dependents aged 13 or younger.

The bill also removes exemptions for people who are homeless, veterans, and individuals aged 24 and younger who aged out of foster care.

Keep reading

California Court Blocks Trump Admin’s Access to SNAP Recipients’ Data

A San Francisco district court temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Oct. 15 from accessing information about food stamp recipients in several states.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit jointly with 20 other states against the USDA in July, alleging the agency violated several federal laws and the U.S. Constitution by asking for detailed information about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.

“The Trump Administration can try all it wants to strong arm states into illegally handing over data, but we know the rule of law is on our side,” Bonta said in a statement.

“We will continue to vigorously litigate this lawsuit and defend our communities, protect privacy, and ensure that remains a tool for fighting hunger—not a weapon for political targeting.”

The USDA has threatened to cut off some federal funding to states that don’t hand over SNAP data.

California receives more than $1 billion a year to administer the program.

Keep reading

Dr Oz accuses Democrats of ‘gaslighting’ Americans over $1B in Medicaid payments to illegal immigrants

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Thursday that an internal review uncovered more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to illegal immigrants across several states, a problem he says the Trump administration is now moving to correct.

“The Democrats have been gaslighting us on this issue of Medicaid funds going to illegal immigrants for quite a while,” Oz said on “Fox & Friends.” 

Healthcare for illegal immigrants has been a major issue prolonging the latest government shutdown, which is now entering its third week. Republicans accuse Democrats of allowing federal health dollars to go to illegal immigrants while standing in the way of efforts to cut government waste.

Oz said his agency’s investigation into the topic is “just getting started” and the latest figure covers only a few states. 

Keep reading

Grand Jury reportedly meeting this week in Hope Florida investigation

Florida’s Hope Florida program, once celebrated by the governor and First Lady as a compassionate outreach effort, is now under a grand jury’s microscope. Prosecutors in the capital are reportedly meeting this week to decide whether criminal charges are warranted in a growing scandal that’s shaken the state’s political establishment.

The proceedings are happening behind closed doors inside Leon County’s 2nd Judicial Circuit courthouse, where prosecutors are taking evidence in the Hope Florida investigation.

At issue: whether anyone broke the law after $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement moved through the Hope Florida Foundation to other nonprofits, and then to a political committee once controlled by now–Attorney General James Uthmeier. That committee later helped defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana.

State Attorney Jack Campbell, who is overseeing the process, declined to provide details.

“No, there’s no comment on that at all. Everything that the grand jury does is, in fact, confidential,” Campbell said when asked about the case last week.

Legal experts say the secrecy is standard procedure. Mario Gallucci of the Gallucci Law Firm is a former New York assistant district attorney and was a principal attorney in its major felony unit. He said these proceedings can take weeks to complete.

Keep reading

Migrants Taking £10 Billion Per Year in Direct Welfare Benefits in Britain: Report

The British taxpayer is funding over £10 billion in direct welfare subsidies to migrants, who now account for one in six pounds sterling spent on universal credit, a report has found.

According to internal government data seen by London’s Daily Telegraph, £10.1 billion of the annual £61.2 billion spent on the universal credit scheme for those out of work, on low incomes, or those struggling with living costs was paid to foreigners living in Britain last year.

The figures, released under Freedom of Information Act requests, mean that one sixth of all direct welfare spending was given to foreigners or 16.5 per cent of the Universal Credit budget.

According to the broadsheet, this represented a significant increase over previous years, with £6.3 billion being spent on foreigners in 2022 and £7.9 billion in 2023.

The actual cost of the mass migration agenda is not even fully demonstrated by the figures; however, given that the data set does not include migrants who have been awarded citizenship, or indeed second-generation migrants.

The Universal Credit scheme also represents only one avenue through which foreigners can benefit from state subsidies, with the money spent on education and healthcare for migrants being counted separately.

Keep reading