That big smile you see on the face of Lincoln Park, Michigan’s Amanda Clayton is because she won a million dollars in the state lottery. She took it all in one lump sum and after taxes she pocketed about $500,000. Even when gubment gives she still takes a bite!
All of this was good news for the 24-year-old single mother of two. She used the money to get a brand new ride and to buy a new house. On the bad news side a local news station got a tip that girl was still receiving and using $200 a month in food stamps and decided to do an actual secret hidden camera type of investigative journalism story on the lady. They followed her to a store where she used her Bridge Card to get the gas station groceries.
Here’s the news report filed by WDIV:
In case you couldn’t catch the clip, they cornered Amanda down unloading groceries from her car and asked if she thought it was all right to be using the food stamps. Here was her answer:
“I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn’t, I thought maybe it was OK because I’m not working. She added, “I feel that it’s okay because I mean, I have no income and I have bills to pay. I have two houses.”
When the story hit the web the state reacted quickly and pulled her off of the assistance.
Actually this has happened before in Michigan as a man who received a 2-million-dollar payday in 2010 was later discovered to be on food stamps as well. This caused a state legislator to get the state House to pass legislation last month that would throw large-sum lottery winners off the welfare rolls. Legislation is pending in the Senate.
