Pauper Princess of the Day
Pauper Princess of the Day: 24-year-old Michigander Amanda Clayton was on welfare when she won $1 million in a state lottery last year. Today, she is still on the dole.
Tracked down by Local 4 News, Clayton explained that, after she won the money -- in actuality, only half a million, since she took her winnings in a lump sum -- the financial aid kept coming in, so she figured it was fine to keep it.
"I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn't, I thought maybe it was OK because I'm not working," said Clayton, who immediately made matters worse for herself by adding "I feel that it's OK because, I mean, I have no income, and I have bills to pay. I have two houses."
Michigan state Rep. Dale Zorn (R) reacted to the news that a lottery winner's bank account was being unjustly padded with taxpayer dollars by introducing legislation that would require the state's Department of Human Services to be notified when a resident collects more than $1,000 in lottery money so their name can be cross-checked against a list of financial aid recipients.
"Public assistance is for those people who can no longer purchase food for their families, or pay their heating bills," said Zorn. "It's not here to help those who win millions of dollars."
Clayton's mom, meanwhile, is standing by her daughter. "Until the bill's passed, apparently it's legal, and people need to leave her alone," said Euline Clayton. "I'm not saying it's the right thing to do. But it's nobody's business if she's not breaking the law."
