No, it's not. But, the vast majority of people being discussed here are living on very low and often fixed incomes. If you're living on $8/hr, the fact is, life is very hard for you.
Although I have repeatedly voiced my strong disagreement with Vandy Prof Melissa Snarr's recent study, she has "determined" that one needs to earn at least $10.35/hr to simply survive in Nashville. Frankly I don't know anyone who could pull that off, but for most of the peeps I know, $10.35 and hour would be like they hit the lotto.
Most folks on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale aroundthese parts are lucky to earn $9 bucks an hour and trust me, trying to scrape together all the money for the bills while feeding just yourself would be an amazing feat to keep going each month. It's no wonder that people look for ways to "beat the system."
Now I'm certainly not saying that misrepresenting what your income is to your landlord is the right thing to do. But I can surely see why people are tempted to do it.
So before people are quick to rush to judgment and condemn these folks, I encourage you to try living on $8 an hour for a couple of weeks and then report back. I'm pretty sure you'll have had some thoughts on how best to get around some of the costs you're facing.
Ultimately what I hope people would find after an experiment like that is that our minimum wage structure is woefully outdated and inadequate. And after watching what has happened over the past few years with gas prices I'll never believe again that standard Republican talking point that increasing wages would hurt their ability to hire help....
Court: Cheating by public housing tenants isn't illegal
GALLATIN — For years, officials here have taken a hard line against public housing residents who misrepresent their incomes to get a cheaper deal on rent.
But a recent legal ruling has put in limbo the practice of charging debtors with a felony when they've fibbed about how much — or how little — they make.
At issue is an appeal made by three residents who were accused of falsifying income statements to lower their rent in public housing by hundreds of dollars a month. They were charged with theft, but they claimed that the law prosecutors cited didn't specifically say that what they did was illegal.
A judge agreed and dismissed the case, in a ruling that a state appeals court upheld this summer. At the request of local prosecutors, Tennessee's attorney general is considering whether to ask the state Supreme Court to take on the case.
For now, the arrests have stopped. But residents are watching the case closely — as are other Nashville-area housing authorities, which typically discipline but don't arrest tenants who lie about their incomes.
"Once they see their friends get caught, people are a little more apt to come in and report" all their income, said Carrie Cook, housing manager with the Gallatin Housing Authority. "It is necessary, obviously, to have some accountability when somebody steals from the taxpayers."
Sumner County officials say they've prosecuted 25-30 such cases in the past 10 years in Gallatin, which has 338 federal housing units and about 670 residents.
Some of those tenants have mixed feelings about the practice. "I wouldn't go as far as having people get arrested," said Jayla Jenkins, 25, who has lived in public housing for about a year and a half. "But they ought to have to pay that money back."
The court also ruled that the theft statute that prosecutors had been using to charge those people — the same law used to prosecute those who steal utilities like cable TV — didn't hold up for folks who wrongfully received reduced rent from housing authorities.
"Obviously, fraudulent actions involving taxpayer money are big concerns to the public, so they are big concerns to us," Sumner County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Dean said.
"There may be some other applicable statutes we could use" to charge those people, Dean said. "We hope we don't have to go look for those."
Rental rates in federal housing projects are based on the tenants' incomes, as well as expenses such as medical charges and child care bills.
The lower a person's income, the less that person pays. In some cases, unemployed residents have received monthly rents of less than $50.
Court documents indicate that the three people arrested in Gallatin — Monica Butler, 32; Jessica Pickett, 29; and Sheryl Ann Marshall, 53 — would have been eligible for public housing even under their actual incomes.
But those records can sometimes be months behind, so most housing authorities depend largely on residents to reveal their own incomes. That opens the door to underreporting.
"We all have people fail to report income," said Henry Harding, executive director of the Lebanon Housing Authority. "It is a big problem, especially if they are working somewhere for cash" and not telling the IRS about it.
The criminal count that Gallatin prosecutors had been using can bring a jail sentence of two to 12 years and a fine of up to $5,000, in addition to restitution.
Kelly Derryberry, acting field director and chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Nashville office, said he believes few communities file criminal charges under those circumstances, although he said HUD doesn't keep an official count.
"I don't think it is a very high priority in most DAs offices," Derryberry said.
Charles Brinkley, chairman of a Sumner County NAACP committee that helps people fight discrimination,
"It's an overreaction," said Brinkley, a former Sumner County commissioner. "You should give them an opportunity to get it corrected and see if you can help that person."
But if Gallatin's district attorney comes out of the appeal successfully, it is an option that other housing authorities said they might consider.
"I've never taken one to court for criminal charges, but it is supposed to be fraud," said Derwin Jackson, executive director of the Franklin Housing Authority.
Added Lebanon's Harding: "If you do come up with a criminal charge for those that don't pay, it could be a good deterrent."
Mary Turner, who lives in a public housing unit in Gallatin, thinks that would be a good thing.
"It's not fair when you're cheating," said Turner, 65. "If they let one person (get away with it), they have to let them all do it."
Contact Clay Carey at 615-726-5933 or mcarey@tennesse
But a recent legal ruling has put in limbo the practice of charging debtors with a felony when they've fibbed about how much — or how little — they make.
At issue is an appeal made by three residents who were accused of falsifying income statements to lower their rent in public housing by hundreds of dollars a month. They were charged with theft, but they claimed that the law prosecutors cited didn't specifically say that what they did was illegal.
A judge agreed and dismissed the case, in a ruling that a state appeals court upheld this summer. At the request of local prosecutors, Tennessee's attorney general is considering whether to ask the state Supreme Court to take on the case.
For now, the arrests have stopped. But residents are watching the case closely — as are other Nashville-area housing authorities, which typically discipline but don't arrest tenants who lie about their incomes.
"Once they see their friends get caught, people are a little more apt to come in and report" all their income, said Carrie Cook, housing manager with the Gallatin Housing Authority. "It is necessary, obviously, to have some accountability when somebody steals from the taxpayers."
Sumner County officials say they've prosecuted 25-30 such cases in the past 10 years in Gallatin, which has 338 federal housing units and about 670 residents.
Some of those tenants have mixed feelings about the practice. "I wouldn't go as far as having people get arrested," said Jayla Jenkins, 25, who has lived in public housing for about a year and a half. "But they ought to have to pay that money back."
TennCare fraud is illegal
The state has outlawed TennCare fraud, making unauthorized water connections and other dishonest practices. But defrauding a public housing authority by underreporting income is not specifically against the law, the state court of criminal appeals ruled in the case involving the Gallatin Housing Authority.The court also ruled that the theft statute that prosecutors had been using to charge those people — the same law used to prosecute those who steal utilities like cable TV — didn't hold up for folks who wrongfully received reduced rent from housing authorities.
"Obviously, fraudulent actions involving taxpayer money are big concerns to the public, so they are big concerns to us," Sumner County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Dean said.
"There may be some other applicable statutes we could use" to charge those people, Dean said. "We hope we don't have to go look for those."
Rental rates in federal housing projects are based on the tenants' incomes, as well as expenses such as medical charges and child care bills.
The lower a person's income, the less that person pays. In some cases, unemployed residents have received monthly rents of less than $50.
Court documents indicate that the three people arrested in Gallatin — Monica Butler, 32; Jessica Pickett, 29; and Sheryl Ann Marshall, 53 — would have been eligible for public housing even under their actual incomes.
Income is monitored
Through computer networks, housing authorities can monitor income that residents report to the IRS and money they receive through social services.But those records can sometimes be months behind, so most housing authorities depend largely on residents to reveal their own incomes. That opens the door to underreporting.
"We all have people fail to report income," said Henry Harding, executive director of the Lebanon Housing Authority. "It is a big problem, especially if they are working somewhere for cash" and not telling the IRS about it.
The criminal count that Gallatin prosecutors had been using can bring a jail sentence of two to 12 years and a fine of up to $5,000, in addition to restitution.
Kelly Derryberry, acting field director and chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Nashville office, said he believes few communities file criminal charges under those circumstances, although he said HUD doesn't keep an official count.
"I don't think it is a very high priority in most DAs offices," Derryberry said.
Charles Brinkley, chairman of a Sumner County NAACP committee that helps people fight discrimination,
"It's an overreaction," said Brinkley, a former Sumner County commissioner. "You should give them an opportunity to get it corrected and see if you can help that person."
Agencies watch case
Few Nashville-area housing authorities will seek prosecution for residents who lie about their income to get cheaper rent, though they will evict tenants and pursue back rent through civil courts.But if Gallatin's district attorney comes out of the appeal successfully, it is an option that other housing authorities said they might consider.
"I've never taken one to court for criminal charges, but it is supposed to be fraud," said Derwin Jackson, executive director of the Franklin Housing Authority.
Added Lebanon's Harding: "If you do come up with a criminal charge for those that don't pay, it could be a good deterrent."
Mary Turner, who lives in a public housing unit in Gallatin, thinks that would be a good thing.
"It's not fair when you're cheating," said Turner, 65. "If they let one person (get away with it), they have to let them all do it."
Contact Clay Carey at 615-726-5933 or mcarey@tennesse
