Thu, 19 Feb 2004

Bleeding the Beast

I have heard of the polygamous Mormon communities on the Utah/Arizona border for a few years now. Horror tales about child abuse and gang rape, all infused with a statement from authorities that these folks were ripping off the state government for millions. And I always wondered how ...

This morning I ran across the link below, which is a link to a very lengthy article in the Independent. And buried in the article is the nuts and bolts of how to "bleed the Beast".

The community became expert at playing one set of state officials off against the other, and even more expert at squeezing the state and the federal government for subsidies and public assistance. Polygamists generally formalise their first marriage to reap the tax advantages of marital status, but leave subsequent matches undeclared. That means that all but one of their wives can claim single motherhood status.

With money flowing in for food stamps, health care, child care, the city police force (who are under the prophet's de facto authority), the local school district (ditto), and special federally funded projects including the construction of an airport just south of Colorado City, the fundamentalists receive more than $16 million a year from the government authorities they profess to despise. They call this "bleeding the beast" and take great pride in it.

(link) [Pagan Prattle]

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