Rockland County, NY – Following a decision last week in which a State Administrative Judge ruled that child care payments be reinstated to three families associated with a Kolel in Kaser, Rockland County Executive Ed Day took to Facebook on Sunday, posting that the Kolel money is “off the books income” and a “multi-million dollar scam” which he intends to bust wide open.
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The Rockland County Department of Social Services filed an immediate appeal following the ruling, asking that a different judge hear the case.
On Sunday, Ed Day posted to Facebook (http://on.fb.me/1gDdd6Q) the following message,
“Just so all in this County are crystal clear. The County Department of Social Services is challenging this absurd decision by an administrative judge at my specific direction.
This is off the books “income” at best and this abuse keeps 381 families with an estimated 700 children seeking child care deserving families, mostly in communities of color, from receiving needed aid.
This is a multi-million dollar scam as many of the families — including the three that challenged losing child care subsidy — also receive Medicaid, Food Stamps and heating allowances. Some families have unbelievably been receiving child care for 20 to 30 years, effectively shutting out other families from the aid.
I will leave no stone unturned until this misappropriation of your tax dollars is stopped.”
Well whats the law regarding students recieving stipends from there unversities?
When i was in Kollel, i got a regular W2 form etc, was considered an employee – Kollel is as much a job as being a baseball player, an actor, a monk, a nun, or… a politician
רבותי עס איז צייט איינצוזעהן די שיינקייט פון א נהנה מיגיע כפו
Fraud is fraud. Anyone who believes that fraud is OK has never studied the Torah.
Ask this soneh Yisrael why Jewish children are any different than “children of color” What is the scam he is talking about?
Sounds like this Mr. Ed is who needs to be stopped.
I don’t understand- only poor people of ‘color’ are allowed to receive aid?
The idea of him trying to create a war bettween Jews and color people, tell us alot about this low life
I don’t understand what the scam is. The kollel men aren’t misrepresenting what they are doing. Maybe there just has to be a cap as to how long you can stay in the program.
“This is a multi-million dollar scam as many of the families — including the three that challenged losing child care subsidy — also receive Medicaid, Food Stamps and heating allowances. Some families have unbelievably been receiving child care for 20 to 30 years, effectively shutting out other families from the aid.
I will leave no stone unturned until this misappropriation of your tax dollars is stopped.”
And when the politicians run their election campaigns with tax free money, misusing donation money that can REALLY help people in need, this is the REAL multi-million dollar scam!
When they misuse people’s money while being in office – is a multi-million dollar scam!
All of us should look at them, keep an eye on them, google about them, their trips, their fancy offices, their many secretaries, drivers, “stuff”, to see if they really need all of it at OUR expense.
And not those poor youngerlite from the kollel.
not the first time antisemitic like him go public,
he will have his mapulah just as human
The kollel students are entitled to Fellowships, which is only subject to income tax and not to SE tax. They can also receive payments in form of parsonage, which is subject to SE tax only, and not to income tax.
And so it begins….
Here is a thought. If we believe in Hashem, why when Hashem sends us messages about the kollel system (like in Israel and now possibly in Rockland County) do we conveniently ignore it?
He is starting with the wronnnnnnng people. I wonder how he plans on spending his retirement?
If you want to spend 20 years in Kolel, you should be asking your Shver for support, not your uncle Sam.
What chutzpah! Where’s the injustice of our sky high tax dollars going to support children of color in the public school system which none of our children attend, to say nothing of Jewish religious residents who have raised their children and are trying to get by without having to work their butts off to meet the outrageous taxes that support the “mostly communities of color”?
Now I understand why Monsey voted against him.
To # 4 and # 8 —
What is involved here is neither fraud nor tax evasion. AFAIK, the people involved did not hide the fact that they received kollel stipends. The issue, rather, is a legal one — do such stipends count as income that would disqualify from government benefits. Apparently student stipends (such as is common in graduate programs in universtities) do NOT count, and these families argued that the same should apply to kollel payments. So far, one judge has agreed with them. We’ll see what the appellate court says.
Meanwhile, the administrator calling it a “scam” is outrageous. You don’t like the ruling, either appeal or change the law. Till then, it is not a “scam” to take advantage of the provisions of law. The difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance has long been recognized, and one of the most famous US jurists once commented: “Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes.”
Apparently the article is referring to the decision of a State Administrative Law Judge to 3 “Fair Hearings. An ALJ is a lawyer, not an actual judge and review challanges to Social Services Dept actions as other ALJs review parking tickets and moving violations. It appears that the Rockland County DSS will be appealing these deciusions through an article 78 proceeding which is heard in the State Supreme Court in front of a real judge.
Yair Lapid of rockland county.
If this guy is referring to entitlements then the fact that the kollel families get aid does not in any way diminish the aid available to people of color. Thats why it’s called an entitlement. At least when the aid is going to kollel families it is going to intact functioning families who otherwise contribute to society. In most cases this cannot be said about those other “families”.
I still think it was a bad idea for this 3 families to challenge their status. It opened a can of worms that no one needed
Kollel pay can be structured to comply with all government guidelines, and still allow the kollel couple all the benefits of any government program. Just look at Lakewood, which has thousands of kollel yungerleit receiving all these programs. And the government officials make them report every penny that they are required to. My son just got onto Section-8, and he had to show proof of every penny he receives from BMG. They aren’t stupid or blind…
It seems as if the county executive has been reading Pirkei Avot and Mishneh Torah! Any learning not accompanied by work leads to sin.
It is not a question of tax fraud or of the legitimacy of the kollel. They get W-2’s that list their kollel income and they presumably report it. It does not matter if there is no degree awarded. Actually, if the kollel was an accredited program with a degree, eligible families would only be able to collect for up to 2-3 years, I think. However, because kollel income is treated like a student stipend, it is exempt from FICA withholding, not income tax. Since their income qualifies them for child care benefits, they can get them. The issue is that there is no time limit on how long a family can receive the benefits if they continue to qualify. While Day and DSS may not like it, the law as it exists permits eligible families to receive the child care benefits for years. If people have a problem with it, state legislators need to change the law so that families can only collect child care benefits for a certain number of years.