Honest mistakes or fraud - it hardly matters when you're talking about $100 billion in payments made by the federal government to individuals and businesses that they shouldn't have. Most observers believe this to be the tip of the iceberg. An $80 billion a year  program like SNAP might have a fraud rate of 20%. Medicare fraud is even bigger. But this figure comes directly from government agencies who estimate the amount of improper payments every year. Associated Press: By its own estimate, the government made about $100 billion in payments last year to people who may not have been entitled to receive them — tax credits to families that didn’t qualify, unemployment benefits to people who had jobs and medical payments for treatments that might not have been necessary. Congressional investigators say the figure could be even higher. The Obama administration has reduced the amount of improper payments since they peaked in 2010. Still,...(Read Full Post)