The Cassandra Page: Burlington Coat Factory riots;

Yesterday, we saw a perfect demonstration of how the welfare state works. In Columbus, Ohio, a woman named Linda Brown showed up in a limousine at a Burlington Coat Factory store (did someone say "limousine liberal") claiming to have won the lottery. She promised to pay for everyone's purchases. [But, like posturing Democrat politicians pretending to "get tough" on welfare recipients, she put limits on the giveaway - she promised to pay only for purchases up to $500.00.]

"Well, of course, people like to hear that," [police Lt.] Deakins said. "Apparently they were in line calling relatives who were not at the store and told them to come."

So she told the people what they wanted to hear, and they immediately called their relatives to get in on the free goodies. The inevitable then happened:

People flooded the registers as cashiers began ringing up purchase after purchase, but Brown had not yet paid the bill, Deakins said. At least 500 people filled the aisles and another 1,000 were outside trying to get in, he said.

This sounds eerily like our own welfare system, which has been overwhelmed over the past few decades. The difference is that it took longer than one day to overwhelm the welfare system. Because it has taken so long, it has been harder to notice and easier to get used to. Much like the government, our coat philanthropist had no actual money to honor the welfare promises:

"She was telling people she won $1.5 million," Deakins said. "But it ends up she didn't win anything. She had no money to pay for anything." About an hour later, Brown had the limousine driver take her to a bank to withdraw money, but she returned empty-handed, police Detective Steven Nace said. By then, store employees had called in two dozen police officers to handle the crowds.

The results were predictable and inevitable:

By the time employees realized Brown didn't have any cash to pay, police said, she already had taken off in the limo. That's when angry customers, realizing they weren't getting free coats, began throwing merchandise on the floor and grabbing clothes without paying for them, Nace said. "Everybody was like, 'I still want my free stuff,' and that started the riot," he said. "It looks like (Hurricane) Katrina went through the store." Police said they have no way of tracking down the customers who stole items and fled, but they're reviewing surveillance video.
emphasis added

Even though there was no money and it was not the store's fault, people still wanted their "free stuff." The promise of free goods had created an expectation among those who would not otherwise resort to theft. Linda Brown, much like the welfare system, turned law abiding people into thieves and rioters. Police eventually arrested Linda Brown on prior warrants:

She was jailed late Wednesday, but no charges had been filed against her related to the coat store chaos pending a mental health evaluation.

It is now too late to perform "mental health evaluations" on FDR, LBJ and the other creators of today's federal entitlement mess, but what can we say about those who would perpetuate this system, knowing that it is bankrupt.

According to WCPO (channel 9) in Columbus:

Police arrested her for fraud and inducing panic, because of the commotion in the store.

Can we arrest Congress and the President for "fraud and inducing panic." There is no doubt that the federal welfare system is fraudulent, seeing as how there is no money to pay for it. There is also no doubt that political leaders rely on fear and panic during election years every time a challenger suggests even modest reductions in the rate of increase in welfare spending. The ability to induce fear and panic among welfare recipients is the key weapon for incumbent politicians.

video from channel 10

What if the police, instead of quelling the riot, had promised the rioters that another lottery winner would soon show up? Would that have solved the problem? If not, how do we expect the federal welfare programs to be successful?