Fraud Checks on Welfare Applicants

I totally support the policy of conducting background checks on all people applying for welfare benefits, including the homeless. The police are conducting these checks not to harass those with legitimate claim to assistance but to catch those who make a habit of thumbing their noses at our laws and taking advantage of the system. The police are exposed to fraud every day, and they know that the system is full of cheaters who benefit at the expense of the truly needy.

Your editorial (Aug. 14) also suggests that people applying for general relief are somewhat above the law. True, failure to pay a traffic ticket may be a minor offense, but where are we to draw the line? The law is the law, and it should be applied equally to all.

Law-abiding people who may be temporarily down on their luck benefit from background checks in that cheaters are eliminated, thereby increasing the chances of aid for those remaining.

BOB CONSTANTINE

Placentia