Clara Jeffery Profile picture
Dec 17, 2018 15 tweets 8 min read Read on X
1/ We have a major investigation into Maximus, a company massively profiting off Trump's war on the poor motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
2/ Maximus is the biggest contractor that administers things like work requirement and means testing for SNAP (food stamps) and public assistance. Trump and the GOP want to roll out ever more onerous requirements to millions of Americans. motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
3/ The company got its initial traction during Clinton-era workfare programs. But that's nothing compared to today's bonanza motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
4/ @TMMcMillan did HEROIC digging into this company's long and tangled paper trail. motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
5/ It will not shock you that a company that makes its money trying to make poor people jump through hoops is Kafkaesque motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
6/ Like the "welfare-to-work" programs before it, the plans that Maximus administers don't seem to do much to help people find work, but rather punish them for being poor and kicking them out of food stamp and Medicaid. Oh, and are super racist motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
7/ Lest you think this move to means test won't apply to you, consider how broadly the Trump administration is trying to draw the boundaries of "welfare" motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
8/ Also, just as with voting, the GOP is fanning fears of all-but-nonexistent "fraud" to kick people who qualify for Medicaid or food stamps off the rolls motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
9/ Except that with bogus claims of voter fraud, there's no straight up profit. Policing bogus claims of benefit fraud, however, means beaucoup bucks for Maximus: motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
10/ These guys get fat motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
11/ You know how the GOP loves to talk about saving money and cutting red tape? Companies like Maximus exist only to CREATE red tape and regulations. But those are on the poor, so no biggie. (Also, Mike Pence has an outsized role here) : motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
12/ Maximus doesn't really help people. It just skims money off an apparatus designed to punish the poor, and privatize government functions. motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
13/ So I've hit some highlights. But you should read this entire investigation by @TMMcMillan and produced with @theIFUND. Because pushing back against this kind of bogus policing of benefits is going to be a major battle for the next two years: motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
14/ This was a major feature in the issue out on newsstands now. Your support helps us make this kind of deep dive into a little known massive effort to overhaul poverty programs:
15/ If this kind of reporting is important to you, consider helping me make my goal of getting 500 of you to become $5-a-month sustaining donors. And you can give one-time here too. TAX DEDUCTIBLE NON-PROFIT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, PEOPLE secure.motherjones.com/fnx/?action=SU…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Clara Jeffery

Clara Jeffery Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ClaraJeffery

Jul 20
1/ Whether or not Biden explicitly endorses Harris, it's hard to imagine who would a) decide to go up against her and b) wind up on top with the amount of time left.

Maybe a year ago or even six months ago. But now?
2/ Biden cannot make his delegates vote for Harris. Sure, if he was like "imho, she's the only one for the job" they'd be *even more* likely to go for her. But they're not legally bound to follow his lead.

To many, this signals chaos ahead. But another way to think about it...
3/ Is that a process that wasn't kicked off by Biden being super explicit about his wishes would still likely wind up with Harris, but with less worry that voters would feel they were forced to supporters.
Read 15 tweets
Jun 13
1/ Today we began to roll out an incredible 2.5 year project with @reveal and @publicintegrity. We found 1250 formerly enslaved people who WERE given the 40 Acres Gen Sherman promised them, only to have it seized back after Lincoln was killed motherjones.com/politics/2024/…
2/ It began when @AlexiaCampbell found some documents deep in the US Archives…
@AlexiaCampbell 3/ Years of document dives, many reporting trips, and a giant database build later, @publicintegrity reporters not only found land titles given to 1,250 emancipated people (there are likely thousands more) but traced the geneology of many: motherjones.com/politics/2024/…
Read 11 tweets
May 16
1/For years, the mother of mass shooter Elliot Rogers has been quietly helping experts prevent future massacres. For the past two years, she's been talking to @markfollman. This is an important story, unlike any other: motherjones.com/criminal-justi…
2/ Family, friends, the many therapists he saw—they all knew he struggled. But nobody thought he was suicidal, much less murderous. How can we all learn from missed signals, and ensure that our communities have threat assessment teams to flag and help divert potential killers? Image
3/ Elliot Roger is especially infamous b/c left behind misogynistic rants. But the media label of “intel ringleader,” say the experts who’ve studied him for 10 years, is skewed, and it’s help fuel copycat cases. And this is important, generally, because... Image
Read 6 tweets
May 14
1/ Jesus, Blue Wave twitter has, yet again, completely lost its mind re @maggieNYT. Guys, texting with sources is how you get the inside dope and "start writing" isn't an order from Trump HQ, it's like, start your process and I'll maybe feed you something.
2/ Does a reporter coax info out of someone by...coaxing, yes, yes they do. It's a game of cat and mouse where each side hopes to get something from the other. The journalist: info. The source: sympathy/spin/down payment on future leakage, etc.
3/ In a case like this the source and the journo have known each other for years, maybe decades. They are each doing a dance to get what they want. Nobody in this case is a media naif.
Read 5 tweets
Jan 23
1/ Today, we launched a giant project on American Oligarchy.

From the rise of Trump, to crippling housing prices, to reality TV, there's nothing that explains America's crises like seemingly limitless power (and oft farcical vanity) of the super rich: motherjones.com/politics/2024/…
2/ First, a quick video preview of what a full issue of @MotherJones magazine, plus a lot more online, holds: tiktok.com/@motherjonesma…
3/ The capstone of this issue is an amazing essay by @timothypmurphy. Check out this lede: motherjones.com/politics/2024/…
Image
Read 7 tweets
Oct 19, 2023
1/ Sure seems like big news orgs should update their "what we know and don't know" stories about the bombing at the hospital to mention in the first graph that the hospital itself was not hit or even sustained much damage! npr.org/2023/10/18/120…
Image
2/ NPR doesn't have a transcript up yet but listen to this 3-min piece that's a good rundown of the whole situation npr.org/2023/10/19/120…
3/ The cynic in me thinks news orgs that were too hasty in their assessments are now hiding behind language like the bombing "at" the hospital. (Rather than "of.")
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(