Welfare fraud has been and will continue to go on for decades more. The reason is simple — city officials, government officials, apartment owners, store owners, as well as other business owners — either want to keep the additional guaranteed money coming in or politicians just want to be re-elected, for whatever reasons.

The bottom line is that people have to get their heads out of the sand and not worry about who they might offend. If not, we are doomed to repeat these mistakes for the foreseeable future.

Some of the worst offenders are the judges who preside over these criminal offenses and simply find a way to let criminals get away so they can go out and recommit those acts.

All that, while the honest, working people are being turned down for help when they need it. Most of those hard workers need help only for a short time, unlike those who stay on welfare for decades while driving around in fairly new cars.

I have seen people at a local store simply walk away with two full grocery carts and when I asked the manager why those people get away with it, while we have to pay for our supplies, the reply was that they couldn’t do anything about it.

And it goes on and on.

Just saying — wake up, people.

Gerry Grenier, Lewiston

Editor’s note: In the course of editing, changes were made to Grenier’s letter (printed Feb. 9) that misrepresented the meaning of his letter. It is reprinted here in its original form.