A Washington DC mom has revealed how she splurged most of a $10,000 taxpayer-funded lump sum for impoverished mothers on a luxury holiday to Miami.
Canethia Miller, 27, was accepted onto a DC government pilot last year as she and her three children struggled to make ends meet. The Strong Futures program is one of many across the U.S., but the only one to offer the cash as a $10,000 lump sum rather than in 12 smaller monthly installments.
Canethia Miller was a stay-at-home mom when her third child, Nazir, was born in the summer of 2022, making things work financially through a host of public benefits.
After setting aside some of the money from the pilot program for expenses, she took her family on a $6,000… pic.twitter.com/3bmUz0JBXQ
— Post Local (@postlocal) February 1, 2024
Miller opted for the former and confessed that she splurged over $6,000 of the funds on a five-night trip to Miami for herself and her three sons.
The spending spree included 15 brand new outfits for her kids, one for each child for each day of the vacation, and a $180 haircut to make her not look like a working, stressed mom.
Joined by her children’s father, they splurged on luxury amenities, including steak dinners, new gadgets and toys for her kids, brand-new outfits, and a boat tour past Miami’s most expensive mansions.
Miller defended the extravagance by saying she hoped to inspire her children and teach them that if they work hard, they too may be able to afford a Miami mansion.
Almost $1.5 million in taxpayer money was dished out in the program, with 132 mothers selected to receive either monthly payments of $900 or a $10,800 lump sum.
All 132 mothers had to choose whether they wanted 12 monthly payments of $900 or the entire amount immediately in a lump sum, a unique feature of D.C.’s pilot. About 75 percent chose the lump sum, which was better for those also receiving government benefits, for whom monthly payments from the pilot were more likely to be flagged as additional income.
While others who shared their stories on the program were more pragmatic, Miller said she splashed through the $10,800 in months and struggled to keep $50 in her savings account.
From taxpayers funding foreign wars and luxury vacations, what’s next?!
