Snopes Has Nothing on Larmondo `Flair` Allen
Constant reader Bernard Wishnia often sends me Internet emails to debunk. This one has made the rounds on a number of websites uncontested as to its allegations:
Learning from Obituaries....It seems that every couple of days New Orleans loses one of its treasured
ENTREPRENEURS
Let’s get the players straight before we go on with this..
LARMONDO 'FLAIR' ALLEN
His Companion : Kawanner Armstrong
His Sons : Christian Allen
Kwan Allen
Larmondo Allen, Jr.His Daughters : Deidra Allen
Larmenshell Allen
Lamonshea Allen
Larmomdriel Allen
Larmerja Allen
Korevell AllenAT AGE 25 - He had 9 Children.
His Father: Burnell Thompson
His Mother: Esther Allen
His Stepfather: Bruce GordyHis Brothers: Burnell Thompson
Edgar Thompson
Wil Willis
Danta Edwards
Reshe Edwards
Mattnell Allen
Burnell Allen
Lester AllenHis Sisters: Shannail Craig Lekiksha Thompson
Gwendolyn Carter
Jessica Willis
Katina GordyGrandparents: Delors Allen
J.C. Allen
Anna Laura Thompson
Will ThompsonGOT THE ABOVE ALL STRAIGHT?
********************
NOW, THE REST OF THE STORY
He was 25 and had 3 sons and 6 daughters.
NINE welfare recipients collecting $950 each .....That equals $8,550 a month!
Now add Food Stamps, Free medical, Free school lunches, and on and onDo the math...$102,000+ /year.
Anyone out there, sittin' on their butt while reading this e-mail, making A HUNDRED GRAND doing nothing?
Now that, to me, is a real Entrepreneur.
(ALSO, BECAUSE OF THEIR FATHER'S DEATH, ALL OF THE KIDS WILL COLLECT SOCIAL SECURITY UNTIL THEY ARE 18)
EVEN BETTER...IF "FLAIR'S" THIRTEEN BROTHERS & SISTERS FOLLOWED HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY--THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL $1.3 MILLION PER YEAR.
BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE!
IF ALL THIRTEEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS CAN DUPLICATE HIS FEAT OF 9 WELFARE STRATEGISTS THAT BREEDS 117 NEW RECIPIENTS COLLECTING $100,000/YR!!...OR AN ADDITIONAL $11,700,000 PER YEAR... and, THAT'S ONE DAMN FAMILY! (And demands 100% the Taxes Paid by 1,000 avg. taxpayers)
And THAT is why this once great country is BANKRUPT!
ANY QUESTIONS?
After a short investigation I came upon an old news release (1) which confirmed the fact that there indeed was a such an individual who was in fact an entrepreneur in the pharmaceutical sales business, that is to say, Larmondo was a drug-dealer who found himself shot dead during a drug-feud back in 2004.
In the ruckus above, Edward Taylor was shot to death by another pharmaceutical entrepreneur ebonically named Twdarryl Toney who was tried a few years later and found guilty in Taylor's murder (2).
Allow me a short digression: Twdarryl Toney's trajectory in life was predicted in previous articles of mine where I wrote that burdening poor black children with Ebonic names consigns them to a life of poverty, failure, crime and early death. Larmondo did not spare some of his children with this burden. The silly names are recounted in his obituary (3).
Now back to the email: as to the math: "NINE welfare recipients collecting $950 each..." Fortunately for taxpayers that is an extravagant exaggeration. According to current welfare benefits (4) for the State of Louisiana , a family similar in size to Larmondo's would at most receive a total of only $512 per month and only for a limited time.
Then we need to consider food stamps; according to the SNAP program in Louisana, a Larmondo-sized family would get at most $1421 per month (5).
Together these two programs supply about $450 per week in benefits, which at first doesn't seem like much, but we must remember there are 126 separate federal welfare-type programs out there, and a welfare entrepreneur may raise that benefit amount to an easy $15 per hour or more for himself by utilizing only a few of them.
As to the claim that if Larmondo and his 13 brothers and sisters all collected welfare that it would take a thousand taxpayers to pay for it, I determined that the average Louisiana welfare recipient gets about $22,500 a year and the average taxpayer pays about $6,400 in taxes, so 14 times 22,500 equals 315,000 divided by 6,400 equals almost 50 taxpayers required to fund the greater Larmondo clan.
It is too bad the Internet email exaggerated the benefits so greatly that many reading it discounted the underlying truth: because welfare is tax-free, the current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work (6).
Although Snopes has yet to weigh in on this matter, I am sure that when they do they will conclude much as I have, that this email is true as to the names and details of the individuals, and that while the welfare numbers are grossly overestimated, welfare itself has done nothing to reduce poverty in this country, rather the opposite, it has increased dependence on government handouts.
ENDNOTES
(1):
New Orleans Police Department, 8 Feb 2Double Murder Investigation
New Orleans, La., -- This evening, members of the New Orleans Police Department are investigating the murder of two men, ages 25 and 22-years of age. The 25-year-old local man has been identified as Larmondo Allen. The other victim was identified as 22-year-old Edward Taylor. The offense occurred shortly before 11:00 p.m., at 2339 Martin Luther King Boulevard (Guste Public Housing Development).
According to investigators, COPS officers were patrolling the development and heard several gunshots and later found the men in the development. Taylor was observed lying in the courtyard, suffering apparent multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body. Allen was seen lying, a short distance away from the first victim, on a concrete stairway and near the second floor balcony. He suffered an apparent gunshot wound to the chest. Both men were pronounced dead on the scene.
Both men were convicted felons, Taylor had a Second Degree Murder Warrant for his arrest in connection with the January 7, 2003 murder of 26-year-old Aaron Jones who was killed in the 1500 block of Bienville Street. The NOPD aired his photograph on January 14, 2004 in connection with this case.
Allen also has previous arrests, and in May of 2003 he was arrested on two (2) counts of attempted murder and one count of First Degree Murder. In December and October of 1999, he was arrested on two separate First Degree Murder cases.
(2):
Find A Grave Memorial, Larmondo "Flair" Allen (1979 - 2004)
Friday, June 30, 2006 By Gwen Filosa Staff writer A young New Orleans man who escaped a previous murder charge faces decades in prison for gunning down a drug-trade rival two years ago near the Guste public housing complex.
Twdarryl Toney, 23, helped pump some 30 bullets into Edward "Chocolate" Taylor on Feb. 8, 2004, during a shootout in Central City that also left a second man dead, a jury concluded this week after a three-day trial at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.
The jury convicted Toney of manslaughter Wednesday night after hearing testimony in two second-degree murder charges that came from what prosecutors called a drug-trade gunfight, complete with an AK-47-style assault rifle and one victim being shot more than 30 times in the head.
Taylor and Larmondo "Flair" Allen died in the 2300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard after being riddled with bullets.
But instead of murder, which carries automatic life in prison, the jury came back with the lesser charge of manslaughter for Taylor's killing and failed to reach any verdict on the second murder charge, in which prosecutors blamed Toney for the death of his one-time drug-dealing partner, Allen.
Taylor, 24, who prosecutors said was hired as a hit man to kill Allen that night, left a son and three daughters. Allen, 25, who like Toney had wrangled out of previous murder and other violent charges, was fatally wounded during the gunfight. He was a father to three sons and six daughters.
(3):
USGenWeb Archives History, Obituaries Orleans Parish Louisiana
001296 Allen - Larmondo 'Flair' Allen Died On February 8, 2004. Devoted Friend Of Kawanner, Kiyshell, Joann, And Jeanne. Son Of Burnell Thompson And Esther Allen. Step Son Of Bruce Gordy. Grandson Of Delores & J. C. Allen, And Anna Laura & Wil Thompson. Father Of Larmondo, Jr., Christian, Kwan, Deidra, Larmonshell, Larmonshea, Larmomdriel, Larmonja, Darriell And Koreyell. Brother Of Mattnell, Burnell A., Lester, Burnell T. Edgar, Danta, Reshe, Wil, Shannail, Lekiksha, Gwendolyn, Jessica, Katina, Brandy And The Late Jerry. Friend Of Brenda And Dianne. Brother-In-Law Warren Craig. God Son Of Agnes Randolph.
Relatives And Friends Of The Family Are Invited To Attend Funeral Services At Majestic Mortuary, 1833
O.C. Haley On Saturday, February 14, 2004 At 11:00 Am. Visitation Will Begin At 9:00 Am. Interment
Providence. Majestic Mortuary In Charge. Times Picayune 02-14-2004
(4):
Department of Children & Family Services | State of Louisiana, Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program (FITAP)
The Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program (FITAP) provides cash assistance to families with children when the financial resources of the family are insufficient to meet subsistence needs.
The goal of FITAP is to decrease the long-term dependency on welfare assistance by promoting job preparation and work. Public assistance is no longer a lifetime benefit but an opportunity to become independent after a financial crisis.
FITAP Benefits
The graph shows how much assistance a family receives based on family size.
Number of Persons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 FITAP Flat Grant Amounts $122 $188 $240 $284 $327 $366 $402 $441 $477 $512 The average family consists of a mother and two children. The average grant in Louisiana is $200 per month.
(5):
Department of Children & Family Services | State of Louisiana, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamp Program)
Income:
Households must meet income tests (unless any member is receiving FITAP, KCSP, STEP benefits, or all members are receiving SSI).
Most households must meet both the gross and net income tests, but a household with a person who is 60 years old or older or a person who is receiving certain types of disability payments only has to meet the net income test.
Gross income means a household's total, non-excluded income, before any deductions have been made. Net income means gross income minus allowable deductions. Households, except those noted, that have income over the amounts listed below cannot get SNAP benefits.
Household Size Maximum Gross Monthly
Eligibility StandardMaximum Net Monthly
Income Eligibility StandardMaximum Food
Stamp Allotment1 $1,245 $ 958 $189 2 $1,681 $1,293 $347 3 $2,116 $1,628 $497 4 $2,552 $1,963 $632 5 $2,987 $2,298 $750 6 $3,423 $2,633 $900 7 $3,858 $2,968 $995 8 $4,294 $3,303 $1,137 Each Additional
Member+436 +335 $142
(6):
Cato Institute, The Work versus Welfare Trade-Off: 2013 [PDF]
The Value of Welfare
Most reports on welfare focus on only a single program, the cash-benefit program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). But this focus leaves a misimpression that welfare benefits are quite low, providing a bare subsistence level of income. In reality, the federal government currently funds 126 separate programs targeted toward low-income people, 72 of which provide either cash or in-kind benefits to individuals...
Of course, no individual or family receives benefits from all 72 programs, but many recipients do receive aid from a number of the programs at any given time...
In 1995, the Cato Institute examined the value of the full package of welfare benefits available to a typical recipient in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Work vs. Welfare Trade-Off found that not only did the value of such benefits greatly exceed the poverty level, but because welfare benefits are tax free, their dollar value was greater than the amount of take-home income a worker would receive from an entry-level job.
