Alameda County's neediest may face tougher future (Oakland: 2009, homes)

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Can someone tell me why we still have General Assistance available? If a person is able bodied, shouldn't they be looking for work or on unemployment? And if they are NOT able bodied, shouldn't they be on Disability or SSI? I just don't get it, and I've known people on GA and really they use the money for things other than food and shelter from what i have experienced. Not sure if you can sell your foodstamps anymore with the little card, but they used to sell those off as well for cash. I am sure there are a FEW cases where poeple are in need, but there definately needs to be some changes and rules set so everyone doesn't stick their hand out for a payday from the county.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_11786431

General assistance program projected to be $11.5 million in red by June, which could mean cuts to social services
By Chris Metinko
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 02/25/2009 07:21:11 PM PST
Updated: 02/26/2009 06:30:37 AM PST

The county's safety net for some of its neediest residents may soon start to show signs of fraying.
The county's general assistance program — which provides a stipend for needy adults who do not qualify for state or federal aid — is projected to be $11.5 million in the red by the end of the current fiscal year, leaving social services officials looking for ways to get costs under control.
"If it weren't for general assistance, I could balance my budget," said Yolanda Baldovinos, director of Alameda County's social services agency, which administers benefits programs.
Currently, approximately 9,000 county residents receive about $319 a month in general assistance from the agency.
For the current fiscal year, which ends in June, the county's social services agency had budgeted $21.5 million for its general assistance program. That budget, however, was based on a redesign of the county's general assistance program, which included a six-month time limit for clients deemed employable to receive assistance funds.
Last June, however, Alameda County Superior Court Judge David Hunter issued a temporary restraining order that stopped the county's plan to cut general assistance benefits to some residents after the Public Interest Law Project, the law firm Heller Ehrman and Bay Area Legal Aid filed a suit on behalf of six general assistance recipients, saying the plan violates state law and will cost thousands their homes