A Washington, D.C. woman who was blessed with $10,800 in free taxpayer funds reportedly blew over half of it to live the high life in Miami.
Canethia Miller, a mother of three, received the $10,800 as part of a D.C. pilot program designed to help 132 low-income mothers by ostensibly “improv[ing] their families’ outcomes and economic mobility,” according to The Washington Post.
But instead of using the money to actually do that, Miller reportedly took it and ran off to Miami with her kids to party like it was 1999.
“Some of it I just left alone. The other side is, I wanted to blow it. I wanted to have fun,” she told The Post. “[My kids] got to experience something I would never have been able to do if I didn’t have that money.”
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
“The five-day, $6,000 trip to Miami was a dramatic upgrade from the Ocean City and Virginia Beach visits that Miller’s family was used to. Joined by the children’s father, a boat tour exposed them to million-dollar homes and luxury yachts,” according to The Post.
“Her kids went to a dinosaur museum and saw animals in Florida’s swamps they had never seen before. Miller still talks about trying Benihana, a Japanese steak and sushi restaurant, for the first time,” the Post reported in an exclusive published earlier this month.
Before the trip, meanwhile, Miller spent a bunch of money outfitting her kids with “new clothes, shoes, gadgets and toys. ”
“Every outfit they wore was new,” she proudly boasted.
But it gets worse.
She even spent $180 to get her hair and nails done before flying down to Miami and blowing thousands in taxpayer funds.
“Do you know how good I look in this picture?” she said to The Post. “I didn’t have to look like a working, stressed mom.”
In fairness, Miller did open a savings account and deposit $50 into it. And she reportedly used the rest of the money — around $4,000 — to catch up on some bills.
Ironically, despite wasting most of the taxpayer money, she thinks she’s set a good example for her children by using less than 50 percent of it correctly.
By taking her kids on an expensive vacation they couldn’t afford to look at rich people’s houses and yachts, she says she motivated them to succeed. pic.twitter.com/wgH7oxeksF
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) February 3, 2024
“A lot of communities in my area don’t know the financial gain of credit, saving for your kids; that’s why we’re broke, that’s why we don’t have nothing to pass down or no house to give down,” she obliviously said.
“I’m trying to get to the level where I’m passing something down that really matters, so I can be set and my kids can be set, and they don’t need to push so hard like I’m doing now,” she added.
Critics have not taken kindly to how Miller chose to spend (or rather waste) most of the taxpayer money she was gifted. Many critics argue she and the other recipients should have invested the money wisely to help build wealth and actually rise up.
Look:
If that money was invest in an index fund then she would have a nice savings that she could rely on for bad times.
— All lives matter (@atishay_ritul) February 3, 2024
I love how they glamorize spending $200 on hair and nails when these people are clearly struggling and could’ve used the money better
— adriana nicks (@AdrianaNicks) February 3, 2024
I can understand the impulse to give your children new experiences that they wouldn’t ordinarily have, but it’s sad to see the impulse reduced to “pretend to be middle class for a week,” with no reinvestment in creating stability or advancement.
— Luke Harris (@harris_actual) February 3, 2024
I would invest or buy something cheap that I could resell at a profit and continue to do that until I have enough built up to have a down payment for something. Or, she might have had enough money to use as a down payment for a small property. Many things are possible.
— Letsgeauxtravel (@Letsgeauxtrave1) February 3, 2024
Just curious. Did any of these people invest the money instead of blowing it? $10,000 is enough to buy the tools necessary to start a small personal services business: hair care, pressure washing, lawn mowing, house painting, concrete repair, pedicures, etc.
— UltraMAGA Hillbilly (@TruthingtonPost) February 3, 2024
Yet some on social media rushed to defend Miller, arguing that it was “her” money and that she could spend it how she chose.
But this “point” neglects the fact that it was, in fact, other people’s money and that, more importantly, Miller and others like her will always remain poor so long as they keep spending irresponsibly.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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