The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a story on poverty, and shared the tale of woe of Jonniemae Ashford. She’s a 41-year-old grandmother raising 5 of her grandchildren. She says she takes home $187 every two weeks as a patient care worker.

So that’s about $230 or a little more in gross pay every two weeks. The going rate for patient care? Probably about $8 per hour. That means she works about 14 hours a week. Is she kidding? 14 hours a week at work, and we’re supposed to feel sorry for her?

But here’s the best part. The newspaper tells her story but forgets to check on her past, as they say they normally do before they do stories on people. Here is the paper’s note:

Correction: An article Wednesday and an editorial Thursday on Milwaukee’s rising poverty rate included quotes and a picture of Johnniemae Ashford, a woman trying to raise five grandchildren while earning $187 every two weeks as a patient care worker. The newspaper was not aware that Ashford was convicted last year in federal court for receiving more than $15,000 in illegal Supplemental Security Income payments. While the newspaper routinely checks whether potential story subjects have state criminal records, the paper does not typically check for much rarer federal convictions. Contacted Thursday, Ashford said she was not ashamed of her conviction: “I needed the money.”

Well then. If you needed the money, then I guess that makes it okay. Can you define need? I have this silly idea that those who need money should work more.

The funny part is that the newspaper did a story last year on Social Security fraud that included Johnniemae. No sense in checking their own archives!

Who knows if the woman has legitimate reasons why she can’t work more. But the newspaper didn’t even ask, apparently. And regardless of her situation, that doesn’t make fraud okay, and I think the facts about her fraud should have been included in this recent story about poverty. It’s certainly relevant.

Hat tip to Jessica McBride.