You big government haters out there think you've heard it all (the legend of the $640 Air Force toilet seat, et. al.), but you haven't seen nothin' yet.

Turns out that, as a result of federal regulations, L.A. County sends more than 1 million pieces of mail each year … to itself.

You heard that right:

The County's Department of Public Social Services must send snail mail to all who receive federal “general assistance” or food stamps, according to U.S. rules.

But because many of those recipients are homeless, the correspondence goes to a place where they can come pick it up — the county Social Services district office.

Yeah. So, essentially, the taxpayer is footing the bill to send mail — lots of it — to itself.

Don Knabe, kemo sabe.

Don Knabe, kemo sabe.

L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe said this week that he wants to put a stop to it. He's proposed that the county find a way around the federal regs:

The County has unprecedented demands on our programs due to the ongoing economic situation, so we must ensure that we are using our limited resources for the people and services who need them most. Sending mail to ourselves clearly does not meet the standard of using resources wisely.

Godspeed, Don.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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