HEY, BIG SPENDER: Massachusetts paid out $1 billion in improper SNAP payments while 75% of able-bodied recipients didn’t work, new report finds.

The report, released Thursday and authored by visiting policy analyst Hayden Dublois, found that the Commonwealth now carries a SNAP error rate of 14.1 percent — significantly higher than the national average of roughly 11 percent, and the worst of any state in New England. New Hampshire, by contrast, ranks among the best in the country.

SNAP enrollment in Massachusetts has surged 40 percent over the past decade, climbing from just under 785,000 recipients in 2015 to more than 1.1 million in 2024. The study found that between 65 and 75 percent of able-bodied recipients are not working, while state policies continue to allow individuals to bypass federal asset limits and remain eligible for benefits regardless of accumulated wealth.

A whistleblower cited in the report described fraud within the system as “rampant” and “unabated,” along with a workplace culture that actively discourages basic verification of eligibility.

If the workplace culture “actively discourages basic verification of eligibility,” then fraud is the desired result.