The federal government was just dying to hand out stimulus checks in 2009.
Ba dum bum.
But seriously folks, this is no laughing matter: More than 89,000 deceased or locked up Americans were sent $250 stimulus checks in 2009, according to a September 2010 report by the Office of Inspector General.
See more: Cost of 2009 Economic Stimulus Grows
For those of you without calculators, that adds up to about $22.3 million in stimulus checks, most of which were mistakenly mailed out. According to the Office of Inspector General, fewer than half of the stimulus checks were returned and $12 million remained lost.
About the Stimulus Checks
The stimulus checks, or Economic Recovery Payments, were one-time payments of $250 mailed out to 52 million retirees, disabled individuals and Supplemental Security Income recipients receiving benefits from the Social Security Administration.
The stimulus checks, mailed in May of 2009, totaled about $13 billion.
They were part of the $814 billion federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, designed to bolster a foundering economy.
Most Stimulus Checks Properly Issued
The Social Security Administration pointed out that most of the payments were properly issued.
"In the short timeframe imposed … we issued economic-recovery payments accurately to more than 99.8 percent of approximately 52 million eligible Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries," the agency said in a statement.
Report Finds Flaws in Stimulus Checks
The Office of Inspector General reported that 17,348 incarcerated beneficiaries received $4.3 million in stimulus checks. The agency noted, however, that under the stimulus package most of the jailed recipients were actually eligible for the payments.
Still, 71,688 beneficiaries were deceased, and they received $18 million in stimulus checks. They, obviously, were not eligible.
Maybe you can take it with you when you're gone, after all.
Ba dum bum.