He described Massachusetts as "a welfare magnet" for immigrants, for example, and called Lowell "the Cambodian capital" of the United States.

He called Massachusetts a "welfare magnet" and proposed cutting off benefits for unmarried mothers who have a second child while still on public aid.

Better benefits for the poor in Wisconsin or Milwaukee, she said, would act as "a welfare magnet" that would attract people from states with less developed services.

In a published interview he had questioned whether large numbers of immigrants settling in the state had turned it into a "welfare magnet."

He picked on Cambodians, about as harmless a people as can be imagined, saying they had come to Massachusetts because it was a welfare magnet.

"New York is no longer a welfare magnet."

Not everyone agrees that New York was ever a "welfare magnet."

Under the block-grant program, states will trim benefits to make sure they're not any more generous than their neighbors, worried that they'll be seen as welfare magnets.

Opponents of this two-tier system argue that Wisconsin is not a welfare magnet and further suggest that such a system will hurt the poor.

Gov. Tommy G. Thompson of Wisconsin, concerned that his state is becoming "a welfare magnet," has urged the Legislature to consider reducing benefits for newcomers.