LePage: Maine will no longer waive food stamp work requirements

pressherald.com ^ | 7/23/14 | Eric Russell

[cotton1706]

Maine’s Republican governor wants all able-bodied recipients of the federal food stamp benefit to complete work or volunteer activities.

Gov. Paul LePage announced Wednesday that Maine will no longer seek a federal waiver that allows some able-bodied adults to receive food stamps without working or volunteering.

“We must continue to do all that we can to eliminate generational poverty and get people back to work,” LePage said in a statement announcing the change. “We must protect our limited resources for those who are truly in need and who are doing all they can to be self-sufficient.”

According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, able-bodied recipients are defined as adults between the ages of 18 and 49 who have no dependents, are not pregnant and are not disabled. DHHS has identified 12,000 current recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program who fit that definition. They account for about $15 million per year in benefits.

Currently, Maine receives a waiver from the federal government that allows food stamp recipients to receive benefits without meeting work requirements. Maine has used the waiver for the last six years largely because of an anemic job market.

Maine’s unemployment rate reached a high of 9.7 percent in early 2010 but has dropped to 5.1 percent as of June. The rate is higher in some rural areas of the state.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

I live in Maine, and the libs had been wailing ever since our conservative governor cut off welfare and EBT cards for illegals.

[ExTxMarine]

It’s hard enough sitting around living on the fruits of other people’s labor.

I can hear them now, "I can barely afford my new Cadillac, my 70" TV, my PS4, new games every week, and all the premium movie channels on my cable box with what little the government gives me now! How am I supposed to get by on less, which I have to actually work for? And, I will have to miss all my favorite shows and I won't have time to play my PS4! Nah! This is BU!!SH!T! This is SLAVERY! Hell, NAH! This can't be happening to me!"

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

Southern Maine, especially around Portland, has the bulk of Maine’s population and a lot of liberals in those areas.

Most of Maine is rural, heavily armed, pro-second Amendment, and pro-military. I know plenty of conservatives. The coastal areas have their share of moonbats driving their Prius’s with their Obama stickers, but there are more trucks and SUVs.

Gov. LePage is not the only conservative; the GOP candidate, Bruce Poliquin, is running for the House in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, where I live. Poliquin, a conservative, won the GOP primary last month over the GOPe guy by 12 points.

The Maine Senate and the Maine House has some good conservative there as well, and additional conservatives are challenging democrat incumbents this Fall.

Our two U.S. senators suck. I won’t be voting for Susan Collins this Fall.....I’ll write in someone else’s name. I voted for my last RINO in 2012. I’m done with RINO’s.

[grania]

If they do volunteer work it can be stuff like cleaning up around abandoned buildings and such. The point of a work requirement is that it discourages the cheaters. Besides that, some people might decide it would be better to get a job than have to work for free to get their food stamps.

On a philosophical level, I disagree strongly with anyone getting something for nothing.

[NewHampshireDuo]

Our two U.S. senators suck. I won’t be voting for Susan Collins this Fall.....I’ll write in someone else’s name. I voted for my last RINO in 2012. I’m done with RINO’s.

Ditto here. No way I'd vote for Collins. I know a lot of conservatives/Republicans here that are not going to vote for her. The Dim, Sheena Bellows, as far as I can tell isn't much different from Collins except for her party label and her stance against government surveillance.

[grania]

Besides fishing and timber, Maine had high quality manufacturing....leather goods, linens, bedding, shoes/boots to name a few items. Some still remains.

LL Bean is a Maine institution. If they were more loyal to their heritage and their state, a lot of manufacturing could be brought back. It's not like they're charging less for the chinese and other foreign crap they sell.

FWIW, the only items I'll by from LL Bean anymore are made in the USA, the exception being when they're the only place I can get 100% cotton jeans. And whenever I place an order, I express my disgust. I think consumers doing that has had na effect. They seem to have a little more "made in the USA" and tout it when they do.

[wbill]

And, BTW, aren’t alot of Somalis being dumped in Maine?

Yes.

How’s that working out?

Badly.

Maine has issues with drugs and crime that I didn't even imagine when I was a kid....not all THAT long ago.

[reed13k]

You can still start them, but then they will take everything you have through fines, fees, and seizures. Hell, the EPAs doing it with people’s houses why would they stop with someone’s business?

[bluedogpdx]

I read about Somali problems in MN just like what you’ve seen in Maine.

So what do we do when when we import these people, who not just have little to contribute, but are actively destructive to our society?

I’m totally convinced that LEGAL immigration, as it’s presently constituted, is also a disaster for these country.

[familyop]

Here's the elephant in the room. Both political parties are controlled by the following.

Heavy Hitters: Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2014
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php
American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $60,949,129 [Democrat] 81% [Republican] 1%”
National Cmte to Preserve Social Security & Medicare $10,414,606 [Democrat] 82% [Republican] 17%

They've already been chatting it up with us and fooling most of us.

Leviathan (Uncle Sam employs more people than you think)
National Review ^ | 02/03/2011 | Iain Murray
"...nearly 40 million Americans employed in some way by government."

Spendthrift ways are ways of government-linked socialists.

About "70 million" people are receiving good incomes but are also steeped in debt, and most of them can't borrow more for big ticket items. Meanwhile,...

Here's most of the former private sector. State and local government regulations and HOAs outlawed them from building homes, producing in small shops, doing odd jobs, etc.

More Than 101 Million Working Age Americans Do Not Have A Job
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3005481/posts

[informavoracious]

Watch for a spike in pregnancies.