Maine Just Put Welfare Leeches In Their Place

a reply to: buster2010

Advocates for the poor say there aren't enough jobs and volunteer positions available to recipients, especially in rural areas, forcing them to lose their benefits and turn instead to their local food banks.

"Northern Washington County really has never come out of the recession, so there aren't economic opportunities that there might be in other parts of the state," said Barbara Chatterton, a case manager at the Down East Aids Network in Machias who says many of her current and former clients have been impacted Advocates for the poor say there aren't enough jobs and volunteer positions available to recipients, especially in rural areas, forcing them to lose their benefits and turn instead to their local food banks.Helen Hanson got a letter from the state in January saying she was about to lose her food stamp benefits, she said, even though she should be exempt because she's in a work-skills program.

The 49-year-old, who's studying at Husson University to become a paralegal while working part-time at a grocery store, was eventually able to save her benefits with the help of an advocacy group. But the process she was forced to go through was infuriating and the fear that she might lose that support system was nerve-wracking, she said.

"We're not criminals," Hanson said. "I'm trying to benefit myself so I can get off food supplement. I'm tired of being poor."

www.huffingtonpost.com...

originally posted by: queenofswords
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Maybe another welfare recipient could volunteer to be a caregiver for a day.

It would be nice if there could be an organized effort to actually organize programs to help this succeed. People could gain some skills and work ethic in the interim, and a community of people would be helping each other get vocational training by volunteering to assist each other in some way needed...."I'll care for your children on Tues. and Thurs. while you take classes and you take care of mine on Mon. and Wed. while I work my hours."

Go ahead, organize and run it. As a volunteer of course. Don't forget to provide transportation, training and childcare.

Oh - and I really don't want 'indentured servants' providing care for my loved ones.

originally posted by: buster2010
a reply to: xuenchen
I see you need to work on those reading skills reread what I wrote.

Or people were forced to drop out due to not having any way to get care for their kids not to mention not having a way to their "volunteer" job on a regular basis.

I said people who have kids OR do not have a way to get to their jobs. I covered two thing in that post sorry it escaped your notice.

Can you prove that or is it just an assumption?

I haven't seen anything to address perhaps someone not having a car, or not having the ability to afford child care.

Other than assumptions, of what might prevent a person from volunteering to get paid, what proof do you have that these issues are not being addressed?

I think it is a good idea, but you bring up points that are valid, yet not proven that there are not exceptions in the law to address these kind of issues?

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: trollz

They tried this in Wisconsin the the 90's. The Clinton administration sued to stop it.

I expect the same to happen again. You cannot expect any public service for public payments.

Likewise, we waste tons of money on corporate subsidies that far exceed public assistance. That needs to be stopped as it is even more wasteful.

Exactly.

I think we all know who the true "welfare queens" are but most don't like to admit it. Corporate and industrial subsidies are out of control.

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: trollz

They tried this in Wisconsin the the 90's. The Clinton administration sued to stop it.

I expect the same to happen again. You cannot expect any public service for public payments.

Likewise, we waste tons of money on corporate subsidies that far exceed public assistance. That needs to be stopped as it is even more wasteful.

Don't leave out "political welfare"! The reason Corporations/Banks get off scott free is due to political corruption and politics! I don't have issues with blaming Multinational Corporations, but lets get down and dirty and discuss who allows them this "privilege"?

Time to stop demanding putting a band aid on chest wound don't ya think?

Edit: May I also add, how people like Martha Stewart are sent to Federal Prison for insider trading YET it is perfectly legal for our political elite to do exactly the same thing and suffer no consequences?

a reply to: Cuervo

well...of course there is that.

And things like federal tax breaks are only the surface.

Then again...were municipalities not willing to give property tax abatements, it might be difficult to attract new industry to replace the gutted industry you used to have in your town. As well, without state tax credits, etc, it might be difficult to attract new industries to your state. Im sure Michigan would love to find ways to diversify into other industries. Its been pretty rough for them the last few years..

When opening a business, unless you are sitting on a mountain of gold you do what is known as a "Capital Stack". You go out and get capital from various agencies and investors to create an ability to open your business. For example, I might get "New Markets Tax Credits" for opening a unique business in a market that has nothing similar. For the act of bringing new industry (or a new market) into an area, i can get tax credits (based on the size of the operation, and the perceived/projected economic impact). Among many, many other tax credit offerings from various local/state/federal agencies.

Our nation is having issues because we are moving from a manufacturing industry base to a technology and service industry base. Manufacturing will eventually be fully automated, so there really was no future in that. Smart move, but painful for us all to go through.

originally posted by: JohnnyCanuck

originally posted by: trollz

Republicans in Maine are celebrating an epic victory with their successful welfare reformation

Governor Paul LePage of Maine passed a measure last year that requires recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program to complete a certain number of work, job-training, or volunteer hours in order to be eligible for assistance. The new requirement has resulted in a dramatic decline in food stamp enrollment

Now that individuals have to complete either 20 hours of part-time work a week, volunteer for at least 24 hours per month, or get involved in a vocational program, the amount of SNAP recipients has dramatically dropped from 12,000 to approximately 2,500

Source

Ha.. Haha..
Good job, Maine! If someone isn't even willing to so much as volunteer for 24 hours PER MONTH, then they don't deserve free handouts.

So what happens to those who could afford daycare IF they had a paying gig...but volunteer efforts provide no money to pay a sitter? Therefore, they are even worse off? Not a lot of nuance in the Conservative world, is there?

Looking at the way thing have been run I would think they will take each such situation into account. The child, transportation and other per person problems will surely be taken into account.

People do not realize how helpful this could be to the people who are on assistance. Many times they come from families who were also on assistance throughout their childhood...they never learned any other way.

Sometimes the feeling of usefulness is all it takes and the spark of imput on a job well done to get people to understand that they may be able to do better for themselves.

When I was in school and had little money I did not have car insurance, I was in an accident and could not pay, the judge assigned me to work in the public library for a few hours per week. it was really wonderful feeling needed there and paying my debt at the same time, learning something new. How can it be faulted it is like free education.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: bobs_uruncle

As a man who was unemployed and facing a tough situation in 2009, i can tell you that requiring a person to attend job training in return for SNAP seems very, very reasonable. And were such a measure available to me in 1999, I would have been extremely thankful for it. As it turns out I got lucky and found a corporation that was willing to give me a playground to learn job skills in. Not everyone gets that kind of gig.

This is the state using the states money to make the state a better place. Not make victims, but make more capable workers. Or, at the very least, give the community something back out of their tax dollars by requiring 24 hours a month of community service for people unwilling/unable to recieve job training.

Im kind of baffled how this is not a good thing.

Regardless, it is still extortion. I agree with job retraining and developing a work ethic that will sustain people. I don't agree with calling things what they are not. One cannot equate extortion with volunteering.

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: kaylaluv

That is a good point. Are the volunteer programs forced to accept them?

Not all volunteer programs are just show up and start. Some can take months for the person to be able to start.

I don't mind the idea of what this presenting at all, just hope it isn't screwing people who actually need it.

I have friends from that state who practically fled Maine when it became apparent they were going to be foreclosed on if they stayed due to the lack of good work. I think they ended up doing a short sale on their home there, and relocated elsewhere in New England while they still had savings, as opposed to continuing to pay on the house and getting trapped in inevitable poverty. The couple's words, not mine. As beautiful as the state is renowned for being, they were quite clear that there isn't much there for work. They've visited with family since leaving, and said it's pretty awful up there still.

That makes me wonder where the hell all these jobs and volunteer hours for the childless singles are going to come from. If 2 natives can't find anything that pays enough to warrant moving back home, WTH is available for the people still stuck there? LL Bean expanding a handful of positions or something?

Volunteer work?

Let me tell you what I know about volunteer work.

The work put into these efforts are worth more than 17 dollars an hour. I used to work as a groundskeeper. Most of the "Volunteer work" is in that industry because companies don't want to pay more than a few hundred dollars for projects that require lots of manual labor, heavy machine work, and a lot of knowledge for taking care of grounds. THIS IS JUST ONE AREA of volunteer work but it is a part of volunteer work.

As people get stuck in the mindset of "How much should I be paying" over "What is the quality of the work produced?" We create a bad economic mindset. People keep searching for the cheaper solution. (A.K.A. Cheating.) Why pay a company that knows what the # it is doing to solve an issue hundreds more when it is as simple as throwing more hands out on the field?

Volunteer work is the billionaires cheat device. They have a problem and are willing to pay the government, which in most cases have no clue what it costs to do something. They never ask any professional on a "good price," they just come up with a price. So the ones who get taken advantage of the most almost triples. Companies lose money, people pick up the effort and the company covers a smaller tab. And the people? Work for free? Who already have at least 1 job that takes away their time in a city filled with greedy apartment complexes and housing markets trying to create a way to cheat people out of their money. It is just ridiculous.

Unless this Volunteer work pays the person working for their time spent on a project that should be paying them more, then I won't support bills like this.

I DO KNOW the leeches exist. But only because they are the ones who put up the biggest fight not to lose it. And there is no faster way to destroy a state with its numbers than to turn your backs on them. It will hurt you in the long run. You only understand that these individuals don't want to work. When they live in this country they came here to get away from other places where they were treated exactly the same. Had all their money and power taken from them and forced to live in a manner that only supports the organization, instead of them.

No Volunteer work is a cheat device used by companies to pay considerably less, cutting out real working men and women in america so they can avoid spending. This economic structure is self defeating.

I haven't done volunteer work because I would much rather hold a position in a company working for the hourly wage it is supposed to be than letting companies do this for ever and ever and ever to cut out more people who do things for others with their own organizations.

Volunteer work does not create a better economy. It creates a self defeating economic structure.

Don't believe me? Ask any contractor how hard it is to get a project. And how much they want you to "Bid."

I know several people in such an industry who do this for a living. And when volunteer work is offered by the state? hah.

#ing insane. ARGUE WITH ME. I like it.

a reply to: xuenchen

I'm not sure the previous posters read the article.

This sounds like a sound program to me. Even if the only work we can find for them is clean up duty at local parks, having to work for assistance should be a requirement for the able bodied.

I actually think everyone who is able bodied with children over 2 should have to work. And once the recipient is 50 this is no longer a requirement, which I think is a fair age.

Even if half of the recipients are simply working at the daycare their children would have to attend. It is good for young kids to socialize.

The only thing I would consider, is how to gradually phase the program in. I don't think that everyone that appears able bodied is mentally capable, and I am afraid some of the disabled might slip through the cracks.

And the volunteers should not be able to be volunteering at for profit businesses. All volunteer work should go to non profits that help the community in which the recipient lives.

I reckon doing 24 hours a month for about $ 200 worth of food is probably a little better than minimum wage anyway. Considering the alternative of going hungry while laying about it doesn't sound like it's too unfair.
This could go as a national trend which is a good thing.
As others have mentioned corporate welfare needs to end even more badly as the cost far outweighs any social programs.

originally posted by: HUMBLEONE
Maine is mostly white people. Curious why your source shows a photo that shows a bunch of black people and right under a title calling them "welfare leeches"? That is wicked racist.

Ironically Interesting.

How many white people are getting food stamps in Maine?

I bet nobody keeps track.

All Lives Matter !!

a reply to: trollz

OP you are laughing at people going hungry........Empathy and compassion are learned traits parents are failing to teach and result in people laughing at going without food.



Furthermore many of these people are single moms with kids......What if you don't have car.......What if you can afford child care........We are talking about something people need to survive. Look around the amount of money spent on fighting endless needless wars could feed the worlds needy.......Perspective......Gain it OP.



If you have seen my posts before I am ultra conservative and even I think this is pathetic and cruel. A better idea would be in home jobs like making calls or customer service for the state agencies. Let them earn food this way.......Many of them would gladly accept a offer like this.

originally posted by: SubTruth
a reply to: trollz

OP you are laughing at people going hungry........Empathy and compassion are learned traits parents are failing to teach and result in people laughing at going without food.



Furthermore many of these people are single moms with kids......What if you don't have car.......What if you can afford child care........We are talking about something people need to survive. Look around the amount of money spent on fighting endless needless wars could feed the worlds needy.......Perspective......Gain it OP.



If you have seen my posts before I am ultra conservative and even I think this is pathetic and cruel. A better idea would be in home jobs like making calls or customer service for the state agencies. Let them earn food this way.......Many of them would gladly accept a offer like this.

Read the link: single moms with kids are not included in the law.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

No, this is legit.

They are excluding people who have dependants, etc. As yet, no one in this thread has raised an objection that really has merit, outside of the "You can't force people to volunteer". And to that I say: they are doing work typically done by volunteers....not doing volunteer work.

Call it "community service" if you like that term better. This is simply turning the hand out back into a hand up.

What do we know about the recipients? What's their average age? Educational level? When did they last work? Why aren't they currently working? How many of them have transportation? How many live in rural areas without access to public transportation? What's the local job market look like? If a person wants to comply and work 20 hours per week but is unable to obtain a position, what types of qualifying work training, community service, etc are available and where? What was the average benefit amount?

If the headline was "Stricter Requirements Make it Impossible for Rural Poor to Comply" or "As Poor Residents Scramble for Volunteer Jobs, Many Left Unable to Qualify for Benefits" would this still be a victory?

Without knowing relevant details, without knowing anything about the character or circumstances of the 9,000 dropped from the program, declaring this a good thing isn't exactly a well-informed, reasoned opinion is it? How many of those people eliminated from the rolls are "lazy parasites" and how many are people who simply lack the resources to comply and are now in worse shape than before because it plays well in the conservative media?

a reply to: xuenchen


With all due respect...This quote was not in the OP Source article. If It was it would have been a better conversation.

a reply to: trollz

So wait you mean they stopped giving out tax breaks to corporations?

ohhhh... wait.

originally posted by: fshrrex
a reply to: xuenchen


With all due respect...This quote was not in the OP Source article. If It was it would have been a better conversation.

That's why some research is always a smart thing to do.

Especially when something sounds lopsided.

The MSM has many people totally freaked out.



Another point.....

Maine has around 1.3 million population.

Only a few thousand get food stamps.

The low percentage compared to the national level is something to look at.

And, Maine voted for Obama in 2012.

There are a lot of Democrats in Maine.

Their problems may not be entirely the fault of Republicans.