Welfare in Maine (home, buy, property tax)

[Bydand]

I knew a little old lady up by Caribou who I think could remember Jesus while he was in diapers. She wouldn't tell her age of course because that wasn't lady like. We put electricity into her home back in 89, she never had it until then. At the same time the company my brother was working for pulled her hand pump and installed a new water pump and put in an indoor toilet and running water. She was so happy the first time she turned the tap and had hot water right there, no going to the well house and pumping a bucket of water then stoking the wood stove and waiting. Her pump would always freeze in the winter and she would walk a mile with her snowshoes to the nearest neighbor to get 2 buckets of water from them, then they would drive here back home. She got a small check from the state and was worried about paying for the work we were doing (somehow I lost the rest of the bill ), but never asked for anything and wouldn't go to several agencies for additional help. She retired from teaching in 1929 and was quite proud to show you her teaching supplies she kept, "just in case I wanted to go back." She graduated from the teaching college right at the end of "The big one" so that had to be 1918 or so I would think.

Now, you just don't see that kind of steadfastness, or that independence. I see too many people who are so young and healthy with their hand out and thinking they are entitled to something. NO, you are not! I want to shout at them, the older folks like Miss. Monson are entitled, deserving, needing. But they are not the ones getting it, perfectly healthy kids who would think they need to start out in a $50,000 a year job or it is beneath them, are the ones who are getting it mostly.

[deerislesmile]

Northern Maine Land Man- Do you have a link to that info or happen to know the LD#? I would be interested to know if those numbers are supposed to represent average benefits or maximum benefits, whether they are per household or per participant and what fiscal year they represent, etc.

The numbers seem really off (as in, the amount of food stamps to that household would actually be much more, and that households cannot participate in some of those (major) programs at the same time) and I would like to know more about how they were calculated and in what context they were presented to/from the Legislature.

[msina]

Myth:
Maine’s TANF benefits are too generous and encourage people to move to Maine from other states.
Fact:
Maine’s maximum monthly TANF benefit is the very lowest in New England. Maine’s maximum benefit for a family of three is $485/month, which is only 34% of the poverty level($1431/month). Even when food stamps are added, TANF families reach only 65% of thepoverty level.Data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services clearly illustrates thatpeople are not moving to Maine for our benefits.


TANF: Maine’s Welfare Program Fact Sheet

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"whether they are per household or per participant and what fiscal year they represent, etc. "

As in my original post it is for a household with a single parent with 2 kids. This data is three years old from 2004 and benefits have increased since then. TANF does vary from state to state. The key word in TANF is 'temporary'. When benefits run out in Massachusetts people come to Maine. W#hyen they run out in Maine they might need to go to another state, but there are a multitude of extenuating and mitigating circumstances that alow benefits to continue. There are also programs not included in the chart such as LIHEAP. We had a lady in town living in an older mobile home and the state bought her a brand new mobile home. It happens.

Each of the programs above was enacted by either a separate bill or part of the overall budget. Somebody interested enough could research the actual LD numbers. To contact an expert, just call one of the many agencies under the DHHS umbrella. They run the system and the system depends on recruitment. Without recruitment the system would not exist.

[msina]

Hi NMLM! I understand your point, it's something that does happen, however I don't think there are many people here in Maine making a living on public assistance. I did see some information on the house replacement program you reffered to as well.


HUD Grant to Help Mobile Homeowners
9/12/2007--Owners of older, substandard mobile homes will be assisted through a major initiative serving the communities of Brownville, Milo, Lagrange, and Alton. Penquis has received approval for a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. .... more

Penquis | Helping Today - Building Tomorrow


These homes had to be pre 1978 mobile homes, the goal was to replace seven homes with the 300k they had for the program. Good article thanks for mentioning the story.

[mollysmiles]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

"whether they are per household or per participant and what fiscal year they represent, etc. "

As in my original post it is for a household with a single parent with 2 kids. This data is three years old from 2004 and benefits have increased since then. TANF does vary from state to state. The key word in TANF is 'temporary'. When benefits run out in Massachusetts people come to Maine. W#hyen they run out in Maine they might need to go to another state, but there are a multitude of extenuating and mitigating circumstances that alow benefits to continue. There are also programs not included in the chart such as LIHEAP. We had a lady in town living in an older mobile home and the state bought her a brand new mobile home. It happens.

Each of the programs above was enacted by either a separate bill or part of the overall budget. Somebody interested enough could research the actual LD numbers. To contact an expert, just call one of the many agencies under the DHHS umbrella. They run the system and the system depends on recruitment. Without recruitment the system would not exist.

I get that the numbers are old...but you still haven't said where you got them....and they're not accurate. Also, you may have found them somewhere in an article that is old, but in fact the numbers quoted there could be even older--that's not unusual as it takes some time for numbers to be gathered in things like this.

Would you like me to just google it? I understand that you may not remember...and that's not a slam, I just know sometimes we look a variety of places

[ShaneOsborne]

Hey guys,
I am very happy to be here and yes I'm fairly new the the forum.

This links ranks states by per capita STATE AND LOCAL spending on Welfare. The data is old...1997-- Maine is #2.: Just The Facts 2001 - Table 44, State and Local Welfare Spending Per Capita, 1997

This is an interesting blog that ranks Maine at one of the top 15 Welfare Queen States. This article is hard to read and crazy harsh and unrefined, but this is how Maine gets it reputation whether the information is correct or not.:
Silflay Hraka: The Top 15 State Welfare Queens

The following link shows that Maine is 2nd only to Vermont regarding its combined state and local tax burden when compared to other states. 2nd highest is not something the state can be proud of. It is not because Maine is a rural state or because Maine is a northern state. Massachusetts rands 28th highest and Kentucky 20th highest.

These are some very scary statistics. It is this kind of information that makes it scary for me to move back....though I do LOVE it and miss it.

Maine ranks better when you add federal taxes, but 10th is still very high.
The link is: The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007

[corgis]

I knew WV would rank right up there at the top. The 5 year benefits cap was put in place because generations of WVians grew up knowing from an early age they would be on welfare just like those before them.

You should have heard the ruckus when the 5 year cap was started. Most didn't believe they'd be cut off and yep, cut dead off at the end of the 5 years cause they didn't get schooling or training for a skill.

I personally applaud a state who has the gumption to help people get on their feet through training and/or schooling and even help the recipients find jobs. But, by golly, it sure did raise a big stink here when it was enacted.

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by ShaneOsborne

Hey guys,
I am very happy to be here and yes I'm fairly new the the forum.

This links ranks states by per capita STATE AND LOCAL spending on Welfare. The data is old...1997-- Maine is #2.: Just The Facts 2001 - Table 44, State and Local Welfare Spending Per Capita, 1997

This is an interesting blog that ranks Maine at one of the top 15 Welfare Queen States. This article is hard to read and crazy harsh and unrefined, but this is how Maine gets it reputation whether the information is correct or not.:
Silflay Hraka: The Top 15 State Welfare Queens

The following link shows that Maine is 2nd only to Vermont regarding its combined state and local tax burden when compared to other states. 2nd highest is not something the state can be proud of. It is not because Maine is a rural state or because Maine is a northern state. Massachusetts rands 28th highest and Kentucky 20th highest.

These are some very scary statistics. It is this kind of information that makes it scary for me to move back....though I do LOVE it and miss it.

Maine ranks better when you add federal taxes, but 10th is still very high.
The link is: The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007

Thats an incredible amount of money to be spending especially on a per capita basis because when you factor in what people in Maine are making compared with Ma, and NY Maine is actually spending way more. I have heard NH has like 60 thousand people on Medicaid and Maine has 280 thousand.

P.S. I use to live in klingle road behind the zoo. I left 95 after barry came back to office

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by ShaneOsborne

The following link shows that Maine is 2nd only to Vermont regarding its combined state and local tax burden when compared to other states. 2nd highest is not something the state can be proud of. It is not because Maine is a rural state or because Maine is a northern state. Massachusetts rands 28th highest and Kentucky 20th highest.

These are some very scary statistics. It is this kind of information that makes it scary for me to move back....though I do LOVE it and miss it.

Maine ranks better when you add federal taxes, but 10th is still very high.
The link is: The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007

If you read a it deeper into the threads here you will find that we have discussed the 'tax burden' issue a lot.

Statistic data bases are often misleading. There are obviously instances where a person can move to Maine and experience a much lower tax 'burden' than if he lived in most other states.

However by completely following such a WWW database it would imply that such were not possible.

Also 'tax burden' re-indexes the numbers in favour of average household income.

Assuming that everyone in Maine earned that one income level, and that we as a group paid all of those taxes, then and only then would such a comparison be valid.

Maine simply does not have the highest income tax as compared to the remaining 49 states. The highest tax bracket is 9.9%

Maine's highest bracket is 8.5% and even then your 'taxable' income must have exceeded the amounts of both your standard deductions and your exemptions, and then your remaining 'taxable' income must be enough to get up into the highest tax bracket.

Maine does not have the highest fuel taxes, nor the highest property taxes, nor, .... Do you see a pattern here?

I do understand that misery likes company. And that folks like to whine together in the company of others who are also whining about the same topic.

As for having the highest taxes, sigh, let it go.