April 2nd, 2009

Maine is in for troubled times.

On Wednesday, April 1st the Maine Economic Forecasting Commission released numbers predicting a much deeper and more prolonged recession than had been anticipated earlier. While the state has felt the effects of the national recession later than the rest of the country, the new report indicates there will be "sharp declines in employment will result in reductions in total wages and salaries paid in Maine on a year over year basis in both 2009 and 2010" (April 1, 2009 report).

For a state where 57% of the renting population (2008 Annual Housing Facts, Maine Housing Authority) already has trouble affording rent and utility costs and 1 in 7 Mainers (approximately 57%) already rely on food stamps (Bangor Daily News 12/8/08), things look bleak indeed.

In the face of this Rep. Richard Cebra went to bat on Tuesday, March 31st for his 5-point welfare reform package. Along with commendable additions that would end the 20-hour work week maximum, his proposal included minimum-residency requirements and a 5-year allowance on welfare benefits. “We’ve created one of the most lenient welfare systems in the country,” he said in an earlier statement. “People from all across the nation move here for our welfare" (Press Release, 2/6/09).

Cebra cited demands from his constituents as the primary reason for its inclusion in the bill. "Over the last five years I have surveyed my House district several times. On each survey I have included a question on welfare, and each time the overwhelming response has been to place reasonable restrictions on welfare" (Press Release 4/2/09). Jay Finegan, communications director for the House Minority Office, explained.

"His surveys were a series of yes/no questions. One of the questions was 'Should there be a residency requirement to receive welfare services?'"

District sentiment, then, likely falls in line with the following quote from the debate:

A number of people said Maine’s “liberal” welfare system attracts out-of-staters looking to live off public dollars, including an increasing number of foreign immigrants whose presence is “squeezing out” native Mainers from getting benefits. (BDN 3/31/09)

More concerning, however, is the notion that Maine's welfare system has created a "magnet" drawing people from across the country. According to Laura Harper of The Maine Women's Lobby, it is "a myth in Maine that people come to take advantage of our welfare benefits" (BDN 3/31/09).

Data from Maine's Department of Health and Human Services reveal that

• Less than 1 percent of all 2007 recipients came to Maine from another state.

• From October 2002 – September 2008 nearly five times as many aid recipients left Maine each month as the number who moved here.

• Of those who had come from elsewhere, nearly one-third had Social Security numbers issued in Maine. This suggests that a large number of these individuals were originally from Maine and were simply coming home.

• There was no significant difference in migration patterns between aid recipients and the rest of the population. People receiving assistance generally came to Maine from the very same states in the same percentages as the rest of the population. If people really were looking for more generous benefits we'd expect a different pattern - a greater proportion would be coming from states with lower benefit amounts.

Cebra has not responded to inquiries as to where his "welfare magnet" information came from.