Maine and the welfare to work plan

	12:26 AM (11 hours ago)
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Here’s What Happened When Maine Forced People to Actually Work for Welfare

Republican Gov. Paul LePage of Maine decided last year that he had to do something about the rampant, out of control welfare abuse in his state, specifically concerning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
So late last year, LePage began enforcing new requirements stating that in order for non-disabled residents to receive SNAP benefits that they would be required to work at least twenty hours per week, volunteer or attend  vocational training.
Guess what happened as a result? Out of the 12,000 non-disabled welfare recipients without children who were on the rolls last year, only 2,680 remain as of now, according to David Sorensen, spokesman for the Department of Health and Services.
That’s a staggering 9,000-plus welfare leeches who lost their benefits simply due to an unwillingness to better themselves — proving that a staggering number of people receive welfare only because it provides for their needs without their actually having to work.
Liberals claim that the reason for high welfare rolls stems from the lack of jobs and volunteer opportunities in rural areas, but others say that’s absolutely untrue.
The volunteer option only requires twenty-four hours of volunteer work per month. According to Sorensen, those opportunities exist in even the most rural areas of the state.
The drop in numbers exceeded the state’s expectations by leaps and bounds.
The Huffington Post reported that once people are dropped from Maine’s welfare program, they lose their benefits for three years.
Ideally, that should further incentivize abusers of welfare to grow up and find gainful employment, but in reality, many may move to a more welfare-friendly state like Missouri, which was recently ranked as the “worst state in the nation for welfare reform” by the Heartland Institute.
Maine was one of eight other states that took similar measures and declined a federal waiver for the new rule that requires welfare recipientsto get off their behinds and contribute to society like everyone else.
This huge drop in the number of able-bodied welfare leeches after forcing them to work for their needs proves everything we’ve ever reported about welfare abusers. They’re only looking for the next handout.