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September 12, 2007
Maine Politicos Vs. The People
Good column by Rep. Mike Thibodeau.
Currently, an individual can arrive here from another state or even another country and start collecting welfare benefits immediately. Every survey mailed out asked if Maine should require welfare recipients to have lived in the state for at least 30 days. In each case, more than 90 percent of respondents said yes. Some wrote notes stating that the residency requirement should be six months or even a year.If the Maine Republicans were smart, they would develop some message discipline, raise some money, and start spreading this message via television commercials and other media.Unfortunately for taxpayers, Maine has become a refuge for people who have exhausted their welfare eligibility elsewhere. As a welfare “magnet,” we attract recipients from all over. That’s one reason our taxes are so high. Given our budget problems, we should at least require that people be residents of Maine before qualifying for our generous smorgasbord of benefits. Republicans have proposed a 30-day residency twice in the past three years, but the majority party doggedly resists these efforts.
It's a powerful message. Kudos to Rep. Thibodeau. I hope the leaders in his party follow his lead and start going on offense.
Posted by slublog at September 12, 2007 09:45 PM
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