Gov't Assistance: WIC, food stamps

[ridebikeme]

I'm also hesitant to get in on this conversation. While I agree with most of the comments, I would dare say that there are HUGE problems here in Maine. I don't want to assume that everyone is cheating the system, but I do know that it happens alot here. It seems that there are some who will check online to see which states offer the most assistance and then they move there. I've known a few people that have done just that... all of them so that they didn't have to work. They drove nicer cars than I do, had a big screen tv, a cell phone which was paid for by the state... and I could go on and on. Their children were old enough to leave home...

I've also seen many people that NEED this assistance and they don't qualify, and of course that's another issue all in itself. In the past few years, many people have found that they could move to the New England states and live here fairly well. It has happened time and again, especially in towns where there was some sort of industry that had closed down. I'm not sure what that has to do with people moving there, but it has happened time and again.

Lastly, there is a huge problem in this county with housing. Most landlords would rather accept section 8 applicants more than anyone else... Those same landlords also seem to know how to qualify for federal assistance for updates on these buildings. I'm not sure where their monthly money goes, as the buildings are very old and have no mortgage!There was a sad case last week in a town close to me, where this building had received LOTS of work paid for by taxpayers over the past two years. The windows were not installed to code, and a two year old figured out how to open the window and fell out!(from three stories) Luckily, she landed in a snowbank and had no major injuries.

Anyway, this is a very sensitive subject for me.... but it's something that our government definitely needs to look into and make some MAJOR adjestments.