That was the most often cited reason by those interviewed, yes.
Nope. Some people were rejected for employment, but the training programs are not restricted in any way for those who are rejected for employment or simply can't find suitable employment. And volunteering was not limited to organizations that are your traditional volunteer organizations. Anyone and everyone who wanted to volunteer was placed somewhere.
The state assumes all legal liability in those cases (none of which so far has occurred).
What kind of wackos and weirdos, and just how many of them do you think there are in Maine? Youre describing, I dunno, maybe one out of a hundred, not 6000 out of 6000. No, the majority of people were not rejected for employment, training or volunteering because they were creepy or weird. Sheesh
Except the evidence is right there in Maine for all to see.
They're are going to be some, sure, but I don't think it's accurate [or reasonably intelligent] to assume that all or even more than a fraction of a percent fall into the BS categories you claim above as to why such a massive number of people removed themselves from the program.
This is not something you need to speculate by grasping at straws, the data is right there for anyone to see.
I wasn't kidding when I said liberals are furious over this. You certainly are. They're furious because the real-life outcome contradicts the agenda.
I can't find any "interviews" with people who chose to withdraw from the food stamp program because they don't want to work, so where are they? [Anecdotal we can all find, that's not what you meant, right?]
I can find plenty of evidence that unemployed people do want to work, though. Today's [Memphis] Commercial Appeal has an article about a job fair for Tanger Outlets [Mall] that cites the mall manager's statement that such job fairs attract thousands of applicants, anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000. And these are retail jobs, not exactly known for high wages and/or good bennies. Nor is it an anomaly, we've seen the same thing happen many times & places.
I found plenty of evidence that Maine Gov LePage knows why people are collecting benefits [the jobs they want don't exist], but he "inherited a budget in severe distress" and he promised to fix that. One of his first acts was to reduce the amount sent to counties & cities through revenue sharing, [a modest cut in his first budget, but a huge cut in the following year's], which forces the counties & cities to replace the revenue by raising taxes. This makes citizens mad at the city & county officials, rather than LePage. [Whose approval rating is currently around 30% anyway].
LePage stressed that Maine needs to "bring in employers, and retain employers", and also that Maine is losing young adult residents at an alarming rate. [Maybe a lot of those who dropped off the food stamp rolls just gave up and moved to another state, following those who figured it out already. More likely, many took part time jobs, when what they need & want are full time jobs.] To address the issues of employment [lack of], LePage held several "Town Councils" to brainstorm. Invited were local employers from the small to the large [Pratt & Whitney], but oddly, none of the actually unemployed. It seems to me that solutions need to address the problem of both sides, ie: why employers aren't hiring, [I'd say a lack of demand for their product/service] and why potential employees aren't getting jobs. Since this is the usual practice, [asking one side, not the other] it would seem that the officials don't really want to know what the issues & obstacles are for the unemployed.
We all know that if they actually had any proof that the reason is "don't wanna", they'd be showing it, but all they provide is anecdotal. Like LePage, who says the voters are sick of the food stamp abuse they see every day, offers zero proof of either statement: that a large number of voters are "sick of the abuse they see" or that it is abuse.
Maine's LePage is typical of Republicans: his state needs more money, but he doesn't want to go after those who can benefit him or his friends, so he goes for the easy targets: those who can't afford to fight back. Not only does he go after them, he insults and demeans them, because: politics.
