Maine Makes Welfare Recipients Work for it. Guess What Happens Next…

Louder With Crowder | Steven Crowder | February 9, 2016

Welfare is the left’s favorite entitlement.

Because if they keep you dependent on the government, you’ll have to vote for them over and over again. It’s brilliant really. In Maine, they tried something different. Sometimes families need help, but if you’re single, able-bodied and want to live on the taxpayer’s dime… they’re going to make you work for it. Uh oh…

The results are…not at all shocking if you have any common sense.

Job openings for lower-skill workers are abundant in Maine, and for those ABAWD recipients who cannot find immediate employment, Maine offers both training and community service slots. But despite vigorous outreach efforts by the government to encourage participation, most childless adult recipients in Maine refused to participate in training or even to perform community service for six hours per week. When ABAWD recipients refused to participate, their food stamp benefits ceased. 

In the first three months after Maine’s work policy went into effect, its caseload of able-bodied adults without dependents plummeted by 80 percent, falling from 13,332 recipients in Dec. 2014 to 2,678 in March 2015.

So let me get this straight:

Able-bodied young men (or women) have been receiving a free ride from the government in Maine for a long time now.

Conservatives often bemoan the leftist welfare state.

In turn, leftists state that Conservatives are just mean who want to kick people who are down on their luck and keep all of the monies for all of themselves.

Conservatives respond with the novel concept that they believe people should earn their living, and that many welfare recipients are perfectly capable of doing so.

Leftists respond with “Nuh-uh. TOP 1%!!!!”

When put directly into practice in Maine, Conservatives are proven to be entirely correct, as able-bodied adults refuse to perform even a minimal amount of work to receive their once-free welfare checks. It’s almost like… these people deserve to be unemployed.

Now compare this whole experiment to Europe where welfare recipients are encouraged to have more sex, and others complain that the welfare isn’t enough. Also, Europe is riddled with rape, crime and financial ruin.

Hmmmmm… maybe Maine is on to something.