BANGOR, Maine — Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew took a break from Augusta on Thursday to defend controversial cuts to her agency’s budget in Bangor.
Mayhew has spent many hours in recent days before lawmakers, explaining Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to close an estimated $220 million shortfall in the DHHS budget by overhauling MaineCare. On Thursday, attendees at a breakfast event at Husson University quizzed Mayhew on many of the cuts also drawing attention in Augusta.
“As I’ve said about so many of the proposals that we have within the supplemental budget, these are painful decisions; there are consequences,” Mayhew said.
One audience member asked if a hotly contested plan to eliminate funding for facilities that serve the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled and patients of substance abuse treatment programs was now “off the table.” Both Republicans and Democrats have pledged to oppose the cut to private nonmedical institutions, which would save $60 million.
“For now, as part of the budget negotiations, their intent is to restore [the money] and seek alternate funding,” Mayhew said.
LePage has set aside $40 million for the state’s reserve, or Rainy Day, fund that lawmakers could use to fund PNMIs, she said. Democrats have accused the governor of using the PNMI proposal as a “bargaining chip in budget negotiations.”
The proposal’s call to slash $30 million from the Fund for a Healthy Maine, which allocates money from the landmark 1998 tobacco settlement for smoking and substance abuse prevention programs and a variety of health initiatives, has met less resistance. Members of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, voting along party lines this week, gave preliminary approval to the cut, and also supported diverting $2.4 million from the Head Start program.
The panel’s recommendations were presented this afternoon to the Legislature’s budgetary committee.
Mayhew said she’s encouraged by the legislative action, anticipating that the budget-writing Appropriations Committee will vote on the MaineCare proposal as soon as next week after many days of deliberations.
LePage’s plan would drop 65,000 people from coverage, tighten eligibility requirements and cut services to bring MaineCare, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid program, closer to national averages for public health benefits.
“We are hopeful as [lawmakers] head into this weekend that they are able to really start looking at conducting some votes fairly soon,” she said.
The LePage administration has said lawmakers must take action by the end of January to implement the reforms before MaineCare runs out of money in early April.
Democrats, however, aren’t convinced that the shortfall estimates are accurate. A review of the DHHS budget, expected to wrap up this week, has yet to produce an independent estimate of the red ink.
In a letter to Democratic leaders Wednesday, Grant Pennoyer, head of the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal and Program review, said current spending trends would produce a shortfall in the range of the department’s $120 million estimate, assuming no changes in the second half of this year. For the next fiscal year, LePage anticipates another $100 million budget gap. Pennoyer wrote in the letter that his office currently lacks sufficient information to confirm that estimate, despite cooperation from DHHS.
“It is crystal clear that the governor’s budget doesn’t add up,” Senate Democratic Leader Barry Hobbins of Saco said in a press release. “It is frustrating that Democrats are ready to work on solving our state’s budget issues but we cannot talk about a solution if we don’t yet understand the problem. Rushing in to policy changes or program cuts without real numbers would be irresponsible.”
DHHS has provided lawmakers with plenty of financial information on the shortfall, Mayhew said Thursday after the event.
“We believe they absolutely have all of the financial analysis and data they need to understand the extent of this shortfall, and they truly need to act,” she said.
What we have here folks, is a good ol’ fashion SNAFU…
More like FUBAR
Who will be feeling the pain if this is implemented, Ms. Mayhew? I think not, she will still have her job and salary and health benefits.
Why shouldn’t she have a job with benefits? Would it make you feel better is she was on TANF? For the life of me I can’t understand how the situation would be any better if Ms. Mayhew were homeless and destitute. She is doing a job for which she has spent years pursuing education and work experience for.
Your rant is irrelevant; you’ve missed the point of the
original post.
Thank you again for your comment Paul.
Unfortunatly she works closely with a Governor who is a known liar.
Again your rants are very shallow at least read something about the subject instead of scanning and looking for a way to say liar. It appears as if its your only agenda.
A liar, he is stating the truth that there is no money to support the many social programs that we have in the state. Instead of complaining what is your solution? Just keep funding these programs and push it to the next guy, hard decisions have to be made and no one wats to face the truth of it!
That does not make her a liar…….that makes her accountable, to the liar.
Please update me on what are her skill and trained background for this position. Tell me.
I wouldn’t want her job if you paid me a million bucks. It’s a nightmare. I didn’t agree with brenda harvey about many things, but she worked 24/7. I believe they should take part of the Fund for Healthy Maine, however. We’ve spent 100s of millions on programs that don’t really seem to have much effect–or at least they are not releasing the ROI information. The state paid $2.5 million for a UNE evaluation–WHERE’S THE DATA? A lot of FHM money seems to pay for people to go to meetings.
Still waiting on those numbers Mary!
Why are the Republicans so afraid of information lately? Obama wants to wait on the pipeline until the impact studies are done, and alternate routes can be planned, but the Rep. Party says, “No you have until (place arbitrary quick date here). Same thing here, they want the real numbers before they decide, and LePage says no, get it done before January ends. I thought we had til April.
I am will to bet it has something to do with hiding the unsavory facts or at the very least trying to find a way to spin them.
They have had three years to do the studies on the pipeline. The Occupy Wall Streeters must habe taken all the calculators with them.
Drill Baby Drill!!!
“lately”?
The numbers are there and the confirmation of the 120 million dollar shortfall has been substantiated by the Office of Fiscal and Program Review.
So what happened to the other 100 million?
If you would read the entire article it tells you. But chances are you wouldn’t believe it anyway.
The article says that the Office of Fiscal Program and Review couldn’t determine what the consequence was because it didn’t have enough information. …. They didn’t have enough information?
But the commitee has “what it needs”………really?
Really, why don’t you post the whole paragraph? Conflict of interest I’d say. 125 million confirmed. The information not clear is for the next half of the fiscal year.
Also it’s a biennial budget.
It does not matter what the state’s biennial budget is. They carried over expenditures from the last budget, expenditures that were supposed to have been paid. And now they a blaming it on some sort of gobbly gook to create a crisis, and want the Appropriations Committee to vote on it quickly. NO that’s not acceptable, not to the democrats or the republicans on the committee. They want the carry over numbers, they want the real numbers, when for christsake is this Governor going to realize that he doesn’t control the Legislature?
And they are trying to pay for their bungled accounting this year. By inflating the shortfall and not giving honest numbers. Ever think of that?
125 (confirmed) minus 220 million alleged = 95 million unconfirmed. That and another 100 million that the Adminstration won’t say; to either the Appropriations Committee or the Office of Fiscal Program and Review. Wouldn’t you ask?
The other 100 million is the short fall for the following year.
I guess President Foodstamp is leaving people in the lurch, just like he cut LiHeap!
Believe it’s a biennial budget.
Read the article again. Paragraph 14 line 4 ” Pennoyerr wrote in the letter that his office currently lacks sufficient information to confirm that estimate…”
Put it in writing…
…On paper, where legislators and the public can analyze it,
for cripes sake.
hear hear! Put the numbers up. Let’s see em!
Does anyone else out there sense that Mary Mayhew hasn’t a clue as to what she’s supposed to be doing? I mean for months she’s been saying that she’s not sure of anything and now all of a sudden it’s, “Oh yeah, those old numbers that we doubted are suddenly absolutely spot on.” Yeah, just like LePage and crew’s budget numbers were “Spot Off” by a mere $8.9 million bucks!
These people are simply throwing out made up numbers that support their political agenda. What is that agenda? Make the poor (They will either have to work harder or die) and middle class suffer (By moving into the poor category and having to work harder) all while making it more profitable for the upper-class to profit off everyone. Nice huh?
Another one who can’t or don’t want to read the article.
Thank you Paul for making your comment.
Why do you insist on being so rude to people who post comments here? This story tells a “story” about what Mr. LePage’s people “Now suddenly say” are spot on figures. Based on this crew’s previous record of incompetence regarding such numbers ($8.9 million off in a report JUST YESTERDAY as one example), I and many other people in this State have serious doubts as to the accuracy of the made up numbers presented here. Is it really that hard for you to connect a story from YESTERDAY to this story today?
I know, I just repeated what I said above…did you read this response? Do you have anything of relevance to say about it, or is it always going to be your best effort to simply degrade (Without contemplative thought) anyone you don’t agree with?
Consider your response carefully as I’m beginning to think you may need to be added to my list of people not worth reading or responding to.
As for you not reading my posts, that’s downright mean of you. Now you’ve hurt my feelings. As your posts are concerned, If you’ve read one, you’ve read them all. How’s that?
Like all your post, devoid of anything of interest. On the bright side you now get the last word on every conversation you have with me. Congratulations and goodbye.
That must be why you won’t tell me how your vote is gonna matter more in 2012 than it did in 2010. I keep asking but all I hear is crickets. Thanks for giving me the heads up that you don’t want to play anymore.
Did you ask? I suppose a better question is why would you have to ask? I mean it’s pretty obvious that over the last year LePage has done little more than create a stain on his party (Do you really want a list? If so can someone else post all such events…I’m watching the news). One can only hold their breath over what Paul might come out with next to humiliate himself, his party, and our State and he’s got three more years to do it…hang on it’s gonna be a bumpy ride! I certainly wouldn’t want to be a Republican/Tea Party candidate in 2012! YIKES!
“Don’t want to play any more?” I don’t know what you’re refering to. Do you mean talking with people who aren’t worth talking to? Or are you and the person seen above the same person with dual IDs…or perhaps both working for the same organization.
That’s not fair, if you’re not going to talk to me anymore, you can’t talk about me either.
If you voted for change then you have the right to be upset that’s it’s not happening. If you voted for same old same old, then you should be happy because nothing has changed yet. That is why I asked. The Governor needs more than one year to even start to make a difference. You know as well as I do that the state can’t continue the way it is. You and I disagree on where to start. The question is where do we start? I say start with government waste. Then move onto fraud. After that start looking at abusers. Running around saying I told you so isn’t helping anyone. By the way I only have the one name that my best friend gave shortly after we met. You couldn’t hear the emphasis on “me” the understand what I meant. You have a great day. (seriously)
StillRelaxin’s true side has finally surfaced, they really could careless about the less fortunate. (I suspect a retired teacher) who has no answers they’re just protecting their retirement that they received at 59. Yep StillRelaxin I made assumptions about you, but you write well and seem to have an awful lot of time to keep responding to posts all day.
Well looky there a compliment from a conservative. I think I’ll print and hang this rare occurrence on my wall! Sorry Sir/Madame but if you took the time to look at time stamps on my comments you could only conclude one thing…Poor StillRelaxin is too busy doing other things to be wasting his/her time talking here during working hours. Research a bit before you speak, you’d be surprised at how much it helps with commentary.
Thank you Mary for your comment:)
Excellent comment.
As a proud member of the 61% I agree with you completely…..
What did you want bozo Cutler, the man who creates jobs in China!
…or the man we have now, who creates no jobs at all. By the way, thank Ronald Reagan, not Cutler, for the job creation in China.
I think you must be confused,, it was the Disgraceful Clinton Administration that pushed NAFTA thru and then trade deals with the Chinese Communists. Reagan never passed any trade deals unlike Clinton. Of course you probably forgot Perrot berating CLinton back in 1992 and his disgraceful platform, ” Job sucking sound” ring a bell.
NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Association. It has nothing to do with China. An agreement with Mexico and Canada. And I don’t believe Monica was either Mexican or Candian. Everyone has forgoten Perrot. Thank god.
Obviously NAFTA was Mexico, Bill thought it was more important to create Manufacturing jobs in Mexico.
Oh here is one Bills great deals with the Chi Comms( Chinese Communists for the libtards)
http://articles.cnn.com/2000-10-10/politics/clinton.pntr_1_wto-membership-china-global-trade-regime?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS
President Clinton will close years of political and economic debate
Tuesday and seal a major achievement of his administration by signing
off on normalized trade with China.Clinton will sign the measure,
approved by Congress this year, in a White House ceremony Tuesday
afternoon. The president has invited key lawmakers to the South Lawn to
witness his signing of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000
Disgraceful Clinton….sure…the only guy to balance the budget and leave a surplus to President Bush who turn the surplus into Trillion dollar deficiets $$$$$$ Oh by the way….haven’t you heard that the bible belt S.C. says that it is OK if you want a wife and mistress…especially when the mistress is standing next to you who wants to become the first lady and her qualifications are that I worked as my husbands aide and was his mistress while his wife was home….and we tired to get her to stay into the open marriage but she elected to get a divorce which made it wonderful for me…now I may be come the first lady who can say see….moral values don’t mean a thing girls….go have fun…..
No, pretty sure I’m not confused. Reagan opened the flood gates for rich corporations to locate their manafacturing businesses elsewhere without penalties. Clinton might have been sleazy, but at least he left us with a balanced budget. Didn’t take Bush long to ruin that did it?
Clinton didnt balance the budget, he cut all the miliatary and decimated the capabilities and weapons programs, ever wonder why they didnt have up armored Humvees for example, dumby Bill cut the program. Wonder how many troops we lost because of that dumb decision for example.
NAFTA has nothing to do with China. NAFTA is a trade agreement between the US and its geographic neighbors.
Me thinks that one was Nixon!
that’s what people here in Maine voted for…….Unfortunately
38% voted for “it”…
Not me!
Do you think Baldy had a clue as he and the democrats threw billions of dollars into welfare programs to buy votes? Do you think generational welfare passed down from parent to child to grandchild and so on is sustainable? Please dont speak for the middle class in your rants, we elected Governor Lepage for that, and we LOVE what he is doing. YOU GO GOVNUH!!
I think any man or woman that happened to be serving as a Governor of any U.S. State during or just after eight years of the Bush administration had some very-very unlucky timing (Mr. Obama included here). I think solutions to generational welfare need to be looked into, but unlike you I simply can’t paint everyone on welfare as leaches or proclaim pride or joy that many very needed people are about to suffer because of blind hatred and stereotyping by people who have nothing but their own self-interest in mind. Sadly real solutions are probably too difficult for Mr. LePage and crew to handle. As a member of the middle class I will continue to voice my displeasure over Mr. LePage’s attempt to put me on welfare. I also will do everything I can to make Mr. LePage go, go, go as soon as possible and take his daughter with him!
YOU GO GOVNUH!!…….Yup, you go until next election and you will be on the outside looking in.
i could not agree with yo more! unfortunately, there are many “still relaxed” heads out there that have no idea what caused this mess, atleast someone is putting real effort into solving so many problems, and these whiners dont like it!
Typical, can’t find any way to defend LePage, so trash someone else instead. Baldacci did a lousy job, LePage is doing worse. At least Baldacci had a brain. LePage is the schoolyard bully. And yes please go govnuh…far far away.
But, but…..she’s a blonde that wears a scarf? Doesn’t that account towards credibility?
…
heh, heh, heh, well I do too. But I’m 48 years old so ……aren’t I eligible for a corrective lenses tax break?. No, I understand, you have to have “the plan” in order to do that, and that’s only available to management.
This women is not qualified to head the department, just looking at her makes her appearance look like she just left a college class and not like a head of the DHHS. Which of her background skills qualify her for this position, she was previously a lobbyists that spews what people that fund her to say. That is not a person qualified to head such a large organization, they don’t give her hand out notes on what to say, on second thought i bet she still get notes on what to say as she does not know what she is doing in such a position – make sense:)
Question #1 in interview for appointment to department head in Maine. “Will you say whatever Governor LePage tells you to?” Answer…”yes”. “YOU’RE HIRED!!!”
I thought Mary would put the facts out. “Where’s The Beef”???
Why confuse the issue with all those facts. Just do what the governor says and drink the kool-aid.
Mary sounds like a puppet for Lepage saying and I quote “We BELIEVE they absolutely have all of the financial analysis and data they(Dems) need to understand the extent of this shortfall, and they truly need to act,” she said.
Absolutely right. A new makeover didn’t make her any smarter, she’s still LePages puppet.
….
I spoke to a representative last night who said it is refreshing to finally get answers and numbers from DHHS. For years, the department has failed to give information to lawmakers concerning the budget problems. Under Mayhew, they are getting the answers they need.
Which one? Is he or she even on the committee? They don’t have the numbers, the Fiscal Office even said that THEY don’t have all of the numbers. He is playing games.
It’s not about what the administration thinks that they need……It’s about what the Appropriations Committee wants. The Governor and his commissioner are not calling the shots here, that committee is, and you know that. The rest of the legislature is depending on them to make an informed, comprehensive decision; if they want more information, give it to them!
The Governor is finding out, painfully, the reality of legislative politics. Each one of the members who aren’t termed out must face re-election. They all know that both majorities are precarious, these legislators are doing what they are supposed to be doing…..the governor, and his commissioner are not. That’s a fact. I’ve never heard of a governor who proposes legislation, blatantly interrupt a committee’s work session, and withhold pertinent information.
The fact of the matter is, they don’t have to vote until they are good and ready. The Governor has never been a legislator……hopefully he will get a lesson.
Thank you Mary. Oh, Mary if you see our Murals anywhere would you please return them, you should at least be able to handle this request without written notes:)
I know – I told Governor KcKernan the same thing, look what that got us today, and you expect Mary to have the skills to fix this matter – dream on.
….
not all elderly are saints, some were the welfare queens of yesterday.
…
According to her, they have the numbers they need. What about the numbers they WANT?
Dammit Governor, give them everything they need! And no vote needs to be done by the end of January, they are taking heat from their creditors, creditors that should have been paid before this bi-annium. They want to pay the hospitals what is owed, but they want to do it with a fresh amount of spending cash. This is absolutely insane government practice and borders on negligence.
I urge the members not to vote on any proposals until they, and the Fiscal office gets all of the numbers. If the administration wants to play games with the committee, then the committee should demonstrate that they make the rules when it comes to considering legislation, not the governor.
What a joke! After more than ten years, now they want to pay the hospital bills. That is absolutely funny and borders on hilarius.
I told Governor McKernan a day would come when the hospitals would want to be paid. Remember Jock?
Mayhew does not need to be speaking at Husson College. She needs to be in her office in Augusta working for a sensible solution to the Budget shortfall. Or better yet she needs to visit some nursing homes in the area and explain to the elderly why they will have no place to sleep soon. She’s in way over her head.
Actually we’re all in over our heads trying to spend money we don’t have.
There are many other places to look for money, why the poorest of the poor?
I agree………..bring back the millions that have been stolen
lepage and his buddies sees them as the weakest of the weak …he doesn’t think they “count” ….the R’s voted tax breaks for themselves and their masters. They will continue to do the same until they are voted out . Would not want to have an “R” next to my name on the ballot this coming election.
You are so right, look at all the other programs and divisions in DHHS and you will find hundreds of thousands of dollars in waste, i know for a fact i use to date a DHHS worker and i saw it in just one worker ! Now multiply that by hundreds of workers !
You hope to persuade us that your negative words about somebody you broke up with (or who broke up with you?) should be taken as facts about all DHHS workers? Geez…
No, i hope to let anybody that cares that i can make that statement because i saw it personally as opposed to some people who make statements and cant back them up !
You hope that because you personally dislike one DHHS worker, you can persuade everyone all DHHS workers are lousy and should be despised and punished? Even if your appraisal of your ex girlfriend (?) is accurate, it’s not a basis for drawing wider conclusions.
Its a basis for me to make a comment that you havent read my statement very well. Once again i did not say anywhere in my post that ALL DHHS workers are lousy ! It seems as if you have a guilt you are carrying !
Plus the information i gained had nothing to do with my girlfreind, it had to do with her co-workers . You need not make someones stories your fuel for the fire !
Let me guess who you work for !
Nowhere in my post did i say all DHHS workers , but feel free to twist any which way you like !
specifics please!
Yeah, that is what i said to Governor McKernan:)
we as a state would have money if it was appropriately utilized and not allowed to be stolen by the rich and the politicians
I know I sure am….
My mother is in a nursing home and you are lying about her having no place to sleep soon. Stop You should be angry at the losers in this state who take from our elderly because it’s more important to them to get high, become addicted to drug,then dependent on meth, not happy with meth, so they use bath salt, go to emergency room and end up in Acadia, all on the taxpayers dime.
“LePage’s plan would drop 65,000 people from coverage, tighten eligibility requirements and cut services to bring MaineCare, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid program, closer to national averages for public health benefits.” Because, naturally, the last thing a state ought to be is more helpful in any way than it can get away with being.
I don’t think the governor or any of his people have actually used the phrase “culling the herd” yet, but it’s pretty plain at this point that that’s what they’re about. Mind you, there’s nothing new about that. Kicking those who are least likely to be able to kick back effectively is a grand old fatcat tradition.
The cuts to the Department of Human Services are cruel and uncalled for. Taking away needed services from people who are in need is uncalled for and uncivilized in a nation like America. People in Maine are haning to do with out oil right now! What are the most in need people to do when they can’t afford the basic of necessities and can not work do to age or heath conditions,,,or other..? Recall the Govenor and remove him from office….!
Do you write checks with no funds in the account? I didn’t think so.
Governor Jock did, remember?
When you have the funds, aren’t you supposed to pay the bills? Apparently not, “well, see…..it’s all because of this fraud (1%) , and ahh…. the new enrollment (5% of the shortfall)….and ahh, well we won’t admit that we screwed up, and the committee can’t see all of those numbers, but, dammit, just do what we say!
NOT!
Time will tell . And yes I hope you’re right.
It’s a great big swamp, and it doesn’t need to be as such. If the Governor want’s to stir up the turd bucket, then he had better be prepared for this committee to stir a few of their own. These people have to run for office this year, if they want their seats, they will head for the middle ground, guaranteed.
Big part of the problem, can’t fix anything without stepping on toes. No ones happy with the situation we’re in but if cuts are mentioned somewhere , watch out. What do you do?Go along to save your seat in Augusta, What do you gain? Nothing.
It’s not a matter of stepping on toes. It’s a matter of spreading the cuts/savings throughout. And in order to do this, a comprehensive, intelligent and pragmatic approach needs to be applied. In order to make a decision, with the ramifications such as this, ALL of the pertinent information needs to be included. All of it.
They, the committee and the Fiscal Office, are asking for more information…..that’s all. It’s that simple Put yourself in those legislator’s shoes. They know that they are going to dramatically affect people’s lives, some more so than others. They don’t have the option to pick and choose because they are dependent upon DHHS to administer their decision. How would you vote?
Cut cut we need cuts.
Cuts, how about laying off the Governor’s Daughter position, that alone would save the state $75,341.oo a year. So is going to Florida for the winter anyway:)
The shortfall works out to about $166 per capita. That means a family of four should spend an extra $25 a week on lottery tickets this year in order to generate the needed revenues for the state. Or maybe we clear cut our forests and replant them with money trees.
If money grew on trees, it wouldn’t be worth anything. Pretty basic concept but apparantly one that escapes most liberals due to their monetary ignorance.
They can go pick some fifty dollar bills off those wind turbines. I’ve been told those are the real “money trees”.
I will say one thing for Ms. Mayhew, she knows the secret to keeping her job. That is to become a yes man or in her case a yes maam ! What the Governor dont realize is that she is siding with him because she is trying to deflect the fact that there are so many other services and deparmentst in DHHS that need to be scrutinized, he could find hundreds of thousands of dollars being wasted at DHHS in almost every department there is. Starting with employee abuse of company credit cards, company vehicles,company computers and laptops , and the ever popular fur low days that Mr Baldacchi enacted were most of the employees get paid for anyways because of the extreme days off they can accrue thanks to the good old taxpayers of Maine ! Some of the DHHS caseworkers that have minimal schooling in their field of work are making more than 20 dollars per hour ! How many of us are making 20 dollars per hour slaving for companies who offer no benefits and as nlittle pay as their conscience will let them get away with in Maine . Yet we close our eyes and let them shove numbers in our face that only a spin doctor could decode , lord help us !
Yes he should look for all government waste and abuse, cut the funds and give the avg working man/women a tax cut.
Note he could probably flush out a few State hacks in Maine Housing Authority , they have money to give their people massages, weight watchers, bonuses in 2010 while they fund 300$ per sqft apartments with all kinds of “Green” nonsense while a private builder could build for 100$ a Sq Ft. Maybe he could Fire Dale McCormick a useless hack if ever there was one!
Does anyone else get a chuckle out of the bad grammar in a lot of headlines?
I get what your saying but there are many people who cant afford reaqding glasses in maine ! LOL Because Ms. Mayhew and the governor dont want to cover them with Maine Care !
I think you meant to say that there are many people in Maine who can’t afford reading glasses with their current income and would like to steal a little bit of money from everyone aroud them via immoral government “laws” in order to fulfill their need. What they should be doingh is looking in the mirror and saying “what can I do as an individual to get myself some new glasses, instead of loafing off everyone else…like a parasite”
Go to Mardens and buy a pair for a dollar
2.99 at Walmart! I work and pay for insurance (which doesn’t include eye-care) I find a pair that I can see out of and proudly place them on my face. Why should mainecare insurance carriers be given free eye-care when most insurance companies don’t even cover that service that people are working and paying for?
….
I’m not an English major and in fact don’t think that its a requirement for posting on BDN. I suggest if your creeping the page to edit everyones comments for sentence structure then perhaps you should apply for a job on the site. I personally don’t care about whether or not someone leaves a letter out or a comma — we are all human and its a post for God sakes get over yourself.
….
===
Sounds like your for-profit insurance company is putting your premium payments toward its CEO’s multi-million dollar salary instead of healthcare you need.
Slicing away health insurance from extremely needy people won’t improve your own insurance company.
I’m not at all an advocate to take insurance away from anyone — just wonder why everytime someone needs something then its society’s job to come to the rescue and make it happen. If working people can go to a local store and pick up a pair of reading glasses then why isn’t everyone who doesn’t have eye care insurance required to do the same. I’m not saying slice away, I’m just thinking we don’t need to always be adding.
…
No
Right on! If there were more people like her we wouldn’t have so many people sucking up everything they can from programs that are out there for those who really need it. I work 2 jobs, pay my health insurance and will do whatever I have to do in order to earn an honest living and thank God everyday that I have my health to do it. The majority of those receiving all the free-bees are healthier then I am.
Now Mary be nice. you still have a high paying job right?
Some of the biggest abusers of Maine Care are the self employed small bussiness owners. They claim very little of their income so the whole family qualifies. But if you look even a little, mom has a car, dad has a truck, and all three teenagers have their own vehicles. The family took two week long cruises last year, and paved their driveway. They have their EBT cards and eat very well when ever they decide to dine at home instead of going out to eat.
And to top it all off a working full time divorced mother of 4 who’s ex quit working at age 56 and took her back to court to lower his child support and get out of providing health insurance for the kids cannot get any help. No help from the court to keep her lazy ex paying his share and no help from anyone with the children medical needs.
The systems for helping the needy are broken and need fixing. How about a rule where if you get caught cheating, your out of welfare for life. And how about another one where if you turn in someone who is cheating you get half of what the state saves in the first 12 months.
As long as the system is there, it will be abused. Just look at history, this has always been the case. There is no amount of regulation that can be drafted which will cure humanity of its insticual actions and behaviors. The only fair system is to have no government assistance system at all, as thatis the ONLY way to ensure that people are not taking advantage of others.
They will receive no services–and die. That’s what you want, it seems. Surely you’re aware that there are now about 5 people in need of work for every vailable job.
I agree…i know some people doing just what you said in your first paragraph!but one better..they seem not to have any jobs or income..yet have everything. most likely all the adults are on aid yet claim to live separately. I say take their stuff and jail them.
I Know of that situation with a former employer ! So you are correct !
LePage needs to be chased out of Augusta and he needs to take this shrew with him.
Shrew? That’s kinda harsh, yea she has no idea what she is doing, and yea if she wants to keep her job she has to pander to the governor, but shrew? Shrew’s are ugly, and she is kinda cute, so can we go with… um… incompetent idiot?
My My you liberals are a hatefull bunch I really never seen people quite soo narrow minded as you liberals Mr. LePage is doing a wonderfull job of turning the ship around . Must be that you got caught in the wake and swallowed a mouth full of water???
That might bother me if I weren’t mostly conservative, lol.
Meanwhile the 3,000 wealthiest Mainers will receive a tax cut…Necessary and painful we will be told…
Right on! If there was more people like her who has a job the State wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in. I work 2 jobs and pay my insurance, while the majority of those receiving freebees are healthy and able bodies are staying warm(free oil and have the windows open) and working hard at trying to figure out what else they can get free.
Now Mary be nice. you still have a high paying job right?
nonesense! most folks want to work but there are NO jobs. Most businesses don’t pay healthcare because the CEO’s want to make millions. Most places don’t pay livable wages…………..why wouldn’t people stay home, have a life and enjoy it instead of working and never making ends meet and having no money. How about insisting on minimun wages of 20/hour and people could live on a 40hr a wk job………if they can find one in this state. Get off your high horse and look at all the rich keep taking from the poor and then you can make sense of the mess. It’s not the poor taking from the poor/working class…………………it’s the rich stealing
”
why wouldn’t people stay home, have a life and enjoy it instead of working”
Once we cut all of those benefits it will be incentive to work and provide for themselves. There are jobs out there but you need to put in your time and move up the ladder. You can’t really expect to start out at $20 per hour without a background/experience can you?
That “ladder” was busted years ago. It is wrong to pretend that the types of jobs available…the idea of getting in on the ground floor and working your way up…still exists. It doesn’t. But to the mmmllddd-whatever poster, I would say that people who stay home because they cannot get jobs are not sitting there, “enjoying life.”
Your attitude is a perfect example of why many welfare recipients choose not to look for employment. Of course you can still work your way up, either in wages, job title, or both. As a person begins to play a more critical role in the business they will earn more. The cost of replacing someone with 10 years of experience is astronomical, even if it is just a cashier at a grocery store. The CEO or CFO of any business will recognize this and keep long-term, reliable employees by increasing their wage. We need to stop the “if I can’t get a $50k a year job right out of the gate I’m not going to work” attitude.
I’m not going to debate how much the welfare leeches are “enjoying life” but I do know that they aren’t trying to help themselves, they just rely on others to help them.
Reporting Fraud in Maine
Allegations of fraud or attempted fraud involving funds, including Food Stamps,
administered by the Department of Health and Human Services should be sent to:
Fraud, Investigation and Recovery
11 State House Station
Whitten Road
Augusta, Maine 04333-0011
Phone numbers for DHHS Fraud office are:
1-207-287-2409 and 1-800-442-6003
Further questions and suspicions can also be submitted by e-mail.
Fraud.Dhhs@maine.gov
Contact the Office of the Attorney General
Phone: 207-626-8800
Mailing Address:
Office of the Attorney General
6 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
http://www.maine.gov/ag/contact.html
Do All three, Phone, E-mail and send a Letter.
Follow-up in 30 days with a Certified letter if no response.
Send a letter Directly to the Governor’s Office, that should get their attention.
Keep a written log of actions and attempts to notify.
Hold them Responsible!
Let’s get to the real problem here that is this department has over spent, mismanaged, and created this short fall and want the middle class and poor to pay $$$$ for their mistakes in over seeing the department. LePage needs to start hiring people who are smart, money managers and know how to tell the truth instead of telling everyone that wow…..last week we were 120 million short and now in one week we are 50 million more short in revenues….Everyone of these people elderly, disabled and families in need have to fill out the neccessary paper work and come up with the correct identity etc. If they are getting benefits illegally than the personnel that run that department are not doing their job and following state policy and guidelines….Don’t blame the people that are on assistance….Blame the real source….the commissioner of the DHHS, Mary Mayhew. The buck stops at her door….Now she is begging for her incompetent boss to save her and the department on the backs of Maine taxpayers….that’s right….you and I are the ones that is going to have to pay the bill….We the 53% employed with the other 47% on some sort of assistance. I am not degrading anyone on assistance….just trying to point out why this state is in this mess to start with…..Poor mangement from the top….Governor….Take some of the tax breaks you gave your rich cronnies in Portland and pay off some of this departments over spending spree….Maine at it’s best….
Once you cut all those benefits they will turn to their only resort, which will be stealing from people like You and I that have things we’ve worked for. There are plenty of jobs to be had, IF you meet the draconian qualifications those comapnies require. Those people can’t “move up the ladder” if they’re never given a chance to get to the first rung. What keeps them from getting a job ? Bad credit, can’t pass an unconstitutional urine test, too old, too far away from any jobs in rural areas, etc etc….. The people these companies WILL hire are only there til something better comes along, and the people that wanna work, are banned from doing so for the typical reasons above. Why encourage people who have fallen, to get up, if they will NEVER be given another chance to redeem themselves ? There is a whole workforce begging for work while employers pick and choose Phd’s to fill production lines. The entire system is broken. I feel sorry for the young people today. Back in MY day a man was deemed unfit for a job when he screwed up, not before he was even given a chance to.
Well “Dude”…bad credit indicates poor character and lack of responsibility. Not passing a urine test indicates a drug addict. Why would a company want to settle for anyone with these qualifications when there are better applicants available?
Sooner or later people are going to realize that their poor decisions have consequences. The ability to get a good job is one of them, and soon, not being allowed to leech off the people who do have character and responsibility will be another one.
Bull!
No job = No Money, =Unpaid Bills, =Bad credit rating= No Job!
Yes, and if you don’t take (1) or maybe (2), if needed, jobs that may not be in your field of expertise, then soon it will be no home either.
Strange that there are people who loose their job and are working within a week, maybe not doing what they wish, or have experience in, but not becoming a burden on the people trying to care for their own families. Then there are the people who have been out of work for two years, and just can’t seem to find any way to make money.
But I want $40 an hour, health care, 6 weeks off and 15 paid holidays, a month of paid sick leave, two half hour breaks, a lunch hour and retirement at full pay plus annual COLAs and no accountability. Looks like I better work for the government or get elected to serve.
What’s painful is the way LePage and the GOP are governing…selling out to special interest agendas of curtailing voter and union rights and abusing their power by trying to push a radical legislation down our throats.
Wow brother, You lost it !, are were never the same after they took your tent and tossed you out of the park! Jenny Pelletier is working 2 jobs and is paying her bills and making a living and I’m sure they are not paying $20.00 an hour, I would bet if you took the two of them, they don’t add up to $20.00 an hour, but she is doing all she can and not standing there with her hand out.
If the so called “can’t find a job” group who want to work can’t find it here, well then they need to look else where. I know it must be difficult to consider working for less than welfare offers.
The citizens of this state are through supporting them!
That’s what they used to do to the homeless too, gather them up and drop them off somewhere else. Course all that ever cost was some gas money to whichever law enforcement office they used. Your “move ’em out so we dont have to look at em” policy is even less effective. How does someone with no money move to a different state? There is first, last, and security deposit, moving trucks to hire, and all the associated expenses. Besides, LePage isn’t against all welfare, just welfare for the poor. Look at the corporate welfare package he put together for that aircraft company. We can just have the poor people of Maine incorporate and suddenly LePage will have all kinds of money for them.
Amen! You’re right on! We need to focus on the unethical behavior of the rich rather than blaming and shaming the poor, sick and elderly.
There was an article in the paper (print edition) today explaining how many public sector retirees receive more than $100,000 a year in retirement pay not counting free health care for themselves and I assume family, friends, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, next door neighbors and others. We like to talk and ridicule CEO’s and we should but they are nothing compared to politicians who take our money and give it to themselves. They are all nothing but incompetent pigs that do absolutely nothing in exchange for a very easy and unrealistic life. Money that could be used to heat homes and feed the poor go to retired bureaucrats and we never ever complain.
I guess your screen name says it all.
Show me the data to prove that unemployed people are all lazy bums who leave their windows open all winter, or that all low-income people receiving health care are secretly healthy.
Ok we get it , you are the vision of non-judgement !
As I often write in these pages, I’m vividly aware that I could lose my job at any point–and so could you and other commenters.
Unemployment is severe right now–4 or 5 people looking for work, to every available job. Local businesses are closing, Romney-types are laying off workers from big corporations to maximize profits, suffeering is all around us.
You or I could be the next ones to become desperately poor. I’m not going to slander poor folks when I know I could wind up walking in similarly tattered moccasins one day (to coin a phrase).
If you believe that could happen to you hope you’d better be saving for the future. Liz, I have been poor, but I have and will never be desperate. Being desperate means having no hope and even President Obama believes in hope.
But Liz, this is the point of what most conservatives are saying. You are right that you , or I, could lose our job, fall ill, suffer an accident. And then we would need help. We want that safety net in place for the time when a person needs help. Not for people who just won’t step up and make responsible decisions to care for themselves.
You want data, but there is no study done on each individual irresponsible behavior out there. But each of us knows at least one person who is not making good choices and who is expecting the safety net to care for them.
Here’s my story. I know a young mother, under age 22, who was living in a group home with her child. She was getting her life together after an abusive relationship. She was doing great: she had a car, found a job, found a good daycare for her child. She had been on WIC, TANF, SNAP, Mainecare, plus she lived in the home for a small rent (a percentage of her TANF benefit)–but she was working her way out of dependency with the support of people in the home. Then, after a few months of working, she decided to pick up her child and move to another state to live with a guy she met online. Fast forward a couple more months and she was back in Maine, pregnant, homeless, no job, the relationship with the guy over. She is a bright girl, an engaging girl, a great mom, but the decisions she made were just dumb. When does the public get to say: sure, quit your job, act irresponsibly, get pregnant again, but we are not paying for it anymore?
An apochraphyl story.
In these pages, no less.
Let’s see your data of old people or a person with special needs being thrown out of an assisted living center , living on the streets.
Actually what will happen is, these elderly and mentally ill will be removed from DHHS, then LePage will attempt to pay for them from the “RainyDay” fund, so they wont get kicked out of assisted living. Lets assume he keeps his promise and does exactly that. These places, since they will no longer be being paid by DHHS, will no longer need to live up to DHHS’s care and condition’s requirements. These people will get less care, because living up to DHHS standards is expensive to these private corporations that run these homes. First thing that is going to happen is they will fire employees, as they will no longer need to meet the client/staff ratio set by DHHS. Private services are a huge industry, and by moving these payments out of DHHS, LePage gets to make his rich buddies richer.
I think its safe to say most of us understand that the economy is bad and that there are people who need help . We are talking about the ones who intentionally defraud the tax payers with DHHS help !
Yes I agree, and that is precisely the job of the DHHS to determine which is which. If there is indeed a high percentage of fraud in Maine then it is a failure of the system that qualifies these people for benefits.
The problem is people lie, and according to your beliefs, it’s “unconstitutional” to try and determine who is. DHHS is not doing their job, yet you want them to do it with their hands tied.
Liz loves to ask for data, it’s a way for her to try to shut people up. Liz I work with low income people, some are very honest and hard working and no one would ever know they were as poor as they are. There are others that are never satisfied, it’s always someone else’s fault for all their problems. And yes Liz, it’s true when it’s not on their dime people will take advantage.
Today I had a sad situation, there were several boxes of food donated, I welcomed people to take take a few items, some very graciously took a few and thanked me. Others were pushy and greedy and were wondering when more would be available. Believe me some of these ladies could have lived off their fat for a few weeks.
I’m sure Liz is horrified by what I just wrote and will write how sorry she feels for the people I help, but Liz it’s the truth and sometimes truth isn’t always pleasant.
Many people are overweight for different reasons. I take offense to what you have stated about overweight people. I used to weight 105 pounds as an adult and now have a thyroid condition. What you said was pure ignorance.
I too am hypothyroid, stop using your thyroid condition as an excuse to get fat. The first thing you should do is get yourself off of Synthyroid, next readLiving Well with Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You… That You Need to Know.
That’s a little harsh. If she is following a doc’s prescription and a side effect is weight gain, it’s not an excuse. It’s trusting her doctor. You should never get off a script without talking to your doctor about it. Drug company/doctor conspiracy theories aside, years of medical school trumps no medical school every time.
”
Liz loves to ask for data, it’s a way for her to try to shut people up. ”
Yes, why cloud mass hatred for the less fortunate with facts?
How many calories per kilogram of hate?
Hate is taking advantage of people and no one has a right to take advantage of anyone. Do allow your love ones to take advantage of you? Do you allow yourself to be a victim? When I need help (which most of us do at some point or another) I do something in return for the help. I never take advantage of anyone or the system.
Lol…isn’t that the truth ? I put a free farm stand in front of my property every fall in Southern Pisacataquis where jobs are mostly unheard of, and I watched a mother and her 3 children fill a small bag with free veggies and walk away on foot (it’s a mile to town). Shortly after that a couple drove up in a late model car, opened the trunk and took everything that was left ! I learned later that the State paid for that car because the man was on SSI and allegedly “needed it” so he could go back to work. That woman and her children are the reason I am not quick to condemn people getting, or needing help. No matter what got her into that situation she is trying hard to overcome it rather than accept it as a way of life. It’s important to “weed out” the opportunists without stereotyping the ones who are trying to get by honestly.
So, do you agree with LePage and Mayhews plan to throw out the whole bunch, even the gracious ones, because of a few “pushy and greedy” ones? I think asking for “data” is asking to be able to make an informed decision, something the governor vehemently opposes. Just give us accurate data so can rationally decide. We don’t want your nasty tea anymore.
It’s not going to happen to our elderly, truly mentally ill or our love ones with special needs. Stop scaring people.
Yeah right.
Get a real job and stop whining. Thats what capitalism is all about. You should be laughing at the poor not complaining. Stop trying to fight to stay of the bottom and get busy.
My thoughts exactly! She should stop complaining about the poor if she is working two jobs just to get by. Sounds like she didn’t make the best decisions herself!
People want fairness; yet make fun of Wall Street
protesters? People ignore LePage helping the rich get richer; yet have no
problem supporting the poor getting stepped on?
Leaving the windows open?
Poor people sure are a hoot.
Happens all the time.
I used to do service work at peoples homes. I can’t remember seeing a window open at a private house in the dead of winter. Saw it all the time at apartments and in subsidized housing. Like the disabled woman with her heat set at 80 and the living room window half open because “I like to have fresh air.”
I used to rent apartments as well. Windows left open were a major problem driving up heating cost. Such a problem that I added a clause to the lease that after 1 warning there would be a $25 charge per day for every day a window was left open when the outdoor temperature was under 50 degrees.
Ok Jenny you have convinced me. There are 65,000 people on Mainecare who are obviously nothing but a bunch of frauds. Let’s bust them all. I think that the State Police, all the Sheriff’s Departments around the State and all the local cops should start first thing tomorrow morning. Let’s demand that they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and seeing that we need to set an example so that no one will ever think of defrauding the system ever again let’s demand that they are all thrown into jail. Problem solved. Right Jenny?
” the majority of those receiving freebees are healthy and able bodies are staying warm(free oil and have the windows open)”. And your numbers come from where??? If you had said “some” or “a few” your comment would have been a little more believable.
The “majority?” Where are you getting your facts? I work (yes work) with lots of honest people who don’t get paid enough to afford insurance and heating oil. Because of the lack of good paying jobs qualify for assistance.
Oh sure….millions in debt reported…than next week they found 50 more million that got away from them…right on…what a manager she is….also, the people that you say are getting these freebees, have to fill out applications, identity checks etc. if they are getting benefits illegal than right on this wonderful person is responsible because her people are not doing there jobs…..Thank you for working two jobs….I retired when I was 48 from Civil Service as a Air Force Commissary Officer…..been retired now for 20 years…I never got assistance, even from my family when I came home from Vietnam and was told I couldn’t stay home as my family was upset with the war, so I got a hotel and went and got a job 1.65 an hour and from that time on….I made solid choices and reitred 30 years later in 1992 age 48. Moral of this story is that you have to make your own choices….and be able to live with them in the future…Being able to live with them can be tough….good luck in your future endeavors.
Take a look at Mr LePage’s budget and comments he presented last spring. It is fairly evident that he knowingly under budgeted to help create this shotfall. The prediction he made then that we would be facing budget cuts in January has certainly come true.
We have all heard posts referring to past administrations having ” kick the can down the road ” . This move by Mr LePage and crew is truely just another kick the can down the road game. It may balance his budget but it is not going to cut taxes. These costs are not going to go away they are just going to be transferred somewhere else.
Most if not all of the services will still be required. People are still going to get sick or injured and require health care, rather or not Mr LePage balances his budget. They will still receive the health care they need .. just the expense will be moved somewhere else. Nice shell game.
If Mr LePage really wants help the citizens of Maine I would suggest that he and our elected representatives sit down and work on the real problem. Put the agendas of the Tea Party, Maine Heritage Foundation, and the rest of the liberal and right wing think tanks aside. We need affordable health care for all of our citizens.
Please Mr LePage ” Maine people before politics ” Got to love those campaign slogans.
I think his campaign crew ripped it off a left wing slogan…..”People before Profits!”
The 1st time that someone is found dead from hypothermia, who was dropped off the program because of DHHS’s ‘revised guideline’s, a recall vote of LePage is not likely. It’s guaranteed ! Walker is about to get the screw in Wisconsin for gutting the collective barginning process. How much more are Maine voters gonna be angry if Mainer’s start dying from freezing to death because of DHHS’s decision’s ? Maine and Wisconsin aren’t so far apart, are they ?
Conservative commenters on these pages will leap right in to say the deceased individual had some terrible character flaw, and it’s not the fault of Republican policies in any way, shape or form, and keep on slicing the safety net to shreds.
President Foodstamp is the one who cut the Medicare after Baldacci the boot licker expanded it to entrap even more Mainers on this dependancy. It grew over80% under Baldacci, now President Foodstamp pulled the rug out and Lepage is stuck to clean up the mess.
Walker first and then big paulie!!! http://mirrors.5nines.com/stream/ they are still counting the 1 million plus votes they got to recall the gov.
I think before a “recall vote” for governor LePage, or any other Maine governor takes place, they will have to enact legislation that would make “recall petetions” part of the laws of the State of Maine.
Some people watch too much TV!
A dead body has a wonderful way of bringing home the point that thing’s need to be changed. And once the process is started, formally, it can not be stopped. LePage is going to have a less than polite press conference to answer the obvious question’s comng. And a re-call process is not far off in the making if some folks are so concerned about LePage’s iage and record already.
So everyone whines about these cuts, but what is your solution? Tax the crap out of everyone else?
Rolling back the special tax breaks for millionaires would be a start…
There are no millionaires in Maine besides Donald Sussman AKA Mr Chellie Pingreedy.
Did LePage give him a tax break, I know the Donald and Chellie flew in on Paloma Partners Lear Jet 1 and adressed the Occupy Bangor crowd in Nov, then took the Palama Partner Limo 1 to Portland for evening on the town ;)
Not everyone just the Rich folks.
COLLECT WELFARE?…..YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER MOVING OUT OF MAINE
Welfare is changing. Welfare is being reduced. Even legitimate welfare people are going to find themselves out the door.7 other states have good welfare benefits, you welfare people may want to consider moving out of Maine to those states.
what forms of welfare do you get, earned income credit?
Let’s be honest. When the state police go over budget, the state legislature goes over budget, the dept of transportation, the state has always paid their billls! So should we in the DHHS.
Sorry, but when the governor firmly establishes himself as a liar in the first year of office, it’s difficult to accept anything that his administration says. Ms. Mayhew has a
WTF is she doing at Husson, her Budget is in a crises and she is out recruiting for the GOP.
“It is crystal clear that the governor’s budget doesn’t add up,” Senate Democratic Leader Barry Hobbins of Saco said in a press release.
Painful cuts? Painful for who? Does the governor and the super wealthy get a piece of this pain? God forbid they might strain themselves stumbling over some pathitic person denied health care.
No Apathy for Austerity!
Resist LePage Shock Therapy!
Spot on Jenny, decades of out of control liberalism have created an unprecendented welfare culture in Maine. Welfare is a “way of life” for over half of Maine. Don’t cut with a scalpel or chisel Gov., cut with a chainsaw.
And where is it you live?
I hope they don’t cut anything, but keep right on spending until the state is completely broke.
Maybe then the whiners might understand what the problem was as they sure don’t think anything should be cut now. They absolutely cannot think of even one thing we should stop spending money on as they believe we need it all for this group or that group.
At least when we are finally broke, the arguing over who is going to get the money will be over. No money, no help! Tough.
Here we go again with class warfare.
Right you are. Governor LePage thrives on class warfare. It’s number one on his list of favorite strategies
“LePage has set aside $40 million for the state’s reserve, or Rainy Day, fund… ”
I’m pretty ****ing sure it’s raining.
It’s raining alright, raining dollars on many of us that choose to take risks and explore opportunity.
She may try to defend the cuts but they are indefensable.
We got tens of millions of DHHS dollars from the feds to buy our “cooperation”………..as part of the so-called “Stimulus”. Only trouble is that it was a temporary program. And its time is up.
Sorry Dems: our day of reckoning has arrived. No more gimmicks, no more tricks. Just let the responsible adults take over now.
If this Governor is such a great administrator…..then why did he not see the shortfall coming?
Why did his own budget reflect that of the last 4 to 6 years, in other words, his total budget number wasn’t any different than his predecessors.
Why is it , all of a sudden that there was a budget shortfall discovered later last year, and the Appropriations Committee wasn’t called to conference until December? His own Commissioner said that she wasn’t prepared, but said that “they (the committee) knew about it” in November? Did the Leadership ever, I’ll repeat that, ever, call them in for an emergency special committee session…?
And now….the Administration , aka the commissioner, says that it HAS to be voted on by the end of January. So essentially, those on the Appropriations Committee get to listen to testimony for 2 and a half weeks, work session maybe 5 times (one in which the governor invites himself into), try to untangle the numbers. They ask for help from the Office of Fiscal Policy and Program Review, and STILL don’t get all of the information that they want and need.
This is not going to work out well, not at all, not for anyone. Something as drastic as this should have been attended to much earlier, it’s not like they didn’t know!
Just give them the friggin numbers that they need governor, they are all smarter than you and they have been doing this for awhile now, they wouldn’t be on the Committe if they didn’t know what they were doing. Take your lumps like any one else has to.
A little advice from an old wealthy guy.
If someone wants to work and shows it they get a job. It might not be their dream job but they will get a job with advancement opportunity. That means get rid of the piercings, shave, comb hair, put on clothing that is appropriate for the position, brush teeth, smile, talk with confidence, listen, LISTEN and overall present yourself as an asset not a liability and you will find all the work you want. Then once given the opportunity to work focus on the job and keep your employers interest first, not your friends or coworkers but the organization or person signing your paycheck. Then you become a great employee that your boss will fight to keep instead of finding ways to get rid of you. You will open doors you didn’t know exist. It isn’t hard people but it does take a little common sense and sacrifice hence the name “work”.
Many people started out at the bottom of the ladder and brought the above tools to their employer to find at a later date that they moved up quickly or actually bought the business. I know many people that are making well into 6 figures, some 7, and they got that way because they worked for it, not always hard, just smart.
Or people can sit around and whine and spend more time finding ways to work the system instead of working a job. They will cry to their friends and family about how things aren’t fair and their situation is special. I mean with 500 friends on facebook how come nobody wants me? Awe! You are still my BFF so TTYL, LOL The sad part is that some people actually do need assistance but with all the vultures and leeches out there bleeding the system dry that could get off their can and work there will not be enough help for those that really need it.
Mary Mayhew works for her money and my guess is she didn’t start at the top. None of us did but now that we are here, we know how it is done. You can too if you try and quit blaming others.
Good Luck 99%ers, with a little of the above you will be in the 1% before you know it. Even if you only make it to the top 5% you will be providing a great life for you and your family. If you are content living off the system then fine, just don’t expect it to last forever and do us all a favor, don’t have any children. The cycle never ends if the parents continue to teach their children that they are entitled to great fortune just because they are American,unique and cool. They need a little more then that but this country offers all the tools one could possibly ever desire.
I had so much fun the first time around I wish I could turn back the hands of time and do it again. Life is a blast if one chooses to live it.
Well said, I couldn’t agree more.
Thank you. I am really sick of the “poor me attitude”.
I pay into programs and I give my fair share to charity after my family and loves ones are taken care of. I personally keep it local, not state wide, not national organizations (except one). I donate to local causes that are not top heavy with needless waste and administration. I believe programs need to be in place to help people that deserve and need help. I am willing to give a percentage to that cause and if we all do, as most working folks have done and do today, there should be plenty of money to assist those in need. The system breaks down when people find ways to beat (break) the system. The individuals are only partly to blame, our government has made it way too easy to beat the system. The government is to blame for making it too easy as well as the individual. The people that really need assistance shouldn’t be mad at the wealthy, they should be mad at the lazy, the ones claiming disability that are cleared to work, and the ones that are enjoying getting high on methadone all day at our expense, which in essense is taking away from those really in need.
None of us are beyond need someday. Some of us have more insulation then others but if the day ever comes that I need to lean on a program for assistance, I will be pretty sad if it is all gone because fully capable able bodies Americans have bleed the system dry. They are the real criminals and should be penalized.
Mayhew is proof positive that some folks cannot do their job no matter how sharp dressed they is.
old guy observation
yessah
Is Mayhew feeling the pain here?
How many commisioners, asst. commisioners, and all their bloated staffs are we paying for ?
“Democrats, however, aren’t convinced that the shortfall estimates are accurate.”
No surprise there, democrats are incapable of understanding but they are certainly capable of obstructing and saying “NO”. Democrats, the party of no.
I’m sitting here reading these comments and for the most part agree that there are way to many people mooching off the system. I have a disable child. (Severe autism… non verbal, seizures, incontinent, odd body movements and so on) I work a full time job.. my husband works full time.. my child’s father and step mother both work full time.. and we all pay taxes. Without MaineCare to help pick up the slack we would be in financial trouble. My sons perscriptions cost $2400/mo. He has primary insurance also. Under LePages plan because my child’s father and I earn more than $22000/year we’d be dropped. I have no recreational toys and ride around in an older model vehicle (7 yrs) don’t stop for coffee every morning and couldn’t tell you the last time I had a vacation. I bust my butt every day. Please stop lumping all people into the welfare couch sitting low life group.
I should also state that ONLY my son has MaineCare.
Where did you get the information that your son would be dropped? According to the information you have given so far, I don’t think he would be dropped from coverage under LePage’s plan.
Do not think for one moment that your hard work will not pay off. It will and although I have no clue who you are I am willing to bet that you are in the 1% of this country in terms of happiness and pride.
Nobody works 24/7.
At a bit before 4 PM today, the State Controller’s office seems to be devoid of all but one person. And, although the ubiquitous “menu options may have changed,” message has not changed, the automated message stated that I should call back when the office was closed, and that the offices are open from 8 AM to 5 PM, yet the one person, who did not give a whit about my being told the office was closed, but according to her, the offices are only open until 4:30 PM. That’s the kind of thing that suggests a lack of knowing who is on first.
So sometime this week we will have an independent review of the DHHS shortfall? I’m looking forward to it. Keep us informed.
Cut all of the people on mainecare that are on drugs – that should solve the money issue! Let’s get real – it’s true! I beat everyone could name at least 1 person they know getting help from the state/mainecare that also does some sort of illegal drug!
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