Debt ceiling impasse could hit Maine hard
If congressional leaders can’t negotiate an agreement to raise the country’s debt ceiling by Thursday, Maine could be among the hardest-hit states in the nation.
The Portland Press Herald reported that Maine’s demographics show that the state has a high percentage of veterans, elderly residents and people dependent on federal food assistance, three groups that would be hit particularly hard if the country’s borrowing limit isn’t raised to make payments for programs like Social Security and military active duty pay.
Federal statistics showed Maine as the oldest state in the nation in 2011, with nearly one quarter of Maine’s 1.3 million residents collecting Social Security. Maine is tied with West Virginia for the highest portion of residents on Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people over 65 or with disabilities. Maine is tied at second, with California and Vermont, for the percentage of people depending on Medicaid, the federal health care program for low-income families, the elderly and the disabled.
Just how a federal government default would play out is unclear, according to expert assessments from groups like the Bipartisan Policy Center, which said the results of a federal default would be “chaotic,” the paper reported.
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