Maine 41st in welfare 'generosity' ranking
A new national survey by the libertarian Cato Institute ranked Maine 41st for the cash value of its welfare assistance, a substantial drop in the state’s 13th-place ranking in a 1995 survey.
The survey estimated a cash value for the help that a single parent of two children would receive from the state. The study found that a hypothetical Maine applicant would get nearly $19,900 now in benefits, not including housing assistance. Adjusting for inflation, the study found the same applicant in 1995 would have received nearly $28,800 in current dollars.
Adding housing assistance, the study found Maine ranks 25th for the cash value of welfare benefits in the state, but the Sun Journal reported that the study excluded housing from its calculation because it found the hypothetical applicant would not likely receive dedicated housing assistance today.
Experts told the paper it remains difficult to provide an apples-to-apples comparison of the value of assistance programs across the states. Liberal policy analysts told the paper the study shows Maine should be doing more to help residents in need while conservative analysts said the state should continue to restrict overall welfare benefits, for which they say the cash value should not be competitive with a paying job. The estimated value of benefits in the study includes programs that do not provide direct cash assistance.
The study also did not include municipal General Assistance programs, which are a partnership of state and local governments. The paper found that spending on general assistance has increased from $4.9 million in 2003 to a peak of $13.2 million in 2012.
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