There are certainties we face every day in Maine. The sun will rise, the tides will go in and out, and the Bangor Daily News will attack the administration of Gov. Paul LePage.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that we would once again begin applying an asset test to food stamp applicants without dependents. This newspaper predictably opposed the measure in a Sept. 21 editorial.
This newspaper was quick to point out that 36 states waive the asset test — a test that is required under federal law unless affirmatively waived — but omitted the fact that as many as 47 states enforced the asset test prior to the recession. With Maine’s unemployment rate down from a high of 8.3 percent in 2009 to 4.5 percent today, and employers having trouble finding Mainers to fill available jobs, it’s time to reinstate some of the requirements waived during the recession and get Mainers back to work.
This newspaper was also quick to point out which assets are subject to the $5,000 limit — boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, campers, jet skis, motorcycles, bank account balances and more. But it selectively omitted the wide range of assets that are not included for consideration — home equity, a household’s primary car, tax-preferred retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, and college savings accounts, such as 529 plans.
Despite the false scare tactics of Democratic lawmakers like Rep. Drew Gattine, who should know better as chairman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, personal items such as clothing, furniture and electronics will not be subject to the test. Nor will income-producing assets such as commercial fishing boats, taxis and delivery vehicles.
In fact, under federal law, Maine is allowed to restrict the asset test to as little as $2,250 and consider all but $4,650 of a household’s primary vehicle. We opted for $5,000 and no limit to the value of the first vehicle.
This newspaper tried to peg an administrative cost to the asset test, citing the experiences of two other states — one of them from 14 years ago and referring to a completely different welfare program. But if the authors had reached out to us, they would have learned that Maine never stopped acquiring asset data as a part of the process, so we wouldn’t even need to change the application.
We also have access to a statewide registration database that allows us to quickly and easily verify assets — and remember, the asset test would apply only to a fraction of applicants.
Finally, many states do not have an integrated eligibility system that cuts down on administrative costs, and some even require separate applications for all programs. Maine is ahead of the curve and can implement this federal requirement easily, just as it did prior to August 2010, when then-Gov. John Baldacci waived it.
But more important than the mechanics of this soon-to-be-reinstated rule is the value statement it makes about our welfare system and our culture.
Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond described welfare as “a first line of defense” against having to sell a recently purchased snowmobile or dip into a $5,000 savings account. Similarly, as if reading from the same talking points, this newspaper’s editorial opinion held welfare up as a means for recipients to “amass resources” while on the dole.
LePage, DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew and indeed many Mainers have a different view of welfare. They see it as a last resort. Mainers from time to time find themselves in a tough spot — whether it be losing an income source in a household or facing a confluence of home and auto repairs that come all at once — and they dig into savings and put that camper in the yard on Craigslist or in Uncle Henry’s.
They make do as best they can and would only revert to welfare as a last resort. Mainers are proud people, and they don’t like asking for help unless they really need it. Likewise, they expect their neighbors to work hard and make tough decisions before going to the government for help.
The asset test is a commonsense, commonplace welfare reform measure that reflects that fundamental Maine value and brings some much-needed restrictions to a welfare system that for too long has grown out of control and threatened those values.
State Rep. Scott Hamann, D-South Portland, has already announced his intention to introduce a bill to reverse this reform, so those who agree with LePage and Mayhew’s approach to welfare, should contact their state lawmakers and urge them to oppose Hamann’s bill and support the welfare asset test.
Sam Adolphsen is chief operating officer of Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services.