what's maine going to do

[fishy]

Please remember that many of the homeowners that we are speaking about were once hardworking individuals. We don't know their situations. But I can tell you that the folks that I deal with are retired individuals who are on fixed incomes, or people who became sick/injured and are not able to work anymore, a death in the family so now there is less income coming in, etc. They worked hard for their homes and shouldn't have to leave, although sadly I have encouraged people to consider this as the options are limited. These people don't have the abillity to get another job as I can. Hopefully none of us will lose a job, a spouse, or become unexpectely sick - you never know what tomorrow could bring.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Hum, while some were throwing stones at the rich, several names were overlooked that I can think of: Gore, Kerry, Kennedy, Edwards, most of Hollywood..oh, yes they are all liberals, so it is ok if they are rich.

Don't worry, Polosi will do all she can so that the domestic oil supply doesn't go up...makes me wonder how much foreign oil stock she has.

Then too, never mentioned, how about the billions big oil pays in corporate taxes? All I hear about is the tax breaks they get, never mind those huge oil profits so many like to complain about are less than what is paid by oil in taxes. Seems to me that if our government (democratic and republican ... and independents, anyone in office) did a better job of holding down government spending a few billions from oil corporate taxes could go to help those deserving help, whoever figures that out.

 

[cac4]

Hum, while some were throwing stones at the rich, several names were overlooked that I can think of: Gore, Kerry, Kennedy, Edwards, most of Hollywood..oh, yes they are all liberals, so it is ok if they are rich.

those particular rich people don't complain about paying taxes. Warren Buffet thinks he should be paying more taxes, too. nothin' wrong with being rich...

as to the "sell the house and move to an apartment" thing: That isn't necessarily a solution, either, if the people have been in the house for a while. I know for me, there isn't anything around that is cheaper than my house. yeah, sure, I'm a "homeowner". big deal. my mortgage costs less per month than the dumpy apartment house that is right across the street from me. So if I can't afford my house...the next step for me is under a bridge somewhere.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

If Warren is so willing to pay more taxes all he has to do is write a check. Otherwise he is interested in others paying more taxes. The top 1% of taxable income people, including Warren I hope, already pay the majority of the taxes.

 

[webbie]

I thought this thread was about helping poor people with heating.

Jerry, are you watching too much convention....calm down......vote for a corporation for President and be happy!

 

[muss]

Yardley, Thank you for a nice post of thinking of us in Maine. As far as some of you guys on here, shame on you . Fishy is right, and besides we don't know every individual situation. I know some of us here in Maine are more fortunate than others & vice versa. I now see a few of you guys that posted on this thread in a different light . Muss

 

[fishy]

Yardley, Thank you for a nice post of thinking of us in Maine. As far as some of you guys on here, shame on you . Fishy is right, and besides we don't know every individual situation. I know some of us here in Maine are more fortunate than others & vice versa. I now see a few of you guys that posted on this thread in a different light . Muss

Thank you Muss - I knew I liked you!!

 

[kristin2000]

I must say I am from Maine and work for an agency that delivers LIHEAP monies to folks that qualify. Be assured that the poor will be taken care of- when their LIHEAP money is maxed there's alway general assistance that covers you each month. It is the hard working middle class that needs assistance- That is where our tax dollars shouls be spent. I am a single parent, and have always worked full time-sometimes 2 jobs, have a modest home that several repairs-I try to do the little things I can because I cannot afford to pay a carpenter or roofer $30-40/hr. I feel like I am never able to save for anything-because the cost of living always seems to surpass my income, just a hair over the 200% poverty level. I am an educated young woman working in an indusrty that helps others. It is very gratifying helping the very needy. What I cannot tolerate is the many times every week that I see people that I know are on disability, that are doing odd jobs, like climbing roofs and ladders, collecting their free oil, and eating Prime Rib, in addition, I am continually aggrevated by the young womas I see, requesting diapers and baby formula or milk- because they have spent their money on a manicure, cable, cell phone, and ciggarettes. I do not have a cell phone, I do not have an 40" LCD tv- I do not have digital cable, and eat takeout only about once every three months. The majority of people I know that get assistance have all of the mentioned items!

 

[kristin2000]

I must say I am from Maine and work in social services. Be assured that the poor will be taken care of- when their LIHEAP money is maxed there's alway general assistance that covers you them each & every single month. It is the hard working middle class that needs assistance- That is where more of our tax dollars shouls be spent. I am a single parent, and have always worked full time-sometimes 2 jobs, have a modest home that needs several repairs-I try to do the little things I can because I cannot afford to pay a carpenter or roofer $30-40/hr. I feel like I am never able to save for anything-because the cost of living always seems to surpass my income, just a hair over the 200% poverty level. I am an educated young woman working in an indusrty that helps others. It is very gratifying helping the very needy. What I cannot tolerate is the many times every week that I see people that I know are on disability, that are doing odd jobs, like climbing roofs and ladders, collecting their free oil, and eating Prime Rib, in addition, I am continually aggrevated by the young womas I see, requesting diapers and baby formula or milk- because they have spent their money on a manicure, cable, cell phone, and ciggarettes. I do not have a cell phone, I do not have an 40" LCD tv- I do not have digital cable, and eat takeout only about once every three months. The majority of people I know that get assistance have all of the mentioned items!

 

[MainePellethead]

I totally agree. The American people have reaped what they have sown. I just wish there were two prices, one for those who voted these criminals into office and one for those who didn't. Let us vote for at least a little bit of change this time around. For the cost of the war, we could have had solar panels, wind turbines, and pellet stoves or wood stoves for every American. They've won no matter how you look at it. They win through corrupt contracts in Iraq and Afganistan and through the high energy prices. They are laughing all the way to the bank. The trillions of dollars that went missing from the Pentagon the day before 9/11/01 has still not been accounted for.

Amen. I'd love to hear how anyone could look at it any differently. We have lost in Afghanastan, Iraq, and "the war on terror" is not something you can win.
Whether it is tomorrow or 20 years from now, we will have to withdraw our troops...and when we withdraw our troops the sh!t will hit the fan. Classic d@mned if we do, d@mned if we don't. At a certain point one would think we will quite literally not be able to pay the bills for these wars (not even on credit), and I have to think that isn't to far off. So even if we want to stay and spread freedom and what not, we (quite literally) will not be able to finance these efforts.

What we are paying for wars will be small compared to the spending "increases" we will see under BOTH candidates running. MSNBC had an analysis on their morning show this morning...if we elect Obama and his ideas are maximized, in 10 years spending will go up 3 trillion. If MCain is elected it would be 4 trillion. Hmm...and thats without the military costs overseas.

 

[mkmh]

I must say I am from Maine and work in social services. Be assured that the poor will be taken care of- when their LIHEAP money is maxed there's alway general assistance that covers you them each & every single month. It is the hard working middle class that needs assistance- That is where more of our tax dollars shouls be spent. I am a single parent, and have always worked full time-sometimes 2 jobs, have a modest home that needs several repairs-I try to do the little things I can because I cannot afford to pay a carpenter or roofer $30-40/hr. I feel like I am never able to save for anything-because the cost of living always seems to surpass my income, just a hair over the 200% poverty level. I am an educated young woman working in an indusrty that helps others. It is very gratifying helping the very needy. What I cannot tolerate is the many times every week that I see people that I know are on disability, that are doing odd jobs, like climbing roofs and ladders, collecting their free oil, and eating Prime Rib, in addition, I am continually aggrevated by the young womas I see, requesting diapers and baby formula or milk- because they have spent their money on a manicure, cable, cell phone, and ciggarettes. I do not have a cell phone, I do not have an 40" LCD tv- I do not have digital cable, and eat takeout only about once every three months. The majority of people I know that get assistance have all of the mentioned items!

This is where i'm at too Kristin. I used to be a lot more liberal in my views, and a lot more (blindly) supportive of big social programs. However, in the last several years I have directly observed outrageous abuse of these programs. The most telling thing has been watching my younger sister (she is 28) milk every available program for all it is worth. She has been on food stamps for almost 10 years and has lived in subsidized housing that whole time too. She has taken tens of thousands out of "the system and takes some level of pride in being able to work it. I would not say that she lives and extravagant lifestyle, but she has managed to pay for multiple tatoos, cell service, and she smokes a pack a day. Lots of horrible lifestyle choices along the way and it seems a given that she will be a lifetime welfare & food stamps, LIHEAP (and anything else she can get) recipient.
I don't know what the answer is, but something needs to be done to put a little pressure on the lifetime takers out there. Basically she has no incentive to break away from the social programs as all her basic needs are being comfortably met and she still seems to have more disposable income than some of the folks "in the middle".
Oh yeah, she also gets free medical care which is HUGE. I pay 4000 out of pocket per year in premiums...then my company kicks in another 7500 per year. All that and I still have a 1200 deductible...so I just paid another 700 out of pocket this month for care that my family needed. Craziness.

The middle is definitely the wrong place to be in the current system, which is why that group is pretty much drying up. Bust your butt 40-60 hours per week and just watch the check get cut in half before it gets to you. Obviously, being at the top of the earner scale is a wonderful place to be, but I think it a lot of ways being at the very bottom is preferable to the middle.

I still think the military spending is what has to be addressed first, but clearly we need to rethink the way we apply social services in this country too. The US isn't going to be a very nice place to ive if we let the middle class dry up.

 

[mkmh]

....I guess in 2 words....the surge worked!

Er...that was 3 words. The reason the first surge worked (first gulf war) was because we had the sense to not hang around and build them an awesome US-style gubbermint. That's the trick now isn't it?
Now doubt out stick is bigger then their stick. If the task was to just blow Iraq of the globe then that would be easy stuff. The hard part is "humanely" killing off all the bad guys....leaving the good guys....and changing the mind set and core values of every person in the country.
Jeez, why is it that we can't pull that off? Perhaps we just need to hit them harder?

 

[MainePellethead]

Frankly, though, consider that fuel costs have hardly even been relevant for 40 years or more - and so people tend to continue living in the same houses they always did. Maybe they retired or lost their job - or, maybe they were downsized (like everyone else) and now make $8 an hour instead of $18.

Maine does a pretty good job along with Federal Credits to supplement the income. If you was to go down to the $8.00 an hour...that brings you to $16,640 yearly income. Lousy, right? However, if you look at whats available....then it gets better....not the best but better. At that income you now qualify for property tax/rent refund of $1100.00 for that income level, more if your house or apartment is unheated. Your tax on your income tax is very minimal for both Federal and State which means you get nearly all of if you have kids ALL your tax that was paid in throughout the year. Also the EIC is a great supplement that could mean thousands on your yearly pay...as high $4,000 + between Federal and State. Fuel Assistance can be as high as $400-$500. Thats the larger amounts of help, also there are many other supplements such as if you qualify for fuel assistance you automatically qualify for many different other help sources ie: State and Local. Combined...with all the help links you can get that 16 grand up to 30 grand. More if you land into low income housing or subsidized. Not to mention the Aspire Program in Maine that helps with mileage, childcare etc. etc. However...in this part of Maine I dont think I know to many outside of High School thats raising a family making $8.00 hour. The wages even in retail can be $10-$12...not great but a job. So , all in all....the safety nets are still there, ya just gotta grab them

 

[MainePellethead]

Hum, while some were throwing stones at the rich, several names were overlooked that I can think of: Gore, Kerry, Kennedy, Edwards, most of Hollywood..oh, yes they are all liberals, so it is ok if they are rich.

Don't worry, Polosi will do all she can so that the domestic oil supply doesn't go up...makes me wonder how much foreign oil stock she has.

Then too, never mentioned, how about the billions big oil pays in corporate taxes? All I hear about is the tax breaks they get, never mind those huge oil profits so many like to complain about are less than what is paid by oil in taxes. Seems to me that if our government (democratic and republican ... and independents, anyone in office) did a better job of holding down government spending a few billions from oil corporate taxes could go to help those deserving help, whoever figures that out.

Bingo!!

Palin will put Pelosi in the time out chair lol. Big oil pays HUGE taxes. Palin found that out and increased big oil taxes even more....and gave most back in energy credits....hmm....the same thing Obama wants to do....could it be that he copi**.....nah he wouldnt copy her would he? lol.

I guarantee you there is several democrats(just like republicans) that have large silent interests in big oil stocks. They just hide it.....the republicans dont hide theres.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Kristin,

Keep up the good work helping others, we need people with your hard working perspective dealing with those who need help and those who don't but get it anyway. That's the big problem, in my view, with governmental programs, their very low efficiency.

I'd support programs with my tax $$ to help hard working people like you get ahead of the "curve". As for ever getting the house fixed, that doesn't happen, even if you have the resources, but a leak in the roof is one item that has to be fixed, somehow. Don't take any physical risks getting on the roof unless you know what you're doing.

Hum, MSNBC said something critical about Obama (albeit followed by something more critical of McCain). That needs to be put on display as it is more unusual than flying pigs.

 

[MainePellethead]

I must say I am from Maine and work for an agency that delivers LIHEAP monies to folks that qualify. Be assured that the poor will be taken care of- when their LIHEAP money is maxed there's alway general assistance that covers you each month. It is the hard working middle class that needs assistance- That is where our tax dollars shouls be spent. I am a single parent, and have always worked full time-sometimes 2 jobs, have a modest home that several repairs-I try to do the little things I can because I cannot afford to pay a carpenter or roofer $30-40/hr. I feel like I am never able to save for anything-because the cost of living always seems to surpass my income, just a hair over the 200% poverty level. I am an educated young woman working in an indusrty that helps others. It is very gratifying helping the very needy. What I cannot tolerate is the many times every week that I see people that I know are on disability, that are doing odd jobs, like climbing roofs and ladders, collecting their free oil, and eating Prime Rib, in addition, I am continually aggrevated by the young womas I see, requesting diapers and baby formula or milk- because they have spent their money on a manicure, cable, cell phone, and ciggarettes. I do not have a cell phone, I do not have an 40" LCD tv- I do not have digital cable, and eat takeout only about once every three months. The majority of people I know that get assistance have all of the mentioned items!

I agree kristen!! A story in my neck of the woods....I knew a lady, she had 2 teenage sons at the time and one young one. She received child support for the 2 older boys, received a welfare check for ALL three kids, received subsidized housing(section 8) her rent was $75.00 under subsidy. She received a few other hand out amenities including fuel assistance as well. Here is the part that grissled me...she worked under the table for a lady in Fortunes Rocks(an elite area right on the ocean) as a house cleaner but more of a companion from 8 a.m.-12 noon Monday-Friday for a total of $1200 a month for a trustee of the local library in her town! And she also worked for $13.00 per hour cleaning at the beach house on weekends. AND she had a boyfriend living with her and was a fisherman making a decent wage. Hmm...
The BEST part was....she was loose lipped...she got caught!! But not til after years and years of doing it. Not sure what her punishment was.....but thats the kind of stuff going on. Maybe not at that large of a scale but its going on.

 

[MainePellethead]

Kristin,


Hum, MSNBC said something critical about Obama (albeit followed by something more critical of McCain). That needs to be put on display as it is more unusual than flying pigs.

Haha! I was surprised too. Since the conventions I have been watching all the "liberal" networks so to speak almost non stop(and back to Fox too as well lol), I really wanted to see what the other side was saying.....and I actually have been quite surprised at what they have been saying about the McCain/Palin ticket...theres been some positive comments made much more than in the past

 

[webbie]

MPH, PLEASE keep things somewhat on topic.

Although I know the war and economy has a lot to do with suffering here, I don't see the need for you to constantly quote all your knowledge from Fox, and Rove, etc.

Rest assured that we know you have learned a lot from the TV and Radio.

So, PLEASE. it makes too much work for me moving everything. Argue somewhere else....