I am currently sponsoring a bill from Gov. Paul LePage to prohibit the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits to purchase tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets and to make bail payments. Most people I know are shocked to find out that it is legal to buy those items with welfare cash in the first place.

Hopefully, this year, we will be able to change that. 

As the manager of a local convenience store, I run into a lot of customers who use public assistance. Most of them are decent, hardworking folks who either suffer from a disability or are just in need of some temporary assistance, and they use the funds responsibly, for healthy and low-priced meals. 

Many others, however, use their welfare benefits to buy cigarettes, beer, lottery tickets or other inappropriate items. I don’t judge somebody for smoking or drinking, but I think most people would agree that they shouldn’t be paying for it with taxpayers’ money. 

When I was a kid, welfare was much more limited in scope and less widely abused. It was recognized as a temporary lifeline, not a way of life. We’ve gotten too far away from that. In fact, Maine now ranks second in the nation for welfare spending as a share of state spending. It crowds out funding for other important priorities, like roads, first responders and environmental protection. Our nursing homes are currently underfunded by $30 million per year by Medicaid, for example. That’s a shame. 

But perhaps even more dangerous, the growth of the welfare state has created a cycle of intergenerational dependency where some people expect a handout and are less inclined to work hard. That has a terrible effect on our economy and our communities. 

My bill, LD 1822, is just one of four welfare reform bills being proposed by Gov. LePage and my colleagues in the Maine House. The others would require job-ready welfare applicants to apply for at least three jobs before receiving benefits, prohibit the use of benefits out of state, and eliminate loopholes to the work search requirement for welfare recipients.  

Data released recently by DHHS shows that Maine’s welfare benefits are being used in all 50 states, including at Disney World, Las Vegas casinos, and New Hampshire liquor stores. They’ve even been used at a resort in Puerto Rico.   

Welfare abuse has gotten out of control, and I want to do something about it because every welfare dollar spent at a casino or on a six-pack of beer is a dollar taken from a hungry child or a hardworking taxpayer. 

If you have any ideas or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], and if you support my bill, please contact the speaker of the House and Senate president and urge them to support reform, too.

— Rep. Sharri MacDonald is a Republican representing House District 132, Old Orchard Beach.