Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME)
If you're poor in Maine but you've been able to keep a little savings cushion for emergencies, Gov. Paul LePage is getting ready to put a stop to that. LePage plans to put an asset test in place, barring anyone without dependent children from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program if they have more than $5,001 in savings. Certain assets, like a home, a car, or tax-exempt retirement savings won't count toward the cap:
But for households without dependents that have managed to sock away emergency savings, the new rules will require spending down those savings before receiving a meager food allowance from the government. And for the many who have no such savings, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities food stamps expert Stacy Dean told ThinkProgress, the policy discourages them from building up assets that can make them more self-reliant.
“It forces people to choose between saving to create financial stability for myself and my family, and participating in this program,” said Dean. The hardest-hit population will be the very same people intended to be buoyed by SNAP and other safety net systems: low-wage workers, retirees, and the disabled.
“Families with earnings, let’s say their hot water heater breaks. They have the capacity over time to earn those savings back. But a senior or a person with a disability who isn’t out in the workforce can’t replace those savings,” she said. “Forcing low-income families and seniors to be more financially precarious is not a good way to help maintain their independence.”
Around 8,600 people currently getting food stamps will be hit by the change, joining tens of thousands of other people LePage has already cut from the SNAP rolls through other means. Thousands more who may not even have $5,001 in savings may also be kept out of SNAP by the added paperwork involved in proving they're really really super precariously poor enough to make Paul LePage happy.