Maine Gov. Paul LePage, taking a page from the Mitt Romney playbook:
LePage: "When you talk about workforce development, it really means the people that—about 47% of able-bodied people in the state of Maine don’t work."
Audience member: "What?"
LePage: "About 47%. It’s really bad."
Reality:
LePage’s statistic is completely wrong. Currently, around 65% of Mainers over the age of 15 are working or are unemployed and actively seeking work. Of the remaining 35%, almost all are retired, are caring for children or other family members, are pursuing education or training or have a disability that prevents them from working. Only a tiny fraction aren’t working for other reasons. The conservative Heritage Foundation, using U.S. Census data, puts this number at 1.1% nationally.
LePage has always had a troubled relationship with reality, but taking the number that helped sink Mitt Romney and creating an entirely new lie around it shows his special flair for making himself look like a buffoon.