To the Editor:
When is “common sense” not common sense? When it is factually wrong.
Both the governor and DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew are contributing to the waste of precious funds by ignoring facts including a well researched 2013 study by the State of Tennessee that included six states, some of which had the photo ID rule in place, and others whose research reflected the annual maintenance costs alone were too high and the photo did not stop any fraudulent acts.
In fact recent fraud discovery is proof that photos do not catch fraud, people do. Pursuing expensive photos on Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that don’t prevent fraud is a waste of taxpayer dollars if not outright theft.
Tennessee used common sense when they studied the veracity of an assumption that photos would stop fraud. Their study was thorough and without bias. Their decision not to waste the $2.5 million initial cost and $400,000 annual maintenance fee, was also common sense because it was based on facts.
Governor Paul LePage and Commissioner Mayhew have already participated in a $925,000 fraudulent study with a $575,000,000 math error -and are now pushing a costly EBT photo program that will not do what it was sold to do and will cost the state taxpayer even more.
The massive waste of taxpayer funds is also at the expense of needed funds for the working poor. Given the research results, the question is why would anyone pursue EBT photos when they know the funding is needed by the working poor and their children?
