Maine Woman Claims âItâs the Governmentâs Fault Iâm Lazyâ
Â Candi, 30,Â of Augusta, Maine, is a career welfare recipient who knows just who to blame for her station in life â and depending on who you ask, itâs either the least or most likely candidate: the US government.âHonestly, I think itâs all part of the conspiracy to keep the poor white woman down. If Obama would get the economy together and make some better jobs, maybe Iâd take one. But what am I going to do, go work at McDonalds, and deal with bitchy customers all day so I can make less than my assistance benefits? Fâ that,â said Candi, who said sheâd only speak with us if we didnât use her last name, which is Sutphen.But according to Candi, since she has been out of the working world so long, even McDonalds doesnât find her to be a worthy candidate. âNo one wants to hire you when the last job you had was almost 6Â years ago,â she claims.Â When asked how she got into the welfare system in the first place, Sutphen says the blame lies with Obama.âHe screwed the economy all up as soon as he got into office, and I got laid off from my great call center job. I got unemployment, and at first I did look for work, but after so much rejection, I stopped really trying, andÂ just Iâd applied forÂ random jobs I knew were hiring, but I wasnât even qualified for in the first place. ObamaÂ put through so many unemployment extensions, I had a free ride for almost two years.â CandiÂ says by the end of her time on unemployment, she had given birth to a daughter, Emma, and switched over to Maineâs Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. That was 3 years ago.âI tell you what. If I ever did have to find a job, like reallyÂ find a job,Â Iâd make sure they scheduled me just enough so I didnât lost my benefits. My friend Desiree works full-time, and now she doesnât qualify for food stamps or heating assistance. Sheâs more broke now than she ever was before,â stated Candi.Â âPeople think my life is easy. Essentially Iâm getting paid to sit on Facebook all day. Granted, thatâs nice,Â but it gets boring, and boring is hard. Iâm actually very depressed now. After a full day of watching Judge JudyÂ andÂ Maury,Â I donât even feel like doing the dishes.âThe TANF program in Maine has a five-year cap on benefits. When asked what she would do after that, CandiÂ answered, âIf things keep going on like this Iâm going to apply for disability. Either my lungs are gonna go from these cheap cigarettes Iâm forced to smoke, or my doctor at the free clinic says Iâll get it for my depression.âWhen asked what would help turn things around, CandiÂ brightened a little. âIf I had a car I think Iâd be happier, and if I was happier Iâd be much more motivated to look for work. I mean, we can afford to drop all these bombs, and feed people overseas, but we canât make sure our own citizens have transportation. Thatâs seriously messed up,â said Candi. âIâm not asking for anything fancy like a Subaru or nothing. Just something like a Jetta or a Neon, you know?Â Not too old, though. Yeah, that would truly make me the happiest girlÂ in the world.â