Free Ride Comes To A Screeching Halt For 6,000 Welfare Leeches According to reports, Maine has just given notice to approximately 6,000 welfare recipients that any able-bodied person, between 18 and 50 must work, volunteer, or enroll in an employment training program for 20 hours a week in order to receive benefits. We must continue to do all that we can to eliminate generational poverty and get people back to work, said Governor Paul LePage. We must protect our limited resources for those who are truly in need and who are doing all they can to be self-sufficient. The law was suspended in 2008 due to to high employment rate and difficult job market conditions. Now, the change is upsetting some recipients. I was just so upset after I got the phone call, claims Melania, a Maine resident receiving benefits. It was a cushion especially for me because I have dietary restrictions; I have a lot of them, and the food is very expensive. Melania has been collecting $224 a month for free. According to administrators, programs are intended to be a short-term solution for those able to work, not a means of living. The action is believed to be a step in the right direction in limiting abuse of the system. What do you think of the new requirements? 