Scottie Mayfield, GOP Candidate, Calls Medicaid And Welfare Recipients 'Non-Taxpayers'

[Galraedia]

Source: Huffington Post

Tennessee Republican congressional candidate Scottie Mayfield referred to Medicaid and welfare recipients as "non-taxpayers" in a position paper he released on Wednesday, saying it was time that taxpayers stop subsidizing these programs.

"Social Security and Medicare are programs we've promised to older Americans and they are entitled to them," Mayfield wrote. "Medicaid is not an entitlement. Welfare is not an entitlement. These and many other programs are charity, taking from one taxpayer and giving to a non-taxpayer."

But as Chris Carroll in the Chattanooga Times Free Press noted, Mayfield's comment is inaccurate:

The paper omits two facts -- that some [Medicaid recipients] have jobs and collect paychecks with regular deductions for Social Security, Medicare and other government-funded programs, and that all Medicaid enrollees who live in Tennessee pay state sales tax every time they buy groceries.

Records show that 1.2 million Tennesseans are enrolled in TennCare, the state's Medicaid program for poor, elderly and disabled residents. TennCare spokeswoman Kelly Gunderson said she could not provide a firm percentage or number of enrollees with jobs.

"But I can confirm with you that, yes, there are members of our program that are employed," Gunderson said.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/19/scottie-mayfield-medicaid-welfare-non-taxpayers-tennessee_n_1529653.html?ref=politics

[Scuba]

1. Why didn't he say what he meant? "Non citizen."

The poor pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than Mitt Romney, fer krissakes.

[elleng]

6. Because he's ignorant?

Or stupid? Or a stupid, ignorant suck-up?

[allan01]

2. re:Scottie Mayfield, GOP Candidate, Calls Medicaid And Welfare Recipients 'Non-Taxpayers'

meh when the super rich hardly or not at all pay any non tax payer meh yeah these are not intitlements ,,, we pay into the system all our adult lives via withholdings employer and witholding and when one is on medicare there are preiniums .( My late mum payed $114. a month and when those get a cola on social security the medicare prieniums go u
p so these are not intitlements. meh

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. We the taxpayers aren't going to fund Mr. Mayfield

He's banned from public libraries.

[SharonAnn]

4. You don't know how little funding in TN goes to libraries.

And in our county, libraries close at 5 PM during the week and noon on Saturday during the school year. They're closed on Saturdays during the summer. And always closed on Sundays.

Yep, we don't need nobody getting no learnin' here!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. well he's not getting anymore govt funded money

[CurtEastPoint]

5. So much for buying Mayfield Milk ever again.

Asshole. How many 'farm subsidies' does this goober get w/his mega-milk operation?
And he has these 'charming, lovable' commercials on TV for Mayfield Milk.

Scotty, go milk yourself.

[Rozlee]

18. Do food stamp recepients buy Mayfield Milk?

It should be a government stipulation that if you diss programs for the poor, you shouldn't benefit from them. How many department stores and retail centers would get hit if Welfare recepients wouldn't buy clothes for their kids or school supplies from them? The money tax payers give people on social programs isn't wasted. It's farmed back into the economy.

[SharonAnn]

32. Yes, and that's a shame. It's good milk. But I think it was bought be Dean Foods?

Anyway, it goes on the list of other retailers whose products or stores I try to avoid.

[kestrel91316]

7. Does he maintain that the recipients of Medicaid and welfare have never earned an income and thereby

paid taxes????

[edcantor]

8. Is this idiot likely to win an election to Congress?

I don't think he's that much dumber than most Republicans in Congress, but I'm curious, does he stand a chance of getting elected?

[Akoto]

9. Fuck him. I am on disability, Medicaid, EBT ...

Contrary to what people like him believe, it is far from a free ride. We do pay taxes when, as the objection stated, we do things like shopping. We also don't have a wealth of taxpayer money to play with. You can't have both utilities and lobster/prime rib dinners (what they seem to think our diet is).

The maximum I am allowed to have in the bank is $2000, else I am penalized. I get $694/mo, the cap for SSI in my state. $370 of that immediately goes to my parents as fair share (rent) payment. I get $50 in food stamps, and the rest has to be paid for by my actual cash. Then clothes needed, internet, etc. Medicaid does not cover my dental care or the kind of eye care I need, so those are out of pocket. It's very tight living, and certainly not tax-free.

I'm tired of pricks like this guy making the disabled and unfortunate feel subhuman.

[villager]

10. Non-taxpayers? He's accusing them of being corporations!?

[asjr]

11. Scottie and the rest of McMinn county are Republicans.

The county has been Republican since 1946. I understand his son damaged some tires of his opponent not long ago. I no longer live there but I would not vote for him anyway.

[Andy823]

12. Everyone knows for course

The only "GOOD" kind of "welfare" or subsidies are for the 1%, those who republicans "claim" create jobs and who "NEED" the "BILLIONS" in handouts, big oil for example, because they are so in "need" of help!

How anyone in their right could vote for idiots like this is beyond me. I guess the old saying "there is a sucker born every minute" is true, and the republican party has found every last sucker in the country to join the good old GOP!

[glinda]

13. My parents paid taxes their whole lives and now that

my mom has died and the health care places have taken nearly every dine they owned, my dad may need to have Medicaid. What a bunch or short sighted asses.

[donco]

14. Anyone look into the

“non taxpayer corps “that are backing Scottie?

[bloomington-lib]

15. I wish that 1.2million would show up to vote

[SemperEadem]

28. no kidding!

[Ex-Pat Pats Fan]

16. Scottie?????

Are you sure he's not running for Senator from Mayberry???

[salin]

17. There were numerous stories a few yrs back - Walmart encouraged employees to apply for medicaid

and other welfare programs. Why? Because the wages (esp for part time workers) were so low that the employees qualified - AND if the needs were met through safety net programs than it alleviated the pressure on the mega corporation to either pay more or offer benefits.

These clowns can't have it all ways. Either corporations have to pay wages, and or have to stop taking huge govt handouts (Wallmart, I believe, went on a bender a decade or so ago taking HUGE tax easements (re: subsidies) as enticements to build locally and "create jobs" (so low wage, that they held sessions for employees on how to get various welfare benefits)), or all wealthy folks and corporations start giving to charity at a level that would actually meet the needs if govt programs were all cut, or stop grousing and start paying their share of taxes.

Wallmart sucked a whole lot of more money out of the system (as described above) than any individual person or family on any form of public assistance.

We need to start responding to such rhetoric with reality. Why is Wallmart - while it makes Billions - able to suck up so much tax payer money - while living in subsistence conditions are being demonized and threatened with cutting off the little subsistence help being offered?

[lonestarnot]

19. Another nutter wanting on the taxpayer payroll. You gona hire him Tennessee?

[Prophet 451]

20. Same thing in both our nations

It's become fashionable among the chattering classes to openly hate the poor again.

[sarcasmo]

21. Stupid is as stupid does

[freshwest]

23. Counting on ignorant, hateful lemmings to support his lord's pocketbooks. Another GOP bootlicker.

[Suji to Seoul]

24. Again, why did we fight the Civil War and bring these people back into the Union?

We should have just let them all go. . .the entire South! Texas east to the Atlantic!

[area51]

25. Oh, right. My bad, I forgot:

all southerners are evil.

[provis99]

26. well, the black southerners are ok.

as for the vast majority of the white ones...

I say Gettysburg is still there, and I'll even give them best 2 out of three.

[SemperEadem]

27. then he won't be taking any salary as a congress critter

being that it is totally funded by taxpayers, right?

oh, he just talks the talk...

[and-justice-for-all]

29. And how many of those recepients are unable to work

i.e. the mentally challenged and the disabled.

[madville]

30. Everyone pays taxes in some form

Everyone pays taxes, state sales tax, cell phone taxes, gas taxes, etc.

People that qualify for low income programs usually don't have to pay any federal income tax.

My question would be what actual taxes fund what programs? That would be a good part to know regarding this story.

[IndyJones]

31. Did he include comments about the corporate welfare taxpayers give GE Capital?

Or the oil companies? Or Walmart?

[Claire Beth]

33. ugh

It's so embarrassing to be from Tennessee at times. There are a few of us proud liberals around here. At least I live in Nashville which is BLUE!!