As Goes Maine...

So goes the nation:

Paul LePage, the Republican governor of Maine, mentioned an uncomfortable truth in a radio address this month: Maine has more welfare recipients than income tax payers.

Democrats challenged the accuracy of this assertion.

The Bangor Daily News fact-checked LePage and discovered that 445,074 Mainers paid state income tax, while 453,194 received some sort of state aid.

In Maine, Medicaid, welfare, food stamps and subsidies for education have a combined enrollment of 660,000.

Adjusting for overlap reduces the number to 453,194 – or 8,120 more people on state assistance than there are state income taxpayers in Maine.

What cannot be sustained will not be sustained, but the end is likely to be abrupt, unexpected, and unpleasant.