Maine versus New Hampshire VII
One of the greatest economic and policy differences between Maine and New Hampshire is the level of spending on personal current transfer receipts (PCTR). This type of spending includes Social Security, Medicaid/Medicare and other welfare programs. Overall, Maine’s PCTR totalled $8,784,996,000 in 2007 while New Hampshire’s PCTR totalled $6,445,554,000–or $2.3 billion lower (click “continue reading” to view charts).
While Maine’s policy-makers cannot control Social Security or Medicare spending, they do control other important programs such as Medicaid and other types of welfare. These state level programs account for half the difference in 2007. The difference in Medicaid spending alone is nearly $1 billion with Maine spending almost $2 billion to New Hampshire’s $1 billion. Maine also spent $110 million more in food stamps. New Hampshire only spent $63 million total in food stamps.
And keep in mind that New Hampshire’s economy, as measured by personal income, is nearly $10 billion bigger than Maine’s with almost exactly the same population.
