MAYVILLE – County executive Greg Edwards is also criticizing New York State for providing more welfare benefits to residents who rely on public assistance.
In his most recent Monday Morning Memo e-newsletter, Edwards said that assistance offered in New York results in a package of benefits that is over 40 percent more lucrative than that of neighboring Pennsylvania. He said the disparity has resulted in more and more people moving to New York, and particularly border counties like Chautauqua, to take advantage of the assistance while remaining close to family or friends living in Pennsylvania.
Edwards says that as of August of this year, thousands of Pennsylvania residents will no longer qualify for the “general assistance” cash program, which provides discretionary cash each month to residents on public assistance. The county executive says the recent decision by Pennsylvania Lawmakers to eliminate the $200 cash assistance for 61,000 recipients is just the opposite of New York’s decision to increase general assistance by 10 percent.
Edwards says the disparity between the two states will only entice even more people who need assistance – like those in nearby Pennsylvania – to move to New York to receive them. Edwards claims this will place an even larger burden on taxpaying residents throughout the state, including Chautauqua County. Instead, he says New York lawmakers should instead focus on establishing social service programs that mirror those of other states in our Region.
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