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wheresmycaketester OP t1_j2znp24 wrote

“The $450 checks for single-filing Mainers making less than $100,000 a year and $900 checks for those filing jointly making less than $200,000 a year will start to be distributed in mid-January.”

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Cosmoplasma t1_j31s09u wrote

Never forget During this period of high inflation Oil companies and other corporations have reported record profits. I will take the $450, but it feels like an indirect way of just giving the energy companies more money.

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Cautious_Package_922 t1_j32zpru wrote

Do you research, not just headlines. I'm no fan of big big oil for sure, but record profit is due to the record sales. Their profit margin is actually slimmer than it was 2 years ago

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[deleted] t1_j33mwyh wrote

Exon reported their highest earnings ever in 2022 & Shell their second highest

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Cautious_Package_922 t1_j33npei wrote

Due to higher volume. Hate all you want. I know I do too. But higher cost of production and transport is the bigger cause of high prices. Really I hate big oil. They outspent the opposition of cheap hydro electric from Canada. Big winner was not maybe, but big oil.

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[deleted] t1_j33otl4 wrote

Well yes because since the pandemic far more people are staying home and needing to use more oil. People don’t really have a choice. The more they gain the more we loose. Glad we can agree, fuck greedy oil companies

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MuForceShoelace t1_j370bfz wrote

Okay? and? It seems like you think you are saying something but you aren't actually. Who cares if they make big profits off a big or small margin? Why should they get a bail out for their margins going down if their profit doesn't even go down?

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Cautious_Package_922 t1_j371f3e wrote

So you are saying that since gas prices are high, even though their profit margin is slimmer than it was 2 years ago, and costs of production are higher, they should trim their profit margin slimmer just because demand is high? That goes against every logical business plan.

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MathematicianGlum880 t1_j2zxelz wrote

I don’t have an issue with it, although I hope it helps those who buy oil…those prices are off the rails. People need help with the increase in prices across the board.

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geneticswag t1_j31sb4h wrote

natural gas isn't any better

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MathematicianGlum880 t1_j31zuqm wrote

Really? I have no idea. Such a fiasco we are in.

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Septicrogue t1_j33arnz wrote

Filled up my propane tank on Tuesday, was $4.59 a gallon.

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pdevo t1_j33ff65 wrote

Damn. I’m paying $3.97 for LP.

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Septicrogue t1_j33r13z wrote

Yeah not sure why it was so much. It was through RH Foster up near Bangor.

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MathematicianGlum880 t1_j33bq8w wrote

What was it a couple years ago?

Edit…we rarely fill our propane tanks these days. No grill allowed at the apartment.

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Septicrogue t1_j33bw60 wrote

Last year was ~3 2021 was around there as well I believe . Wasn't in Maine prior to 2021 so I couldn't give you an honest answer on that.

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MathematicianGlum880 t1_j33cc25 wrote

DAMN! I’ll bet it was much lower. I hope things get better for us all.

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Septicrogue t1_j33ckl9 wrote

Same! I haven't filled up on a oil yet this season. Started with 3.4 of a tank and have kept it 60 during the day and 58 when we go to bed. Just not getting to half a tank so hoping to hold out till at least February.

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MathematicianGlum880 t1_j358wnm wrote

It just makes me angry that people have to live like this. When I was in my 30’s my husband kept the thermostat at 62°. I was cold. I can’t live like that anymore.,,I need to be warm. Family is here and I don’t think I can live far from my boys and grandchildren these days … so here I am.

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ValenOfGrey t1_j33v2vh wrote

Man, if you are paying that much, you sre being ripped off, its much less everywhere else throughout the state.

https://www.maine.gov/energy/heating-fuel-prices

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Septicrogue t1_j33ylj0 wrote

So piqued my curiosity called up the gas company that filled it up. They base their prices of usage. So last year I used 17 gallons of propane, that's what they based the price off apparently. Seems odd but 🤷‍♂️

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PurpleBirds21 t1_j36vq44 wrote

That’s insane! I paid $1.96 for propane in December.

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Septicrogue t1_j36vw12 wrote

Dang. Yeah I was surprised when the place I get the propane on said they base it on usage. Like oh you only used 17 gallons in 2022 soooo we upped the price for you to make it worth the trip out.

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PurpleBirds21 t1_j36wiz7 wrote

That makes sense I used to run into that at my previous house where I just had one small heater on propane. Now I’m using it for my whole house plus I own my tanks so I probably get discounts for volume too.

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hike_me t1_j33pl9m wrote

Wow. I got a propane fill up just before Christmas @ 2.119/gallon

We get a volume discount through my wife’s employer (something like rack + 0.25), no idea what it would have been otherwise.

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eljefino t1_j3420s8 wrote

Do you own your tank though? The higher rates probably include rental fees.

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j3029um wrote

$200,00 cap is ridiculous quite frankly. Otherwise I am glad to see some help coming to those who need it.

A couple making over $3800 a WEEK do not need $900 in heating assistance.

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ZeekLTK t1_j308dc3 wrote

Better to overshoot and give it to some people who don't "need" it than undershoot and not give it to people who actually are struggling.

People making near, but under the cap, are likely paying more in taxes as it is, so more of a wash once you get up there anyways.

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PGids t1_j31an9f wrote

Being unmarried and no kids really blows when you like overtime.

I was monumentally closer to grossing 80 than I was six figures, and between the two governments I paid taxes too they felt entitled to almost 22k of it

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TarantinoFan23 t1_j32qlw8 wrote

They wanted you to do something with the money. But you choose not to. Now they get to decide what to do with it.

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PGids t1_j336e0m wrote

You mean other than maxing out every pre-tax contribution my employer offers and buying into their supplemental life insurance? If slam more in my 401k if I wasn’t trying to put cash in my savings

There’s no justification for taxing a person making ~$30 an hour $500-600 a week because I’m trying to sock some cash away and get ahead on shit

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TarantinoFan23 t1_j337m84 wrote

Precisely. They punish saving the money. You either pay tax or do something like start a charity. Or take off work, lower your taxes and volunteer.

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TimothyOilypants t1_j33pcx2 wrote

Or just shut up and pay your taxes because it's good for civilization. This American preoccupation with avoiding taxation and mutal aid is fucking obnoxious...

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PGids t1_j33xqn5 wrote

When the federal government stops doing shit like spending 50 million on boosting tourism in Tunisia I’ll stop bitching.

I have no problem with mutual aid, I take a lot of problem with completely braindead spending.

Cut the spending, up taxes on the gaggle of people that don’t pay shit, but stop squeezing the little guy to death and threatening to ruin his life if he doesn’t cough it up

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TimothyOilypants t1_j340wbc wrote

Ignoring your myopic and likely racist resistance to foreign aid; even if we increase corporate tax rates (which we should) the individual marginal tax rate in the US is still one of the lowest among rich 1st world countries.

Anyone over $50k should be paying at least 40% full stop.

Unless you are making less than $9,000 annually you ARE NOT "the little guy" in global terms. Stop whining about your life of privilege.

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[deleted] t1_j32nvvy wrote

[deleted]

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ZeekLTK t1_j32ok5e wrote

It costs to figure out stuff like that. I bet it would cost more than $450 for them to figure out that you specifically “don’t need” $450.

Therefore, they actually are saving money by just giving you $450 and not paying to determine that you don’t need it.

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[deleted] t1_j32ovtl wrote

[deleted]

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ZeekLTK t1_j32r49n wrote

No, all they figured out was that you make less than the limit they set (which is why they did it that way, it was the easiest way). You are saying it should be distributed based on who “needs” it the most.

“People who need the most get the most, etc.” That can’t be determined just by looking at someone’s income, so whether you realize it or not, you are talking about hiring a team to design and implement some algorithm that takes into account various metrics, which would have to be collected, in order to decide “this person needs $550, this other person needs $345, this other person needs $120, this other person needs $0, etc.” The only way that would actually be “more efficient” is if you completely disregard the cost of setting it up. But if you factor in how much work that would be, it does end up being cheaper to just give the benefit to everyone (or at least, like in this case: a group with a very large cutoff) and being okay with the fact that some people who “don’t need it” will wind up getting it.

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[deleted] t1_j32rh7i wrote

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Sufficient_Risk1684 t1_j32s7w4 wrote

Except alot of people making 10k a year live in free or subsided house and pay nothing for heating.....

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ZeekLTK t1_j340nwb wrote

But again, you're only looking at income and that's not the best measurement.

Like let's say there are two families, one who makes $95k/year and the other who makes $65k/year. You are saying just based on that, the $65k/year family needs more assistance.

But what if the $95k/year family has 5 young kids who are all in sports and dance and some in childcare and the family's average annual expenses is about $90k/year whereas the $65k/year family is just a couple with no kids and they only average annual expenses of around $45k/year? The $95k/year family only has about a $5k buffer from living beyond their means whereas the $65k/year family has a $20k buffer, so it seems like the $95k family probably needs assistance more than the $65k one in this specific case, but how would that be determined unless there was some way to collect and process all that information (which would be very costly to do)?

And even if you had a way to collect and process all that info, would it still be able to make such a determination? It seems unlikely, so giving everyone something like this is probably still the best way to make sure it gets to as many people who need it as possible.

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[deleted] t1_j32p5xi wrote

Republicans wanted to raise the income limits. Dems wanted it lower but republicans negotiated it higher. They had to allow it to get this passed. Also if you really want to feel sick, take a look at the Facebook posts from some of the Republican senators who originally voted against this. Their constituents were essentially commenting that they shouldn’t allow this to pass if it was only going to help the poor.

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HIncand3nza t1_j31aroe wrote

The cap makes sense in my opinion because it is a tax return where they slapped “heating assistance” on the label. It is fundamentally the same as the check this past summer.

Calling it heating assistance is more to make it seem like the state government is doing something about high heating costs, which they can’t really control.

On a return of taxes the constant amount among the tax brackets most benefits those in the lowest bracket. Someone making 30,000 is getting like 20% of their state taxes back. Whereas someone making 100k is getting roughly 5% of their taxes back.

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j31kmlk wrote

5% of $100,000 is $5,000... 20% of $30,000 is $6,000. What on earth is your weird math equation for again ? So you are saying because someone with $100,000 got back $1000 less than someone with $30000 that means they are equally in need ?
This may be the worst point I've ever heard. Throwing money at inflation does NOT help inflation.

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HIncand3nza t1_j31nheh wrote

Okay so let’s assume your state income tax rate is 7% of your gross income.

If you make $30,000 you would pay $2100 in taxes. If you receive $450 back, you just received 21% of your taxes back. To do the calculation:

0.07 x 30000 = 2100

450/2100=0.21

0.21x100= 21

Now your homework assignment is to repeat that for 100,000

Also your point about people of different incomes not being equally in need of $450 is irrelevant. The state is returning money that both people paid in. It feels nice to say “you make 100k you don’t need $450!”. But consider the other side, “ I make 100k, I paid more taxes than you, so I deserve a larger payout” and suddenly the equal $450 seems very fair

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Diz_McSquirrelz t1_j31yu7w wrote

>Now your homework assignment is to repeat that for 100,000

Savage

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j31o8pw wrote

Ok so now you have completely changed the math equation, and still make no good point.

So... You are saying... Based on this math, That someone making $100,000 a year DOES in fact need $450 in government assistance ? Agreed to disagree. The cap is too high and wasted money. And someone that makes $100,000 and paid in $7000 (your math) does not need a kickback.

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HIncand3nza t1_j31ogv2 wrote

It isn’t government assistance though is it. It is funded by a budget surplus, thus it is basically a tax return

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[deleted] t1_j33iju4 wrote

[deleted]

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j33q86b wrote

Ohhh. So 5% and 7% are the same....

Thanks for clearing that up. So someone making 6 figures ARE in need like someone making 20k.

Are you both using Trump's calculator ?

Hell maybe the cap should be people making under $2.5m ? That $450 may be the saving grace for them.

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[deleted] t1_j33reqi wrote

[deleted]

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j33yi61 wrote

Tell me you still live with your Mom without telling me....... 🙄 Never had a real job right ? Never made over $20k a year. You think the solution to the highest inflation in 40 years is to hand out $$ to couples that make a million dollars every 5 years.

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[deleted] t1_j33z8vm wrote

[deleted]

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j33zlbb wrote

Thank your Mom for paying the bills and sit down. Let her know that thanks to morons like you this inflation will be here to stay.

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Antnee83 t1_j32wexn wrote

I get it, but I think this is better than the way most assistance programs are set up, where you basically have to be living in a cardboard box to get help.

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Way2L8AND1 t1_j32ws1x wrote

Agreed. But this cap is nearly double what it needs to be, which translates to a lot of money unnecessarily handed out that could go to better things. I'm all for helping those in need. But this cap limit is plain stupid.

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CrikeyMikeyLikey t1_j31rsu5 wrote

Oh thank god, our oil prices are like $600 every fill-up, we need all the help we can get. Inflation is out of control and it's not like my job compensates for it.

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TarantinoFan23 t1_j32ptnq wrote

Leaky windows? Drafty outlets? How long does it take your house to lose heat? It's been warm af.

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WalkerBRiley t1_j33bkqe wrote

It's also been windy as hell. Wind will suck the heat right out of a house unless it's seal up tight, which you really do not want in our climate. The house has to breath. It's a catch-22.

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TarantinoFan23 t1_j33epym wrote

You're going to have took look that one up. Houses don't come from the sears catalog anymore.

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IHadADreamIWasAMeme t1_j306dwq wrote

The caps on these are crazy high. My wife and I make like 180k combined and don’t need the $900. But we will give it to her parents if they let us (that generation is too prideful and stubborn for their own good sometimes) as they could use additional help with costs this winter. Hopefully others will do the same if they can afford to.

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ManWhoFartsInChurch t1_j321acd wrote

This is not charity, it's a tax refund for over paying taxes. This is just some of the money you paid coming back to you.

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thenamewastaken t1_j3366t8 wrote

It was originally lower but the Republicans requested that the cap be higher. In order to get it passed Mills agreed.

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Gripit__ripit t1_j32blzc wrote

I'm about as liberal as they come, but the Maine Republican's suggestion to create tax advantaged heating assistance accounts similar to HSA's sounded like a good idea to me. The $450 now is needed in the short term, but next winter is going to be just more of the same and handing out cash endlessly is not the answer...

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TarantinoFan23 t1_j32qavu wrote

Actually, it IS the answer. UBI. This is like UBI. It is good for everyone.

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notjustanytwig t1_j31z2r1 wrote

We need all the help we can get so, I'm for it.

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Zookeeper_Toot t1_j31h08v wrote

Anyone see info if based on gross or net?

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Formerlypoorer t1_j31hdzf wrote

Almost certainly gross

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Zookeeper_Toot t1_j31j67g wrote

Thank you, gross 2021 tax return, got it. I just found more info on the maine.gov site. I don’t like any surprises when tax season plays out and had to pay back a portion of a tax credit last year so I try to stay ahead of it.

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StrangerAstringent t1_j31uioc wrote

Has the state even sent out all of the $850 checks yet?

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mtipping t1_j31w9cm wrote

Almost, and this bill includes the last bit of money to get the rest of them out.

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Commission_Virgo43 t1_j33kl4f wrote

Lived here until January 2022. Moved to Florida then, then moved back here in November 2022. What is this based on? Will I qualify?

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Teejinater88 t1_j33ubj7 wrote

How will the checks be distributed? Mail?

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DeyCallMeTimmy2shoes t1_j30n6lu wrote

Does anyone know if military personnel stationed in maine are eligible?

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cepheus42 t1_j3117be wrote

Did you file a tax return in Maine? Than yes. Otherwise, it sounds like that's a no.

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Born-Flounder8140 t1_j322kwp wrote

Who is eligible? Sorry if I missed it in the article

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Aggressive_FIamingo t1_j328adg wrote

> The $450 checks for single-filing Mainers making less than $100,000 a year and $900 checks for those filing jointly making less than $200,000 a year will start to be distributed in mid-January.

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Twentysixribs t1_j337q32 wrote

Moved here in august and thus haven’t done any Maine taxes yet. Own our house and have all utilities and bank accounts set up. Drivers license swapped over, voter registration. How can I check and see if we qualify or get our names on the resident list?

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[deleted] t1_j32uewn wrote

[deleted]

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[deleted] t1_j33cr2x wrote

Lots of people who rent don’t pay for heat it I’m sure it’ll be helpful towards other bills

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[deleted] t1_j33hxnh wrote

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[deleted] t1_j33kxlg wrote

Kinda a double edge sword I feel. There are lots of factors they have effected the inflation rate. Most are out of our control. People are struggling & I’m sure really could use $450. I mean that is only about a quarter of my rent it’s not a huge amount of money

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