It totally saddens me to hear about another cut in services for low income people. I am also aware of the stereotypical attitude toward people who are on welfare.

Those people put all people on welfare into one group. According to them, welfare recipients are lazy, looking for a handout, addicts and alcoholics.

Yes, there are those who defraud the government.

It is difficult when, every time state officials have to balance the budget, it is within a 100 percent certainty that they will be hitting low income people.

Are Gov. Paul LePage and other members of the Legislature taking any cuts in pay or benefits?

How about having some people on welfare do community work to help with what they get? That is, if they are not elderly or disabled. That way, some work would get done and we wouldn’t have to pay someone else to do it.

When state officials put together a budget, they should understand that it is not just numbers they are working with — it is real people who are getting hurt.

Nancy Leeman, Lewiston