Taxes and Budget Heating and housing relief package can’t wait until January Last week, the Maine legislature voted on a $474 million emergency heating and housing relief bill proposed by Governor Mills in consultation with Democratic and Republican leaders. […] James Myall Posted December 15, 2022 Tags Budget, Economic Security, Economy, Housing, Inequality, Poverty
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget To improve heating and housing relief bill, lawmakers should target relief more closely Maine lawmakers are currently considering a $440 million proposal to provide emergency heating and housing relief this winter, according to a draft obtained by the Bangor Daily […] James Myall Posted December 6, 2022 Tags Economic Security, Economy
Jobs and Income State of Working Maine 2022 Download the PDF: Full Report Summary Stories In 2020, for the second time in a little more than a decade, the United States suffered one of the […] James Myall Posted October 11, 2022 Tags Children, Coronavirus, Economic Security, Economy, Job Quality, Jobs, Unemployment, Unions, Wages
Health Care, Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget The Inflation Reduction Act makes our tax code fairer, tackles the climate crisis, and makes health care more affordable for Mainers On Sunday, the US Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill which promises to make historic investments in clean energy, long-awaited fixes to our upside-down tax […] James Myall Posted August 11, 2022 Tags Federal, Health Care, Inflation, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Maine’s Economy Feeling the Pinch: Inflation and corporate consolidation Prices are rising and Mainers are feeling the pinch. At the same time, some of the world’s largest corporations are reporting record profits. The mismatch between Mainers […] James Myall Posted June 20, 2022 Tags Children, Consumer Protection, Economic Security, Economy, Food Insecurity, Inflation, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Health Care 130th Legislature makes health care more affordable for Mainers The 130th Maine legislature made real progress on health care affordability for Mainers. Maine Center for Economic Policy supported several bills which increased eligibility for children and […] James Myall Posted May 25, 2022 Tags Affordable Care Act, Economic Security, Family and Medical Leave, Federal, Health Care, Paid Sick Days, Prescription Drugs
Health Care Health insurance costs will soar for 66,000 Mainers if Congress doesn’t act Among the many provisions included in the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in 2021 was a program to increase the affordability of health insurance purchased through […] James Myall Posted May 13, 2022 Tags Children, Federal, Health Care, Seniors
Taxes and Budget Economic relief should target people who need it most Governor Janet Mills has proposed using the majority of Maine’s historic $1.2 billion budget surplus to pay for economic relief checks to 800,000 Mainers. While the rising […] James Myall Posted March 29, 2022 Tags Budget, Children, Economic Security, Food Insecurity, Housing, Inequality
Maine’s Economy Equal footing for Maine tribes At its core, tribal sovereignty is about fairness. LD 1626, “An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement […] James Myall Posted February 25, 2022 Tags Economic Security, Economy, Inequality, Racial Equity, Tax Fairness
Jobs and Income Surveys show strong support and widespread need for paid family and medical leave Maine’s Commission to Develop a Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program recently solicited public feedback through two separate surveys of employees and employers on the need […] James Myall Posted February 22, 2022 Tags Children, Economic Security, Job Quality, Jobs, Paid Sick Days