Jobs and Income Podcast: The ongoing abandonment of older Mainers Arthur Philips of the Maine Center for Economic Policy joins Cate Blackford to discuss the results of their report on Maine’s direct care workforce. It’s not good. Click […] Beacon Posted July 6, 2024 Tags Caregiving, Direct Care Work, Employment, Job Quality, Jobs
Jobs and Income Overworked and underpaid: Lack of investment in direct care workers leave Mainers without services According to a new report released this week by the Maine Center for Economic Policy, Maine needs to hire more than 2,300 full-time care workers to provide adequate services […] Beacon Posted June 20, 2024 Tags Caregiving, Direct Care Work, Employment, Job Quality, Jobs
Jobs and Income Advocates dismayed by Gov. Mills’ veto of her own bill to improve farmworker wages In a statement, the Maine Center for Economic Policy said Mills vetoed the bill “simply because it ensured farmworkers have the same access to the courts that […] Beacon Posted April 25, 2024 Tags Inequality, Job Quality, Jobs, Racial Equity
Taxes and Budget Opinion: Slugger wants his money Special thanks to Maura Pillsbury at the Maine Center of Economic Policy for her research, which contributed greatly to this piece. Click here to read the full op-ed, […] Beacon Posted March 24, 2024 Tags Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Jobs and Income Maine lawmakers could still raise the minimum wage to $15 James Myall, a policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), asked members of the AFA and Labor and Housing committees to think of the […] Beacon Posted March 6, 2024 Tags Job Quality, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Wages
Taxes and Budget Unions, economists blast Mills’ call for ‘fiscal restraint’ amid so many unmet needs “The governor’s new supplemental budget is a good start in bolstering Maine’s economy, but with so many unmet needs and an already full rainy day fund, now […] Beacon Posted January 31, 2024 Tags Budget
Taxes and Budget Report: Maine’s tax system creates more equality than states without an income tax “Maine’s tax code should help narrow income inequality, not widen it,” Maura Pillsbury, a state and local tax policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy, […] Beacon Posted January 10, 2024 Tags Tax Fairness, Taxes
Jobs and Income, Maine’s Economy Maine businesses back rent relief bill to help them retain workers The letter highlights gaps in Maine’s housing policies that rent relief could fill with targeted and fast support. “The investments your administration has made to support building […] Beacon Posted January 8, 2024 Tags Housing
Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget Advocates call for Maine’s $139M surplus to be invested in housing, other critical needs Last week, MECEP released its annual “State of Working Maine” report that details how a lack of childcare, healthcare, support for immigrants and decades of under-production of […] Beacon Posted November 29, 2023 Tags Budget, Child Care, Economic Security, Economy, Housing, Job Quality, Jobs
Jobs and Income, Maine’s Economy Report: Childcare, housing shortages preventing Maine jobs from being filled A new report shows how a lack of childcare, healthcare, affordable housing, and support for immigrants is exacerbating Maine’s labor market crunch. Policymakers have long seen a demographic problem […] Beacon Posted November 29, 2023 Tags Child Care, Economic Security, Economy, Employment, Housing