Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget A cautionary tale from Connecticut as Maine lawmakers weigh privatizing paid leave James Myall, an analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy, also cautioned against having a private administrator of a state paid leave program, pointing to the […] Beacon Posted June 1, 2023 Tags Paid Family and Medical Leave
Taxes and Budget Effort to undo LePage’s estate tax cut for millionaires returns to Augusta Between 1973 and 2015, according to the Maine Center for Economic Policy, the top 1% of Maine families captured 42% of all income growth, leaving just 57% for the […] Beacon Posted May 18, 2023 Tags Estate Tax, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Podcast: Are corporate tax breaks worth it? Probably not. As Gov. Janet Mills looks to “modernize” the Pine Tree Empowerment Zone corporate tax credit program, Esther and Ben are joined by Maura Pillsbury of the Maine […] Beacon Posted May 11, 2023 Tags Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Parents, advocates urge lawmakers to reduce poverty in Maine by expanding child tax credit In Maine, the expanded federal program in 2021 provided increased funds for 142,000 families with 229,000 children — and like the proposed state program, it was refundable, […] Beacon Posted May 5, 2023 Tags Child Tax Credit, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Jobs and Income, Maine’s Economy Report: Maine’s direct care system is facing a crisis due to poor pay and low staffing Stubbornly low wages have left the direct care workforce in Maine in a “fragile state,” leading to a significant labor shortage that has resulted in fewer available […] Beacon Posted April 27, 2023 Tags Caregiving, Direct Care Work, Economic Security, Economy, Job Quality, Jobs, Wages
Jobs and Income Maine could finally expand overtime pay for thousands of workers James Myall, a policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy, told lawmakers that the group estimates that about 26,000 additional salaried workers in the for-profit […] Beacon Posted April 26, 2023 Tags Job Quality, Jobs, Overtime
Jobs and Income ‘We’re responsible for the history we make:’ Lawmakers push for migrant labor rights Maine is not the only state where lawmakers are trying to expand rights for farmworkers. Currently, 12 states guarantee collective bargaining rights to such workers. And in […] Beacon Posted April 19, 2023 Tags Economic Security, Immigration, Inequality, Job Quality, Jobs, Wages
Taxes and Budget On Tax Day, Mainers argue everyone ‘deserves a slice,’ call for wealthy to pay their fair share The amount corporations currently pay in state taxes is opaque, although it is estimated that Maine gives away over a billion dollars in tax breaks to businesses […] Beacon Posted April 18, 2023 Tags Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Jobs and Income Fight for fair work scheduling returns to Maine Legislature “Say you work at a national retail chain,” Arthur Phillips, a MECEP policy analyst, posed a hypothetical to lawmakers. “Last week, you worked the closing shift on […] Beacon Posted April 10, 2023 Tags Job Quality, Jobs
Taxes and Budget ‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing:’ Dems hold the line against GOP budget demands Republicans pointed to the projected budget surplus to argue for the tax cuts, which analysts said would primarily benefit wealthy Mainers. “We are over-collecting taxes from Maine […] Beacon Posted March 31, 2023 Tags Budget, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes