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

Taxes and Budget

How corporate consolidation is breaking Maine’s economy

Corporate consolidation is suppressing wages, breaking supply chains and driving inflation. The result of unchecked monopolies is a more fragile economy and a less democratic society. This […]

Beacon

Posted March 23, 2023

Tags Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes

Health Care

Will legislators undo LePage’s rollback and restore health coverage to low-income immigrants?

“New Mainers are particularly likely to work in grocery stores and care homes, restaurant kitchens and hotels — many of the industries which are currently struggling to […]

Beacon

Posted February 27, 2023

Tags Health Care, Racial Equity

Taxes and Budget

Mills outlines new climate goals, backs housing first, pledges access to Narcan in budget address

The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) also praised the budget while calling for lawmakers to build on the plan by making additional investments in programs to […]

Beacon

Posted February 15, 2023

Tags Budget

Health Care

Advocates worry that ‘fentanyl hysteria’ will further criminalize people who use drugs

“By 2016, harm reduction activists noted the product on the street that was being sold as heroin had almost none,” reads A Better Path for Maine: The […]

Beacon

Posted February 13, 2023

Tags Health Care

Taxes and Budget

‘People are desperate:’ Budget committee encouraged to make bold investments in affordable housing

“While public investment is necessary to alleviate Maine’s affordable housing crisis, $30 million is insufficient to address the shortage of affordable housing,” said Josie Phillips, a budget […]

Beacon

Posted February 10, 2023

Tags Budget, Housing

Taxes and Budget

Economists, lawmakers caution against squandering unexpected fiscal strength on tax cuts

“Is it really a surplus if we’re not paying for these really essential needs that Mainers have?” asked Maura Pillsbury, a state and local tax analyst with […]

Beacon

Posted February 6, 2023

Tags Budget, Revenue, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes

Jobs and Income

Amid efforts to boost worker pay, Maine Republicans introduce 7 bills to roll back wages

In the 2021 legislative session, lawmakers considered at least five GOP-led efforts to undercut the minimum wage. If they had been approved, James Myall, policy analyst at […]

Beacon

Posted January 19, 2023

Tags Incomes, Wages

Editorial: It’s past time to stop editing MLK’s words and ideas

The Bangor Daily News was the source of a national uproar on Monday when it reprinted a deeply-edited, heavily-sanitized version of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” […]

Beacon

Posted January 17, 2023

Tags Inequality, Racial Equity

Beacon

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Fight for fair work scheduling returns to Maine Legislature

‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing:’ Dems hold the line against GOP budget demands

How corporate consolidation is breaking Maine’s economy

Will legislators undo LePage’s rollback and restore health coverage to low-income immigrants?

Mills outlines new climate goals, backs housing first, pledges access to Narcan in budget address

Advocates worry that ‘fentanyl hysteria’ will further criminalize people who use drugs

‘People are desperate:’ Budget committee encouraged to make bold investments in affordable housing

Economists, lawmakers caution against squandering unexpected fiscal strength on tax cuts

Amid efforts to boost worker pay, Maine Republicans introduce 7 bills to roll back wages

Editorial: It’s past time to stop editing MLK’s words and ideas