Maine’s Economy Consumer Finance Watchdog Agency Delivers a Gut Punch to Maine Consumers Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released new regulations on payday lenders. Instead of reigning in the notoriously greedy industry, the Bureau eliminated common sense […] Jody Harris Posted July 17, 2020 Tags Consumer Protection, Federal
Maine’s Economy 86,000 Mainers face steep income losses if Congress doesn’t extend pandemic unemployment benefits The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic is unprecedented in our lifetimes. The urgent public health requirement that Mainers stay home as much as possible has […] James Myall Posted July 16, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Federal, Incomes, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy Tracking the economic impact of COVID-19 in Maine MECEP is monitoring several short-term indicators to track the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Maine’s economy. Sources for each indicator can be seen in the descriptions below. Indicator 1: COVID-19 cases in Maine […] James Myall Posted July 9, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Economic Security, Economy, Food Insecurity, Health Care, Housing, Medicaid, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy Policy Memo: Distribution of Coronavirus Relief Funds in Maine The following is a reproduction of a memo produced by MECEP policy analysts Sarah Austin and James Myall for the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee. To see the […] Sarah Austin Posted July 1, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Recession
Health Care Black Mainers are 8 times more likely than white Mainers to be hospitalized for COVID-19 New data from the Maine Center for Disease Control shows that Black Mainers are more than eight times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 as white […] James Myall Posted June 30, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Racial Equity
Maine’s Economy While signs of improvement appear, Maine unemployment remains at unprecedented levels While the latest data on Maine unemployment claims show some reason for hope, Maine’s unemployment levels remain at unprecedented levels three months after the coronavirus pandemic sent […] James Myall Posted June 12, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment
Health Care Black Mainers now 20 times more likely than whites to experience COVID-19 — and the disparity is growing Black and African American Mainers are now roughly 20 times more likely than whites to have contracted COVID-19, according to data released by the Maine CDC. One […] James Myall Posted June 5, 2020 Tags Coronavirus
Health Care, Maine’s Economy Job losses bring additional crisis for laid-off workers: loss of health coverage Between 72,000 and 131,000 Mainers could lose their employer-sponsored health insurance as a result of widespread layoffs spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, with as many as 31,000 […] James Myall Posted May 29, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy Pandemic has erased one in six Maine jobs since February Maine lost nearly 106,000 jobs1 in the two months leading up to April 12 as Maine businesses laid off workers across the state because of the ongoing public […] James Myall Posted May 22, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget Maine can’t afford for Congress to miss the mark on COVID-19 emergency funding A bipartisan consensus is building for Congress to pass additional emergency funds for states to help fight the pandemic, maintain health care for low-income families and seniors, […] Sarah Austin Posted May 22, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Federal, Recession