New overtime rules will finally pay workers what they deserve

Every week, thousands of Mainers work overtime—more than 40 hours per week—to make ends meet. Many workers, even after working 50 to 60 hours per week, still […]

Leaked memo confirms Governor’s priorities remain the same – tax breaks for the wealthy, cuts in crucially important investments in our communities

An internal memo leaked from a member of Governor LePage’s administration to the Portland Press Herald reveals LePage’s plans for the upcoming legislative session and the 2018-19 […]

Maine State Government Is Already at Its Smallest Size in 20 Years (line graph)

How payday lenders skirt the law

The facts about how payday lenders trap working families in debt are shocking: 19 million families use payday loans each year. One in four of those borrowers […]

Women have higher poverty rates in retirement than men

Recently, my colleague Jody Harris posted about how devious payday lenders prey heavily on women. She added that, “Women continue to earn less than their male counterparts, and […]

Poverty rates by demographic category, in 2013, for women and men, age 65 and older (bar chart)

Closing the door on ineffective tax loopholes in Maine: Important challenges lay ahead

Maine offers 192 different tax loopholes for individuals and corporations. These tax breaks are a form of backdoor spending that cost the state almost $2.2 billion in […]

Predatory lenders disproportionately target women, new study shows

It’s Shark Week. No, not the Discovery Channel’s homage to the denizens of the deep, but rather the annual media storm from consumer advocates who oppose the […]

BDN reports dire consequences for Maine children from LePage assault on TANF

In a painstakingly detailed investigation, the Bangor Daily News (BDN) has pulled back the curtain, exposing the LePage administration’s maneuvering to undermine the federally funded Temporary Assistance to […]

Maine's TANF caseload, 2005-2016 (line graph)