Health Care Unprecedented Opportunity: Federal Health Care Funds Will Deliver 4,400 Jobs and $500,000,000 in Annual Economic Activity to Maine by 2016 If Maine lawmakers fail this legislative session to accept federal funds to provide health care to almost 70,000 Maine people, approximately half of whom are working, Maine […] MECEP Posted January 14, 2014 Tags Economy, Federal, Health Care, Jobs
Taxes and Budget Let’s remove obstacles to needed economic investments The legislature’s appropriations committee today is listening to the public’s opinion on two bills that, if passed, would direct the governor to carry out the will of […] Jody Harris Posted January 8, 2014 Tags Bonds, Jobs
Jobs and Income The State of Working Maine in 2013: An Ever Deepening Income Divide (Part 2) In my last post, I discussed how MECEP’s recently released report, The State of Working Maine in 2013, delves beyond the official monthly employment reports for more […] Mark Sullivan Posted December 13, 2013 Tags Incomes, Inequality, Jobs, Poverty
Jobs and Income A Not-So-Merry Christmas for more than 3,500 Unemployed Mainers More than 3,500 unemployed Mainers will lose critical economic support for themselves and their families if Congress allows emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) to expire on December 28th, […] Joel Johnson Posted December 12, 2013 Tags Employment, Jobs
Maine’s Economy State of Working Maine in 2013 Workers in Maine and across the nation remain in crisis. The typical working Mainer has yet to find relief from a long-term economic malaise that began more […] MECEP Posted November 25, 2013 Tags Economy, Incomes, Job Quality, Jobs
Education State of Working Maine in 2013: Maine Workers "Remain in Crisis" “Employment opportunities for Maine workers are still scarce more than four years since the end of recession” Augusta, Maine (Monday, November 25, 2013) More than four years […] Posted November 25, 2013 Tags Employment, Jobs, Minimum Wage
Jobs and Income Maine’s slow job and employment recovery makes food benefit cuts worse On November 1, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for a quarter of a million Mainers will decrease by $11 to $36 per month depending on household […] Jody Harris Posted November 1, 2013 Tags Employment, Food Insecurity, Jobs
Education, Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget Bond Questions 2, 4, and 5: Maine needs to invest in higher education for struggling workers Thirty-six percent of the building stock at the University of Maine is 50 or more years old. Dwight Eisenhower was president when the state built most of […] Jody Harris Posted October 31, 2013 Tags Bonds, Education, Jobs
Taxes and Budget Question 3 – Maine’s aged bridges need repair You know the old line, “In Maine, driving is better in the winter because the potholes get filled with snow.” Mainers have always grumbled about road conditions. […] Jody Harris Posted October 30, 2013 Tags Bonds, Budget, Infrastructure, Jobs
Education, Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget When small is mighty BIG! Robert Reich is short, four feet, eleven inches to be precise. I mention his height because the former labor secretary and current professor at the University of […] Mark Sullivan Posted October 18, 2013 Tags Budget, Children, Education, Health Care, Jobs, Medicaid, Taxes