Tag Archives: Referendum

Employee benefits aren’t as simple as passing a law

It was “paid sick leave” week in Maine. Monday saw a long, drawn-out public hearing in Augusta requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. Tuesday saw a committee of the Portland City Council move a similar proposal forward within the city limits. Both efforts have been led by interest groups. Portland’s has been championed by […]

Is it the will of the people to penalize marriage?

With all the hoopla occurring this week, two reports released last week have gotten overshadowed.  However, those reports focus on impacts more immediate to Mainers than guilty pleas or Supreme Court justices. They deal with ballot questions, past and present. The first was released by the conservative-leaning Maine Heritage Policy Center. Titled “The Will of […]

Signature gatherers interfere with voting

Want to see a bunch of adults get excited about stickers? Wait until Election Day and watch for lapels proudly proclaiming “I Voted!” They joy is remarkable; after all, Democracy is the worst form of government. Except for all the others that we have tried. One of the greatest developments in the American experiment has been […]

Read past this headline, or you may not understand what’s really going on

“Report: Majority Of Portland Residents Can’t Afford Average Rent, Median Home Prices” “There’s a growing gap between Republicans and Democrats on helping needy” Read those two headlines. Now, what is your first impression? Probably that Portland is on the verge of mass homelessness and that one political party doesn’t want to help needy individuals. Back […]

Tax reform or the Augusta War: Which way will Maine go?

“The Great Shutdown of 2017” will be remembered much like the “Aroostook War”; an interesting historical footnote in Maine’s history. The apocryphal casualties of the latter consisted of one cow. For the former, two vehicles of Republican representatives may or may not have been vandalized by individuals who missed the childhood lesson on using their words. […]

Big money doesn’t always lead to big results

A few million bucks doesn’t buy what it used to. That seems to be the message from the Georgia special election. And it’s the same message from Augusta, where lawmakers are considering changes to last November’s referenda. South of the Mason-Dixon, newly-elected Re. Karen Handel spent a little over $3 million on her campaign. Her […]

Can we repeal the law of unintended consequences?

You know what would make policymaking much easier? Repealing the law of unintended consequences. For example, the proponents of last year’s Question 2 — the bill which hiked Maine’s top tax rate to one of the highest in the country at over 10 percent — advertised it would raise an additional $157 million for education. […]