Jobs and Income 41,600 Mainers are working part-time because of the bad economy 41,600 Maine people with jobs are part-time workers who want more work but can’t find it, according to data released today by the US Bureau of Labor […] Joel Johnson Posted January 31, 2014 Tags Economy, Employment, Jobs
Education Testimony at Hearings on LD 1581: An Act to Increase Access to Quality Child Care and LD 1682: An Act to Preserve Head Start and Child Care Services Access to high quality early education and care is an economic imperative. Arthur MacEwan, an economist at the University of Massachusetts, summarizes the economic case in a […] MECEP Posted January 30, 2014 Tags Children, Education
Jobs and Income Fact Sheet: 5 Facts to Remember about Unemployment and Jobs in Maine While Maine’s unemployment rate has fallen substantially in recent months, our state’s recovery from the recession is nowhere near complete. More than four-and-a-half years since the official […] Jody Harris Posted January 27, 2014 Tags Employment, Jobs
Taxes and Budget Testimony at Hearing on L.D. 1664, An Act To Encourage Charitable Contributions to Nonprofit Organizations Since 2011, Maine’s tax code has gotten less, not more, fair. Reductions to the top income tax rate and changes to the estate tax cut taxes significantly […] MECEP Posted January 22, 2014 Tags Revenue, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Testimony at Hearing on L.R. 2721 An Act Related to the Tax Expenditure Review Task Force We are here today because we have a broken revenue system. Inflation-adjusted General Fund revenue during this two-year budget period is forecast to be no higher than […] MECEP Posted January 22, 2014 Tags Taxes
Education Testimony at Hearing on L.D. 1431, An Act To Support School Nutrition and Expand the Local Foods Economy We all know that buying local is good. It keeps dollars in the local economy rather than having that money leave the state. In 2011, MECEP […] MECEP Posted January 21, 2014 Tags Economy, Education, Food Insecurity, Local
Taxes and Budget Maine income tax revenue is down from last year and on pace to fall short of 2000-2001 levels Halfway through fiscal year 2014, the latest available data from the State Controller shows that general fund income tax revenue is down 3.2% ($22 million) compared to the […] Joel Johnson Posted January 15, 2014 Tags Revenue, Taxes
Health Care Testimony at Hearing on LD 1578: An Act to Increase Health Security by Expanding Federally Funded Health Care for Maine People Maine is on the cusp of an unprecedented economic opportunity. As many as 4,400 jobs and half a billion dollars in economic activity are at stake. That’s […] MECEP Posted January 15, 2014 Tags Federal, Health Care
Health Care Expensive Medicaid Report Relies on Unrealistic Poverty Projection The Alexander Group, a consulting firm that the LePage administration paid over $900K (using state and federal funds) to produce a report on the feasibility of expanding MaineCare/Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, claims that […] Joel Johnson Posted January 14, 2014 Tags Health Care, Medicaid, Poverty
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