Author: Patrick Marvin

The debate over the November ballot initiative to raise the statewide minimum wage has just started – but supporters of this measure are already trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Maine voters. They are now touting a misleading study by the labor union-supported National Employment Law Project, which uses cherry-picked statistics to allege that a minimum-wage increase would help small businesses and power the local economy forward. However, these ridiculous claims could not be further from the truth, since an increase in the minimum wage would disproportionately burden small businesses. As shown by an analysis by the Employment Policy Institute, raising the…

Recently, advocates of increasing Maine’s minimum wage published a study highlighting the alleged benefits of raising Maine’s minimum wage to $12 per hour. However, this study is riddled with inaccuracies and outright distortions. It makes several ridiculous arguments which have little to no basis in economic reality. Worst of all, this study has been accepted as fact by many supporters of raising the minimum wage and even by members of the Maine media. Some of the study’s most egregious errors include: Ignoring the fact that raising the minimum wage would hurt small businesses The underlying argument made by the study…

This week, the Maine Department of Health and Human Service announced that they are on track to break last year’s record number of uncovered welfare fraud causes. “We’re seeing an awful lot of welfare fraud,” DHHS Director of Fraud Operations Tom Rath admitted to WCHS-TV. Last year, the DHHS Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unit prosecuted 105 cases which totaled more than $1.2 million in fraudulently obtained benefits. Already this year, the unit has found 29 prosecutable cases, which have a total of more than $456,000 in stolen benefits. “We definitely have more calls coming in than we have people to…

Beginning today, almost 800 hospitals across the country will be impacted by the Obama Administration’s change to how Medicare pays for some of the most common health care procedures. This change will create “bundle payments” for hip and knee replacement procedures – meaning hospitals will receive just one flat-rate payment for the costs associated with a patient’s surgery and recovery. This represents a significant move by the Obama Administration, which claims that bundle payments will help curb the costs of health care for those 65 years or older. But not surprisingly, many hospitals are unprepared for this massive transition– meaning…

America’s $700 billion per year welfare system is actually doing more harm than good, and is hurting the very people it is intended to help. That’s the subject of a new research-filled book on our welfare system, “The Human Cost of Welfare.” Authors Phil Harvey, the Chief Sponsor of the DKT Liberty Project, and Lisa Conyers, the Director of Policy Studies for the project, conducted a comprehensive evaluation of welfare programs throughout the nation, and came to many troubling conclusions. Through interviews with hundreds of welfare recipients, they found that not only does our welfare system fail to offer opportunities…

Community Health Options (CHO) has decided to increase prices for patients and customers next year– the latest sign that this Obamacare health co-op is teetering on the brink of a total collapse. The state’s largest provider of individual health insurance, CHO has also stopped accepting new customers because of its poor financial situation after ending 2015 with a shocking $31 million deficit. It is predicted to lose another $43 million in 2016. But sadly, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to this financial madness. Missing the mark CHO, which provides health insurance coverage nearly 71,000 people in…

The signature “achievement” of Obama’s Presidency, Obamacare, was dealt yet another major blow last week by the realization that it likely lost billions more of our taxpayer dollars. In testimony before a Senate panel, top Obamacare officials confessed they can’t guarantee that health care co-ops will ever repay the more $2 billion in federal start-up loans they received under Obamacare. Andy Slavitt, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, admitted that it’s “too early to say” if the co-ops will pay back these loans of taxpayer dollars. But that’s just the Washington D.C. way of saying “the…

It’s an election year, so Democrats in the State Legislature are again feigning support for welfare reform. They’ve rolled a series of proposals that are eerily similar to recommendations that have been made by Republicans in the past.  Their welfare reform proposals include: Prohibiting EBT cards from being used for things such as alcohol, bail, lottery tickets, tattoos, and firearms Establishing a Citizen Oversight Board to monitor our welfare programs Converting $5 million of cash assistance into payments for landlords Customizing welfare programs to provide services such as job training or behavioral health care But these proposals are nothing more…

If you didn’t know better, you would think that certain legislators in Augusta suffer from short-term memory loss. Every session since the passage of Obamacare, Maine legislators have debated liberal bills that would force Maine to add thousands of people to our expensive and inefficient Medicaid program. And every time, (five if you are keeping track) sanity has prevailed, and these bills have been defeated. Yet somehow, two Maine State Senators have forgotten all of this, and have put forth another Medicaid expansion bill To be fair, this time around, the Medicaid proponents have a slightly different modus operandi. The…

The push for Medicaid expansion in Maine perfectly fits the common saying “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” Liberal lawmakers have tirelessly pushed for an expansion of Medicaid, which is a government insurance program that provides free or low-cost health insurance for those with limited income. Maine has rejected Medicaid expansion a stunning five times, but unfortunately, some legislators are still trying everything to push this bad public policy through Augusta. State Senators Tom Saviello (R-Wilton) and Roger Katz (R-Augusta) have recently put forth a bill that attempts to tie Medicaid expansion to drug addition, asserting…

Today, Governor Paul LePage announced he will introduce common-sense legislation that will help grow Maine’s rainy day fund and promote financial stability. This announcement by LePage came about because, according to the Maine Revenue Forecasting Committee, Maine is forecasted to collect $72.7 million in excess General Fund revenue from now until June 2017. LePage is therefore proposing to transfer this extra money to the Budget Stabilization Fund, commonly called the “rainy day fund.” The rainy day fund is used to cover budget shortfalls and to respond to financial crises, and is a key component of a fiscally responsible state government.…

“Struggling Mainers should suck it up and pay a higher gas tax. We need better roads!” Does that sound like an effective infrastructure policy to you? Does it sound like an appropriate path forward, given that hardworking Mainers are already burdened by high taxes and slow economic growth? And yet, that is essentially the argument that was made by the Portland Press Herald in a recent editorial. Rather than suggest a common-sense solution, such as cutting other non-essential spending to free up funding that can be used for infrastructure projects, the Press Herald proclaimed that a higher gas tax is…

This article was first published April 17, 2015 at mainepolicy.org. In nearly every business transaction, customers are fully aware of the costs they will incur before they purchase a specific good or service – but that isn’t necessarily true in the health care industry. Patients are rarely, if ever warned of the costs of medical procedures, nor are they given estimates on how much a specific treatment will cost. Although the health of a patient is (hopefully) the primary concern, the economic well-being of a patient is rarely taken into consideration. And if a patient asks a health insurance or health…

According to recently released data from the U.S.D.A, Maine is leading the nation with its reduction in the number of individuals who are utilizing the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as the food stamp program. Between April 2014 and April 2015, 12.4% fewer individuals participated in the food stamp program in Maine, the highest percent reduction of any state in that time frame. Maine’s 12.4% reduction represents a decrease of approximately 28,000 individuals who are no longer enrolled in the program which provides food assistance to low-income people living in the U.S. As a result of this decrease, Maine has fallen…

There’s an old adage that goes “If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table.” Unsurprisingly, supporters of Maine’s income tax have already started pounding the table. Such was the case in a recent editorial, where the Bangor Daily News Editorial Board attempted to bash the Maine Republican Party and their upcoming effort to eliminate Maine’s individual income tax. Although the BDN Editorial Board did not go as far as explicitly opposing eliminating the income tax, they…

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), speaking at the Generation Progress Summit last week, voiced her support for lowering the voting age to 16 or 17 in order to encourage greater voter registration among high school students. The voting age in the U.S. is currently 18, which means that many students have the ability to vote in their final year of high school. But the Democratic Minority leader of the U.S. House asserted that the lowering the voting age to 16 or 17 would allow for increased participation of high school students, and a consequential shift in the political landscape. “When kids are…

According to a release from the Maine Department of Labor, unemployment claims in Maine have now fallen to their lowest levels in decades. Initial claims of unemployment, which are defined as individuals filing for unemployment benefits for the first time, fell to the lowest point in the 30-year look back of Maine unemployment data. An average of just 883 individuals filed for initial unemployment benefits as of the week ending July 4. Continuing claims of unemployment, or individuals receiving benefits after filing their initial claim, also fell in the week of July 4 to the lowest level since 2000. An…

In the aftermath of a tragedy, there is often an outcry for government to take swift action to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future. Lawmakers most often embrace these calls, and use the tragedy as a sympathetic excuse to increase the size, cost, and intrusiveness of government. Such has been the case following the fateful events on Independence Day in Calais, where a young man suffered fatal injuries as a result of an unfortunate fireworks accident. Despite reports that the accident was caused entirely by the young man misusing the fireworks, and launching them from the top of his head, several…

On Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released estimates of real personal income for 2013 which showed that Maine experienced some of the highest income growth in the country. According to the BEA estimates, Maine’s real personal income (in chained 2009 dollars) increased by 1.9% from 2012 to 2013, which was the 7th highest growth rate in the country, and the highest in New England. Real personal income for the U.S. increased by just 0.8%, meaning Maine’s economy grew at a faster rate than the broader U.S. economy. This is a significant increase in growth for Maine, as…

On Tuesday Morning, activists, concerned citizens, and advocates will be gathering at the State House to encourage lawmakers to sustain Gov. LePage’s veto of the next biannual state budget. Support for the Governor’s veto has been growing since the budget deal was released two weeks ago, due to the fact that the budget contains a $300 million spending increase, does little to address the need for welfare reform, is actually a significant tax increase, and is overall a bad deal for Maine. The rally, which is set to start at 8:30 am in the Hall of Flags in the State…

On Monday, Gov. LePage is expected to veto the legislature’s $6.7 biennial state budget, and force lawmakers to either over-ride his veto or head back to the budget negotiating table. And while significant attention will be given (by Democrats and members of the media) to the fact that LePage’s veto means Maine could be heading towards a government shutdown, it’s important to remember that the budget deal LePage is vetoing is simply a bad deal for Maine. The deal is riddled with flaws and shortcomings, and would fail to move Maine towards prosperity or economic growth. It does not adequately…

On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the Obama administration in King v. Burwell, a lawsuit which challenged the IRS’ rewriting of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The case would have caused roughly 61,000 Mainers to lose federal subsidies, but would have freed over 72,000 Maine citizens from the individual mandate, and over 387,000 workers from the employer mandate. At issue in the case was whether or not insurance plans sold through the federal insurance market, known as healthcare.gov, were eligible for government subsidies. The subsidies – which are available for individuals who…

Details on the latest state budget deal emerged on Tuesday morning, after Republican and Democratic legislative leaders reached a deal late Monday night to avoid a state government shutdown. “After weeks of tough negotiations we have reached an agreement that we feel moves Maine forward,” announced House Republican leader Ken Fredette (R-Newport). The budget deal reportedly makes several substantial changes to the tax code, as well as many changes to welfare and social services programs. The budget also: Spending Contains a roughly $300 million or 4.6% increase in spending from the previous biennium. Keeps the municipal revenue sharing program at…

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected a request by the LePage administration to review a lower court’s ruling that has allowed thousands of young adults to remain on Medicaid. As a result, the LePage administration must adhere to the lower court’s ruling, which said that Maine could not remove 19 and 20 year olds from the Medicaid program until 2019. Approximately 6,500 individuals have been able to stay in the Medicaid program because of this ruling, which was handed down this past November by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. “Although I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme…

State tax revenues in North Carolina have increased roughly 6% this year, despite the state having recently instituted several major tax cuts. The state budget office has reported that North Carolina will enjoy a roughly $400 million budget surplus because of the major increase in tax revenue. In February, officials had predicted a budget shortfall of about $270 million. But according to a report from the state budget office and the nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division, the state is now on track for a surplus because of “higher income tax payments and lower refunds from the 2014 tax year.” The report…

The push to rid Maine of the controversial Common Core State Standards suffered a setback on Monday, as the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee voted 12-1 against LD 1396, “An Act Regarding Educational Standards for Maine Students”. LD 1396, if passed, would effectively eliminate the Common Core Standards in Maine, and allow Maine to develop its own education standards and assessments. The Common Core State Standards have generated a considerable amount of contention in recent months, not only in Maine, but in school systems throughout the country. Opponents of Common Core, including many educators and parents, assert that the standards…

According to a recent website post, Maine unions appear to have been given crucial information on several right-to-work bills that has not been released to the public or even disclosed to Republican lawmakers. The post, which appeared on the Maine AFL-CIO website, announced that several bills related to right-to-work will be making their way to floor of the State House this week. “It’s coming– the floor fights in the State House and Senate over the so-called Right to Work bills and the other attempts to weaken our collective bargaining rights will start next week,” said the website post dated May 14,…

The fight over welfare reform took a new twist last week, as Democrats in the Health and Human Services Committee voted along party lines to support a bill which would roll-back recently reinstated welfare work requirements. The bill, LD 1052, would force Maine to once-again waive federal requirements which mandate that adults without disabilities or children must work 20 hours per week or volunteer one hour per day after receiving SNAP (food stamp) benefits for 3 months, or else be cut from the program. Maine has recently begun enforcing this federal requirement after years of seeking a waiver for this…

In the discussion surrounding right-to-work legislation, there is a tendency for both opponents and proponents to use misleading myths to advance their agenda and achieve their goals. Right-to-work is a straightforward and transparent concept; it simply prevents an individual from being forced to pay union dues if they are not a union-member. Myths, however, are used to confuse the issue, making a simple and easily understood concept seem controversial and dangerous. Not only are these myths detrimental to this important conversation, but they also pollute people’s attitudes and beliefs—preventing policy makers and elected officials from making rational decisions based on facts…

Last Monday, a senior adviser to Governor Paul R. LePage revealed that the governor may submit a bill next legislative session that would eliminate all government regulations and licensing requirements on lodging establishments. Given the current trend of government increasing regulations at an exponential pace, this announcement should come as welcomed news for consumers and vacationers all across Maine. Contrary to our American values, our government is growing larger and larger, and is increasingly inclined to regulate and control all aspects of businesses (even the size of a glass of beer) and dictate as much of the free market as…

Freshman Senator Eric Brakey (R-Auburn) is continuing the effort to mandate that new Maine citizens live in the state for at least six months before receiving welfare benefits. Brakey will present a bill, LD 1037, to the Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, which he says will prevent Maine from becoming a destination state for welfare recipients, and will help maintain adequate levels of welfare funding. The bill would require individuals to be residents of Maine for 180 days before being eligible to receive food stamps, TANF benefits, General Assistance funds, or Medicare benefits. “We do not want a…

This year, lawmakers in Augusta will once-again consider right-to-work legislation in the form of LD 489, a bill which would prohibit any person from being forced to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of their employment. As has been the case in previous years, the state-wide economic impact of adopting this type of law will likely take center stage and overshadow all other considerations and arguments. This does not necessarily hurt the case for right-to-work, as states with such a policy have been shown to have lower unemployment rates, increased development, higher population growth rates, and…

With voters last November resoundingly supporting fiscally conservative candidates who campaigned on reducing government spending, Democrats would be wise to recognize the message sent at ballot boxes across Maine: Cut government waste. At the very least, Democrats would be smart to remain open-minded to ideas and proposals that limit excessive and unnecessary spending. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be happening. Yesterday, Governor LePage and Senate President Mike Thibodeau (R-Winterport) hosted a press conference with likely Presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich, where they spoke about amending the U.S. constitution to require a balanced federal budget. A balanced budget amendment would…

According to Governor LePage’s administration, 9,000 fewer Mainers have been using SNAP benefits, commonly called food stamps, since last year when it began enforcing volunteer and work requirements. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson David Sorenson told the Associated Press that roughly 12,000 able-bodied and childless adults were in the program at the end of last year, but that figure has since dropped this month to 2,680. Before last year, Maine had waived the federal requirement that mandates that adults without disabilities or children work or volunteer at least 20 hours per week in order to receive food stamps. But…

On Thursday, Congress passed a resolution aimed at limiting so-called “ambush elections” for union representation, but the legislation is expected to be vetoed by President Obama with the fourth veto of his Presidency. The Congressional resolution, which was spear-headed by the GOP, would overturn a new union rule that greatly expedites the process for electing union representation. Currently, unions are forced to wait 25 days after filing a petition before they can hold a representation election. The new rule, which was enacted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last year and is set to take effect next month, would…

On Tuesday, U.S. House Republican leadership unveiled their conservative budget proposal that seeks to eliminate the federal deficit over the next ten years. The budget bill, constructed by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), reduces federal spending by $5.5 trillion over the next decade, and promises a surplus of funds by the year 2026. Republicans assert that this budget would not raise taxes on any Americans, but would balance the federal budget by trimming wasteful spending and reforming entitlement programs including Medicare and Medicaid. A program that has consistently required infusions of federal funds, Medicare would be transformed into a premium system…

On Thursday, hundreds of union supporters packed into the State House to stump for higher wages and voice their anger towards right-to-work proposals that could threaten unions. This comes as part of a broader effort by labor groups to increase their influence with the new legislature after losing much ground in this past November’s elections. The Democratic Party, a traditionally strong supporters of unions, lost control of the Senate after dropping four seats, and it also saw its majority in the House fall by eight seats. “Our message was not good the last election cycle,” said Patrick Carleton, Vice-President of…

On Tuesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton admitted it may have been a mistake to exclusively use a private email server during her time as of Secretary of State, but explained that her decision not use government email that is subject to oversight was one of “convenience.” Attempting to suppress the growing scandal around her use of private email, Clinton addressed a crowd of reports at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in her first full press conference in over two years. Clinton explained her choice not to use government email, which would have automatically preserved all of her correspondence, was…

On Thursday, the Portland Green Independent Committee announced that it will be pushing to double the minimum wage in Maine’s largest city from $7.50 per hour to $15.00 per hour. Citing a belief that increasing the minimum wage will spur economic growth, the Greens declared their intent to put the issue to a city-wide referendum. The group claims that this large increase would create a so-called ‘living wage,’ or the salary needed to maintain a normal standard of living in Maine without any government assistance. Maine’s minimum wage is already 25 cents higher than the federal minimum. However, a more modest minimum wage…

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Torrensen ruled that federal law prohibits Maine residents from buying prescription drugs from other countries. Her ruling invalidates a 2013 Maine law which had allowed residents to purchase international drugs via the internet, often at a sizable discount. Under the Maine law, residents were able to buy prescription drugs from pharmacies in four other countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. These countries, which have similar safety protections and regulations as the U.S., often charge less for drugs due to contracts with pharmaceutical companies. However, Torrenson declared that while U.S. resident…

Maine seems to have taken a side in the U.S. Supreme Court case regarding Obamacare subsidies – but it’s not the side you might expect. The case, King v. Burwell, will likely be decided this June, and represents perhaps the greatest opportunity (and the most useful bargaining chip) to dismantle or reform President Obama’s signature health care achievement. Although this case does not question the legality or constitutionality of Obamacare, it nonetheless could strike a serious blow to the program by eliminating subsidies for approximately six million Americans. The case is based on the fact that Obamacare never intended to…

Maine might just be the most lavish state in the U.S. – at least when it comes to General Assistance. As MHPC CEO Matthew Gagnon recently reported, one city in Maine, Portland, has been dramatically increasing the amount of General Assistance it doles out, and now accounts for nearly 60% of the expenses of this state-wide program. But the mismanagement of General Assistance extends much farther than just Portland. Intended to be a last resort for needy individuals and families, General Assistance is a catch-all type welfare program that provides vouchers for basic necessities such as food, rent, heat, electricity,…

The argument against expanding government run health care in America just got a lot stronger – thanks to the unlikeliest of sources. Last Wednesday, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin announced that he was abandoning his plan for a single-payer health care system for the state, finally admitting in an unexpected news conference that it is “not the right time.” As one most liberal states in the nation, Vermont has faced years of internal pressure to adopt government-run health care. Shumlin made single-payer health care a major feature of his recent re-election campaign, and until last week, seemed to be blazing a…

Nearly everyone knows that innovation, competition, and development are needed to bring Maine into the 21st century – but apparently not the city of Portland. In a move that was too easy to predict, Portland is now attempting to halt the rise of Uber, the San Francisco based startup ride sharing company, which has upended the taxi system in more than 200 cities throughout the United States. Uber and a rival company, Lyft, have caused a major disruption in the market by responding to consumers demands that were not being met by the heavy-handed, overregulated, bloated, government-centric system regulating taxis in most cities across the…

There is no denying that the low wages earned by Maine people are a major concern for state policy makers. Maine workers earn an average of just $26,464 per year, and over 35% of our population is classified as “low income.” Maine is even ranked a dismal 32nd in the country for median household income, highlighting the issue of poverty, and indicating to all of us that increasing wealth and opportunity broadly across the state is a major issue of need. But the solution to this problem is much less certain. When asked at the first gubernatorial debate in October…