Liam Sigaud

Liam Sigaud is a former policy analyst at Maine Policy Institute. A native of Rockland, Maine, he holds a B.A. in Biology from the University of Maine at Augusta and has studied policy analysis and economics at the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. He can be reached by email at liam.sigaud@maine.edu.
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Commentary
Maine lawmakers are moving in the wrong direction on vaping
Following a national trend, Maine lawmakers decided in June to raise taxes on...
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Labor
MECEP praise for labor unions misses the mark
This week, in honor of Labor Day, the Maine Center for Economic Policy’s...
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National
Congress should preserve public quality standards for biologic drugs
A powerful committee in the U.S. Senate is considering legislation that could have...
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Labor
The minimum wage myth that persists
Advocates of a higher minimum wage rarely appeal to scholarly research to bolster...
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Taxes
Is it time to rethink how we fund our roads?
I’ve lived in Maine all my life, and I can’t remember a time...
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Labor
Right-to-Work would bolster Maine’s manufacturing sector
The decline of Maine’s manufacturing sector, whose workforce has shrunk by nearly half...
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Commentary
Debunking income mobility myths
It is tempting to think of America’s economic classes as stable and sedentary....
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Commentary
The affordable housing paradox
Governments spend a good deal of time and money attempting to solve problems...
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Commentary
The ‘Two Maines’ by the numbers
Turn on the local news or pick up a Maine newspaper and it...
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Taxes
The inconvenient truth about Maine’s tax code
Every two years, the Maine Office of Tax Policy releases a lengthy report...
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Minimum Wage
CBO report shows $15 federal minimum wage would hurt US economy
A $15 federal minimum wage would wipe out 1.3 million low-income jobs and...
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Taxes
Maine’s estate tax should be repealed, not expanded
The effort to expand Maine’s estate tax, more aptly known as the “death...
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Education
Don’t cap Maine’s charter schools
As we approach the ten-year anniversary of Maine’s historic public charter school system,...
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Inside Augusta
How Augusta overcharges you for milk
To advocates of a limited public sector, there’s a lot to dislike about...
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Commentary
Should Maine and other states end state-run lotteries?
To an obdurate defender of economic theory’s central simplifying assumption — that people...
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Healthcare
Single-payer health care: rationed services, worse outcomes and exorbitant tax increases for all Mainers
For years in the Maine Legislature lawmakers have grappled with countless ideas to...
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Child Care
Government intervention in child care continues to hamper its affordability
Expanding access to affordable child care is of pressing concern to many Maine...
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Labor
‘Fair Workweek’ bill is anything but fair to workers who will suffer from its enactment
Lawmakers on Maine’s Labor and Housing Committee today will hold a public hearing...
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Minimum Wage
Maine’s higher minimum wage is doing tangible harm to young workers
Lawmakers in Augusta have proposed a spate of bills this session in an...
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Education
Maine needs more young people to skip four-year degrees and work in the trades
High school guidance counselors, parents and popular culture have spent decades telling young...
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In Depth
A better measure of poverty? Lawmakers say ‘No thanks’
Have you ever wondered where the poverty figures you read in the paper...
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Taxes
Governor Mills’ budget should include meaningful tax reforms
Governor Mills is preparing to unveil her budget proposal for the next biennium...
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Daily Catch
Maine towns should be more welcoming of tiny houses
The tiny house movement is not a panacea for all our housing woes....
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Fiscal
State and local governments are spending too much money
Much has been made — for good reason — of the federal government’s...
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Healthcare
Medicaid expansion is here. Now what?
For the second time in 17 years, Maine has expanded Medicaid. Governor Mills...
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Education
The costs of universal pre-K are not worth the benefits
It is no secret that the Mills administration and legislative Democrats are planning...
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Daily Catch
Work requirements dramatically boost earnings of Medicaid recipients
With Janet Mills poised to take control of the Blaine House in just...
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Healthcare
Could Maine’s PL 90 become the blueprint for new federal health care reform?
A federal judge’s ruling that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) — Medicaid...
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Citizens' Initiative
‘The Will of the People’ and the home care hypocrisy
If you’ve followed Maine politics in the last two years, you know that...
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Education
Education in Maine is worse than you think
It’s no secret that Maine’s public K-12 education system needs work. Bloated bureaucracies...
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Daily Catch
Whoever wins, Maine’s next governor needs to address these challenges
After the sounds of boisterous campaign rallies fade and the realities of the...
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Daily Catch
Progressives try to debunk tax flight by ignoring the data
The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) recently released an analysis of interstate...
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Minimum Wage
Reductions in child poverty not a result of minimum wage increases
Last month, the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) published a study on the...
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Daily Catch
Don’t expect higher minimum wages to reduce poverty
The standard objection to increasing the minimum wage is that it will result...
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Citizens' Initiative
Question 1 would devastate Maine’s economy
1,700 fewer Maine residents. 1,800 fewer workers in our labor force. 3,800 fewer...
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Citizens' Initiative
MPA continues to mislead the public on Universal Home Care
The latest in a long list of misrepresentations from the Maine People’s Alliance...
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Daily Catch
Work requirements are necessary to discourage Medicaid abuse
Ever since the Trump administration signaled its openness to work requirements for able-bodied...
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Medicaid Expansion
LePage and House Republicans spare Mainers big tax hike
Earlier this week, Maine House Republicans sustained Governor LePage’s veto of a bill to...
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Welfare
The earned income tax credit is Maine’s best anti-poverty program; let’s expand it
The biggest flaw in most social assistance programs — including TANF, SNAP, Medicaid,...
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Daily Catch
Corporate welfare cost Maine taxpayers $42.5 million in 2017
Economists have long criticized politicians’ penchant for creating narrow legal carveouts and targeted...
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Election Center
Thanks to ranked-choice voting, expect a spike in spoiled ballots
Advocates of ranked-choice voting (RCV) commonly claim that their preferred method of deciding...
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Welfare
Work requirements work, but don’t ask MECEP for a fair analysis
Last month, the Maine Center for Economic Policy posted an article on its...
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Labor
MECEP’s shoddy defense of the minimum wage ignores basic research methods
Earlier this year, the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a left-wing think tank,...
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Commentary
Critique of Maine’s Health Reform Law Misses the Mark
As Maine’s successful reforms to its health insurance market in 2011 continue to...
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Commentary
Time to Do Away With Inspection Stickers
Tired of being forced to have your car inspected every year? Do you...
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Citizens' Initiative
Effort to Expand Medicaid at the Ballot Box is Bad for Maine
They’re at it again. Having repeatedly failed to achieve Medicaid expansion through the...
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Commentary
Tax Flight is Real; Question 2 Would Make It Worse
Many liberal groups, including the Maine People’s Alliance, the Maine Center for Economic...
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Commentary
According to New Study, Education Equality Would Be Worse Under Question 2
This week, the Maine School Management Association (MSMA) – a nonprofit comprised of...
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Commentary
LePage Is Right—Maine Has Too Many State Employees
Last week, a memo was leaked to the press outlining the LePage administration’s...
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Commentary
Question 4: Eliminating the Tip Credit Is Bad for Business
In the last few months, The Maine Wire has drawn attention to the...
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Commentary
Regulations Drive Up Cost of Child Care in Maine
For many families with young children, especially single-parent households, child care is critical...
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Commentary
It Takes 1,500 Hours to Become a Barber in Maine
Your barber has to get government permission to cut hair, or risk jail...
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Commentary
Minimum Wage Advocates More Concerned with Soundbites than Responsible Public Policy
As The Maine Wire has repeatedly shown here, here and here, proponents of a...
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Commentary
Mainers Are One Step Closer to Affordable Health Care
Today, the state Senate voted on a party-line vote of 20-15 to pass...
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Commentary
Medicaid Expansion Bill Before HHS Committee Today
Following the scheduled public hearings and work sessions today, the Health and Human...
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Commentary
Madison Mill to Close, Laying Off 214 Workers
On Monday, Madison Paper Industries announced its decision to close, laying off 214...
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Commentary
Solutions That Work for Maine
For several years in a row, Maine’s business climate has ranked among the...
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Commentary
Don’t Increase the Minimum Wage
Proponents of a higher minimum wage, led by the Maine People’s Alliance, have...
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Commentary
Occupational Licensing Needs Reform
Among the many deeply flawed and harmful regulations and rules passed by Maine...
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Commentary
Repairing the Government-Business Relationship
Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with dozens of business owners about...
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In Depth
To Help Businesses Thrive, Eliminate Red Tape
Recently, as President Obama approached his final year in office, his administration announced...
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Commentary
The Cost of Federal Regulations on Maine Businesses
According to the Small Business Administration, the annual cost of federal regulations on...
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Commentary
Sigaud: Healthcare Prices not Reflective of Quality of Care
If you’re like most people, you know very little about the costs of...
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Commentary
Sigaud: Once Again, Lawmakers Push for Medicaid Expansion
State lawmakers are renewing their efforts to expand Medicaid, despite Governor LePage’s continued...
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Inside Augusta
Maine DHHS Could Lose Funding For Its Poor Administration of Food Stamps
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services may face substantial financial penalties...
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News
Maine Still Struggling to Improve Business Tax Climate
For several years Maine has ranked among the worst states to conduct business,...
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Inside Augusta
LePage Criticizes President Obama’s Decision to Accept Syrian Refugees
In a radio address on Monday, Governor LePage criticized the Obama administration’s decision...
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Commentary
Sigaud: What People Get Wrong About Raising The Minimum Wage
An effort to raise the minimum wage in Portland to $15/hour was defeated...
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Inside Augusta
Maine Government Gets an F for Transparency
Maine earned an F in a recent review of states’ transparency and accountability...
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Election Center
Chin and Macdonald Will Runoff in Lewiston Mayoral Race
The Lewiston mayoral race that some have called a proxy war between the...
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Inside Augusta
Pro-Marijuana Groups Join Forces to Push Ballot Initiative
On Monday, two pro-marijuana groups in Maine – the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana...
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Inside Augusta
Bill Would Restore Oversight of Secretive Law Enforcement Agency
If you’ve never heard of the Maine Information and Analysis Center (MIAC), you’re...
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Inside Augusta
Governor LePage Calls On Sen. Katz To Step Down From Government Oversight Committee
On Tuesday, Governor LePage requested that State Senator Roger Katz (R-Augusta) step down...
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Inside Augusta
Maine DHHS Institutes Asset Test for Food Stamps
An estimated 8,600 food stamp recipients in Maine whose assets exceed $5,000 may...
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Inside Augusta
Report Confirms LePage Administration Threatened Good Will-Hinckley
On Tuesday, the nonpartisan Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) released...
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Commentary
Sigaud: Is Trump Part of Hillary’s Strategy?
There are two common interpretations of Donald Trump’s campaign for President. The first views...
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Commentary
Sigaud: An Objective Look at Constitutional Carry
One of the bright spots for Republicans this legislative session was the passage...
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News
Maine Supreme Court Will Expedite LePage Veto Dispute
On Monday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court announced that it will expedite the...
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Commentary
The Trouble With Political Polls
It’s no secret that politicians often rely on polls to craft their message,...
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News
Bernie Sanders Draws 8,000 to Portland Rally
On Monday, at a campaign rally in Portland that drew an estimated 8,000...
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National
Obama to Mandate More Overtime Benefits
Last week, the Obama Administration announced a proposal that would make nearly 5 million...