Liam Sigaud

Liam Sigaud is a former policy analyst at The Maine Heritage Policy Center. 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.

Commentary

Maine lawmakers are moving in the wrong direction on vaping

Following a national trend, Maine lawmakers decided in June to raise taxes on...
Labor

MECEP praise for labor unions misses the mark

This week, in honor of Labor Day, the Maine Center for Economic Policy’s...
National

Congress should preserve public quality standards for biologic drugs

A powerful committee in the U.S. Senate is considering legislation that could have...
Labor

The minimum wage myth that persists

Advocates of a higher minimum wage rarely appeal to scholarly research to bolster...
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...
Labor

Right-to-Work would bolster Maine’s manufacturing sector

The decline of Maine’s manufacturing sector, whose workforce has shrunk by nearly half...
Commentary

Debunking income mobility myths

It is tempting to think of America’s economic classes as stable and sedentary....
Commentary

The affordable housing paradox

Governments spend a good deal of time and money attempting to solve problems...
Commentary

The ‘Two Maines’ by the numbers

Turn on the local news or pick up a Maine newspaper and it...
Taxes

The inconvenient truth about Maine’s tax code

Every two years, the Maine Office of Tax Policy releases a lengthy report...
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...
Taxes

Maine’s estate tax should be repealed, not expanded

The effort to expand Maine’s estate tax, more aptly known as the “death...
Education

Don’t cap Maine’s charter schools

As we approach the ten-year anniversary of Maine’s historic public charter school system,...
Inside Augusta

How Augusta overcharges you for milk

To advocates of a limited public sector, there’s a lot to dislike about...
Commentary

Should Maine and other states end state-run lotteries?

To an obdurate defender of economic theory’s central simplifying assumption — that people...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
In Depth

A better measure of poverty? Lawmakers say ‘No thanks’

Have you ever wondered where the poverty figures you read in the paper...
Taxes

Governor Mills’ budget should include meaningful tax reforms

Governor Mills is preparing to unveil her budget proposal for the next biennium...
Daily Catch

Maine towns should be more welcoming of tiny houses

The tiny house movement is not a panacea for all our housing woes....
Fiscal

State and local governments are spending too much money

Much has been made — for good reason — of the federal government’s...
Healthcare

Medicaid expansion is here. Now what?

For the second time in 17 years, Maine has expanded Medicaid. Governor Mills...
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...
Daily Catch

Work requirements dramatically boost earnings of Medicaid recipients

With Janet Mills poised to take control of the Blaine House in just...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Daily Catch

Don’t expect higher minimum wages to reduce poverty

The standard objection to increasing the minimum wage is that it will result...
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...
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...
Daily Catch

Work requirements are necessary to discourage Medicaid abuse

Ever since the Trump administration signaled its openness to work requirements for able-bodied...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
Commentary

Time to Do Away With Inspection Stickers

Tired of being forced to have your car inspected every year? Do you...
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...
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...
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...
Commentary

LePage Is Right—Maine Has Too Many State Employees

Last week, a memo was leaked to the press outlining the LePage administration’s...
Commentary

Question 4: Eliminating the Tip Credit Is Bad for Business

In the last few months, The Maine Wire has drawn attention to the...
Commentary

Regulations Drive Up Cost of Child Care in Maine

For many families with young children, especially single-parent households, child care is critical...
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...
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...
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...
Commentary

Medicaid Expansion Bill Before HHS Committee Today

Following the scheduled public hearings and work sessions today, the Health and Human...
Commentary

Madison Mill to Close, Laying Off 214 Workers

On Monday, Madison Paper Industries announced its decision to close, laying off 214...
Commentary

Solutions That Work for Maine

For several years in a row, Maine’s business climate has ranked among the...
Commentary

Don’t Increase the Minimum Wage

Proponents of a higher minimum wage, led by the Maine People’s Alliance, have...
Commentary

Occupational Licensing Needs Reform

Among the many deeply flawed and harmful regulations and rules passed by Maine...
Commentary

Repairing the Government-Business Relationship

Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with dozens of business owners about...
In Depth

To Help Businesses Thrive, Eliminate Red Tape

Recently, as President Obama approached his final year in office, his administration announced...
Commentary

The Cost of Federal Regulations on Maine Businesses

According to the Small Business Administration, the annual cost of federal regulations on...
Commentary

Sigaud: Healthcare Prices not Reflective of Quality of Care

If you’re like most people, you know very little about the costs of...
Commentary

Sigaud: Once Again, Lawmakers Push for Medicaid Expansion

State lawmakers are renewing their efforts to expand Medicaid, despite Governor LePage’s continued...
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...
News

Maine Still Struggling to Improve Business Tax Climate

For several years Maine has ranked among the worst states to conduct business,...
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...
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...
Inside Augusta

Maine Government Gets an F for Transparency

Maine earned an F in a recent review of states’ transparency and accountability...
Election Center

Chin and Macdonald Will Runoff in Lewiston Mayoral Race

The Lewiston mayoral race that some have called a proxy war between the...
Inside Augusta

Pro-Marijuana Groups Join Forces to Push Ballot Initiative

On Monday, two pro-marijuana groups in Maine – the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana...
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...
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...
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...
Inside Augusta

Report Confirms LePage Administration Threatened Good Will-Hinckley

On Tuesday, the nonpartisan Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) released...
Commentary

Sigaud: Is Trump Part of Hillary’s Strategy?

There are two common interpretations of Donald Trump’s campaign for President. The first views...
Commentary

Sigaud: An Objective Look at Constitutional Carry

One of the bright spots for Republicans this legislative session was the passage...
News

Maine Supreme Court Will Expedite LePage Veto Dispute

On Monday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court announced that it will expedite the...
Commentary

The Trouble With Political Polls

It’s no secret that politicians often rely on polls to craft their message,...
News

Bernie Sanders Draws 8,000 to Portland Rally

On Monday, at a campaign rally in Portland that drew an estimated 8,000...
National

Obama to Mandate More Overtime Benefits

Last week, the Obama Administration announced a proposal that would make nearly 5 million...

Liam Sigaud

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