When I first started serving in Augusta, in 2005, there was a long standing joke. Why are there no stone…
Browsing: News
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is trying to pass off her budget proposal, released last Friday, as a reasonable approach to…
Chief Robert MacKenzie runs a police department in Kennebunk, Maine, a town of just over 11,000 citizens. It is a…
Governor Mills is preparing to unveil her budget proposal for the next biennium and we’re about to learn if she…
Today’s world is in many ways at a crossroads, especially as technology and innovation continually reshape the economy, specifically models…
Citizens Initiatives should be reserved for Maine citizens.
Approximately 96 hours after this publication questioned the merits of a bill to require all Maine drivers to equip their…
It’s hard not to draw parallels between what’s going on in Augusta and what we’re seeing in other areas of…
As previously highlighted in this publication, there are a number of strange, ridiculous and funny-sounding bills being proposed in the…
They say elections have consequences, and in the case of the minimum wage law that passed by referendum in 2016,…
It was only a matter of time, right? In a piece that read more like political advocacy than real journalism,…
The tiny house movement is not a panacea for all our housing woes. But these homes do appeal to many millennials looking for financial stability and a simplified life. Arbitrary rules should not stand in their way.
The 2018 Code of Maine Rules is home to 113,862 restrictions and 8.1 million words. It would take an individual about 449 hours – or more than 11 weeks – to read the entire CMR, assuming the reader spends 40 hours per week reading at a rate of 300 words per minute.
Despite widespread opposition throughout the state among all levels of restaurant staff, big labor continues its attempt to strip Maine service workers of their ability to earn a living by eliminating the tip credit.
Vehicles are far safer and more reliable than they were nearly a century ago when Maine’s vehicle inspection program was first implemented.
Much has been made — for good reason — of the federal government’s fiscal imbalance. High and rising debt (fast…
In an article published Thursday on the Maine Beacon – the online opinion service of the Maine People’s Alliance –…
At the start every new legislature, Maine’s Office of the Revisor of Statutes publishes a list of preliminary working titles…
During the biennial budget battle in 2017 that led to Maine’s first government shutdown since 1991, lawmakers agreed to spend…
It is a “new day” in Augusta according to Janet Mills, who became the first woman to serve as the…
As we approach the winter holidays, we often look back and assess what we have accomplished and set goals for…
With Janet Mills poised to take control of the Blaine House in just a few weeks and strong Democratic majorities…
Caracas is burning. The socialist policies of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro have taken a once wealthy nation and reduced…
It was with great sadness that Ann and I learned about the passing of George H.W. Bush last week. He…
If you’ve followed Maine politics in the last two years, you know that contention surrounding the ballot initiative process has…
Over the next three years, the State is projected to collect more than $362 million than budgeted. Maine can–and should–return…
Last week I sent Governor-elect Janet Mills my administration’s recommended budget proposal. I called her attention to key measures I…
When struggling to make ends meet, conventional wisdom tells us we have few options: limit unnecessary expenditures, find ways to…
Jared Golden did not receive more than 50 percent of the vote after the ranked choice vote tabulation. To say…
While Maine voters were out rejecting a plan for “Universal Home Care” on Election Day last week, the left-wing activist…
I recently officiated my younger brother’s wedding. It was a Southern Maine outdoor venue, and everything went perfectly. The ceremony solemnized…
This year, Veterans Day marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which ended on the “eleventh…
This piece was first published in the Portland Press Herald. I am an associate professor at the University of Maine…
Maybe you’ve seen The Full Monty, or at least heard of it. It’s a bit dated in this age of…
After a yearlong campaign of misinformation waged by the supporters of Question 1, Maine voters on Tuesday rejected Maine’s most…
After the sounds of boisterous campaign rallies fade and the realities of the job sink in, Maine’s next governor will…
Liberals are justifying their mob actions by saying that violent confrontation and inciting to riot are constitutional under the First…
Question 1 plays on voters’ emotions to pass policies that will hurt the very people it’s supposed to help. There…
The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) recently released an analysis of interstate migration, attacking the idea that Maine’s exceptionally…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center on Tuesday, Oct. 23 released a new study on the impacts of Question 1, the…
Last month, the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) published a study on the minimum wage in Maine, arguing that its…
Over $400,000 of Soros money helped put the Universal Home Care initiative on Maine’s ballot in November. Question 1 proposes three new…
The standard objection to increasing the minimum wage is that it will result in more unemployment for low-skilled workers. But…
There are so many bad policies rolled into Question 1 on November’s ballot that it’s hard to know where to…
Legislative leaders caved to the Maine Municipal Association and watered down my bill. While the new law adds protections for…
Question 1 on the ballot this November will read as follows: “Do you want to create the Universal Home Care Program to…
The Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) is pushing a ballot initiative – Question 1 – that seeks to establish a 3.8…
A decade ago, the International Marine Terminal in Portland was nothing more than a derelict ferry dock in an overgrown,…
E.J. Dionne recently penned “The Grassroots Revolt Against Kavanaugh,” datelined Portland, Maine, September 13. This got my attention at once.…
Matt Gagnon did a superb job of “fisking” Edgar Allen Beem’s recent Forecaster column attacking MHPC’s report on Maine’s referendum…
Dear Honorable Members of the 128th Legislature: Under the authority vested in me by Article IV, Part Third, Section 2…
This commentary was originally published in the Bangor Daily News. The state economist recently issued a report on the likely impact that…
Proponents of the Universal Home Care tax plan were either caught by surprise or caught red-handed when the Maine State…
“Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign garnered considerable appeal from millennials. These young people see socialism as superior to free…
1,700 fewer Maine residents. 1,800 fewer workers in our labor force. 3,800 fewer jobs. A $500 million reduction in personal…
In case you haven’t heard, Question 1 on the November ballot will ask Maine voters if they want to implement Universal…
On Friday, Sept. 14, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai will make an appearance in Maine as the keynote…
Today the Maine Heritage Policy Center released its newest report, “The Will of the People?: How Maine’s ballot initiative process…
Three roommates called Earnest, Vic, and Patsy spent part of every day gathering returnable bottles and cans they found littered…
Here we are in August. It’s the dog days of summer, and the Legislature is supposed to come back to…
The latest in a long list of misrepresentations from the Maine People’s Alliance regarding the upcoming Universal Home Care initiative…
Last week I spoke to you about the reforms we are proposing for the child welfare system, including better staff…
Twenty-three million Americans–about 39 percent of the population–do not have access to broadband internet. As one can imagine, the brunt…
On Thursday, July 26, two public-sector unions in Maine and Minnesota granted a member’s demand to immediately cancel union membership…
The tragic deaths of two little girls under the watch of DHHS is spurring needed reforms to Maine’s child welfare…
It’s summer in Maine. We should be enjoying it. Instead, at the State House, “it’s deja vu all over again.”…
Ever since the Trump administration signaled its openness to work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients earlier this year, the onslaught…
Occupational licensing is supposed to protect the public from unqualified professionals whose goods and services may harm consumers, yet rarely…
Earlier this week, Maine House Republicans sustained Governor LePage’s veto of a bill to implement Medicaid expansion, preventing more than $31…
Since the upcoming Universal Home Care (UHC) initiative sponsored by the Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) achieved ballot status, the MPA,…
Over the last seven and a half years, the Legislature and I have had many disagreements over process, policy and…
Despite economists on both sides of the aisle agreeing that occupational licensing laws hurt workers and consumers by stifling economic…
The biggest flaw in most social assistance programs — including TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC — is that they undermine…
After accepting public comment for 30 days on the wording of the upcoming Universal Home Care ballot initiative, Secretary of…
Economists have long criticized politicians’ penchant for creating narrow legal carveouts and targeted tax exemptions to lure large corporations. Both…
A year ago, House Republicans shut down state government to make sure bad policies did not pass. Now they are…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is sitting down for detailed policy discussions with the gubernatorial candidates running to replace Governor…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is sitting down for detailed policy discussions with the gubernatorial candidates running to replace Governor…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is sitting down for detailed policy discussions with the gubernatorial candidates running to replace Governor…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is sitting down for detailed policy discussions with the gubernatorial candidates running to replace Governor…
Kimberly Fichthorn exemplifies what Maine is looking for. A 47-year-old transplant from Texas, Fichthorn has three young children and operates…
Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) chief executive officer Matthew Gagnon has sent a letter to Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is sitting down for detailed policy discussions with the gubernatorial candidates running to replace Governor…
In addition to the ill feelings I shared yesterday regarding the reprehensible partisan behavior exhibited by House leadership this session,…
Have you ever wondered what government officials do all day? I am going to do my best to answer that…
I have been talking about the need to reduce energy prices for nearly eight years. Maine is a manufacturing state,…
Advocates of ranked-choice voting (RCV) commonly claim that their preferred method of deciding elections boosts civic engagement, channels the true…
Despite its relatively minimal impact on Maine workers, the labor issue presently garnering the most attention in Maine politics is…
On Thursday, May 10 in Westbrook, a very unusual thing happened. Thirty students of diverse backgrounds and political perspectives from…
Last month, the Maine Center for Economic Policy posted an article on its website chastising Governor LePage and other Republican…
The Maine people elect legislators to represent them in Augusta. They expect these elected officials to enact good public policy…
Maine’s progressives have been selling the benefits of the minimum wage increase using faulty analysis. Don’t buy the hype. Our…
On Tuesday, April 24, the Portland City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee convened to take public comment on a…
Earlier this year, the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a left-wing think tank, published an article written by its budget…
Americans paid their 2017 federal and state income taxes this week. Filing taxes isn’t a pleasant or easy task, but…
The clock struck midnight, but what did that mean? The second regular session of the Maine Legislature is supposed to…
It’s easy to oppose the recent Republican tax cuts when the mainstream media tells you to do so. Millions of dollars were…
Ever since Cain slew Abel with a rock, human society has struggled with an age-old question: how do we prevent…
Maine still has a chance to fix its broken ballot initiative process this legislative session. In a surprise move, Maine’s…
This article was originally published in The Ellsworth American. The Maine Legislature is expected to adjourn in a few short…