This piece was first published in the Portland Press Herald. I am an associate professor at the University of Maine…
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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…
As we wrap up this legislative session, I am making our elderly a top priority. Unfortunately, they are not a…
This article was originally published in the Bangor Daily News Many tax filers use online programs such as TurboTax to…
If you were pushing one of the largest tax hikes in history on Maine citizens, would you want them to know about…
Yesterday, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced that “ranked-choice voting can’t occur in June without legislative action.” This was…
As Governor, it’s my responsibility to make the tough decisions. The upcoming closure of the Downeast Correctional Facility in Washington…
I have been working hard to protect our elderly Mainers and to help them stay in their homes. But Democrats…
The federal tax cuts will provide about $1 billion in tax relief this year and next to Maine families and…
One of my most important duties is to appoint judges to Maine’s district, superior and supreme judicial courts. The Maine…
The Editorial team at the Bangor Daily News (BDN) held onto my recently published Op-Ed just long enough to put…
We need to make sure that employees in Maine do not see the same cut in pay that’s happening to…
The sharing economy, including platforms like Lyft, Uber and Airbnb, present new and unique economic opportunities to the many Mainers…
Milton Friedman, the Nobel-prize winning economist, once said, “It is just obvious you can’t have open borders and a welfare…
It’s been 100 days since voters passed the referendum to expand Medicaid. So far, the legislature has done nothing to…
Advocates claim that by raising the minimum wage, hard-working Mainers working in these positions will be better off, as they…
We need to treat our elderly with respect and let them keep their dignity. And we must let them keep…
This article was originally published in the Sun Journal. Nearly two years ago I decided to run for office with…
Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services recently held public hearing for a flurry of child care bills…
One of the few bills making it through Legislative Council this session that actually rises to the emergency threshold outlined…
When I came into office in 2011, the state workforce had been subject to pay freezes and furlough days, reducing…
Maine employers have been struggling to meet the demands of Question 4 since its passage. The initial swell in 2017…
Obesity is a problem in our nation, and it’s a problem in Maine. But the USDA refuses to prohibit the…
Occupational licensing is intended to safeguard the public from unqualified, incompetent charlatans whose low-quality goods and services put the health…
On Thursday, Jan. 11 the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology met for a public hearing on yet…
In 2016, Maine voters approved Question 4, a measure that incrementally increases Maine’s minimum wage to $12 an hour by…
As American citizens, one of our most precious rights and solemn duties is to vote. The active participation of our…
Legislation in the second session of each Maine Legislature is reserved for the Governor’s bills, budgetary matters and emergency legislation…
Every American citizen should have the right to earn a living and the freedom to pursue the profession of his…
As we look forward to the new year, one of the big challenges facing our state is growing our workforce…
I just received a notice to apply for a license (new city ordinance they slipped through during the summer) to…
At this time of year, we gather with loved ones to celebrate Christmas, count our blessings, remember the past year…
Perhaps the most inaccurate narrative being pushed by lobbyists and special-interest groups in Augusta is that the Maine Legislature is…
I have laid out four basic principles to guide the Legislature’s decision on how to pay for Medicaid expansion. We…