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…
This piece first appeared in the Portland Press Herald. During her recent inaugural address, Gov. Mills warned Maine residents that a recession…
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.
In 2009, I graduated from high school and left for college. I planned to spend four years away and return…
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…
Among the many harebrained schemes that will be considered in the Maine Legislature this year is one to establish universal…
For the second time in 17 years, Maine has expanded Medicaid. Governor Mills has directed DHHS to take swift action…
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…
It is no secret that the Mills administration and legislative Democrats are planning to launch a big push for a…
Maine’s town tuitioning program, first adopted in 1873, is the second oldest school choice program in the country. The program allows students…
When I took office, MaineCare was running biennial budget deficits of more than $200 million, and our state owed 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…
A federal judge’s ruling that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) — Medicaid expansion, subsidies through the exchanges, Medicare reforms,…
“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare…the education of children…would be thrown under the power of Congress…it…
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…
Reaching into the farthest recesses of my political recollections, I recall how I was taught that property rights, among others,…
Last week I sent Governor-elect Janet Mills my administration’s recommended budget proposal. I called her attention to key measures I…
One political point that most people agree on these days is that political discourse has become increasingly coarse and hyperbolic.…
“Next to enjoying ourselves, the next greatest pleasure consists in preventing others from enjoying themselves…love of power does far more…
I was born in Maine in 1990, making me 28 years old. I was raised in Maine, went to high…
It’s no secret that Maine’s public K-12 education system needs work. Bloated bureaucracies keep money from flowing to the classroom.…
When struggling to make ends meet, conventional wisdom tells us we have few options: limit unnecessary expenditures, find ways to…
Last week, the Maine voters cast their ballot to elect Janet Mills as their next Governor, and the first female…
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…
More and more we are seeing direct democracy take hold in our elected representative republic. We do not see this…
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…
Question 1 promises a false sense of security that is destined to fail Maine’s elderly, disabled and those who care…
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…
First, as a constituent of Sen. Susan Collins, I would like to thank her for her speech and her vote…
My previous column promised an examination of the competence displayed in resolving the Kavanaugh question. I can begin this examination…
There are so many bad policies rolled into Question 1 on November’s ballot that it’s hard to know where to…
It’s the political season and a lot of misinformation is flying around. I want to make sure you have the…
Watching the Senate hearing on Ford vs Kavanaugh last week was sickening. It shows that there are no limits to how…
The editorial board of the New York Times, an authoritative source for Left-Lurcher thinking, explained what’s at stake on July…
Over the last decade, Mainers have withstood an onslaught of attacks on our constitutional rights, especially those protected by the…
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” It’s said that War and Peace was not about…
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.…
In this tight labor market, we must use every tool at our disposal to encourage laid-off workers to search for…
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…
On Sept. 17, 1787 the Constitutional Convention completed its final draft. In September 2018, Americans have had multiple opportunities to…
My administration passed a bill to lower health care costs in 2011, but Obamacare halted it in its tracks. The…
Many would agree that consistent access to the internet is an important part of life in 2018. It is crucial…
The Maine Immunization Program (MIP) is publicly funded and provides necessary vaccines to all Maine children under the age of…
Oh, Edgar. There’s something almost comical about reading a piece of writing that is so bad, so riddled with errors,…
I remember instances in high school or junior high when something bad happened to a notoriously bad actor. In one…
The Maine Department of Labor recently released its projections for job growth for the next several years. The media has…
“Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign garnered considerable appeal from millennials. These young people see socialism as superior to free…
The more I try to parent teenagers, the more I recognize similar patterns in the political machinations of Washington, D.C.…
1,700 fewer Maine residents. 1,800 fewer workers in our labor force. 3,800 fewer jobs. A $500 million reduction in personal…
Recently, the Housing Committee of Portland’s City Council met to discuss the possibility of tightening the regulations surrounding rental agreements…
Oh, Alexandria. Ever since she won a stunning upset victory over her democrat primary rival, incumbent New York Representative Joe…
People don’t value the things they get for free. Giving legal residents who are not yet citizens the right to…
In case you haven’t heard, Question 1 on the November ballot will ask Maine voters if they want to implement Universal…
When Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap was accepting public comment on the ballot language for the upcoming “Universal Home…
On Friday, Sept. 14, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai will make an appearance in Maine as the keynote…
Ballot Question 1 is another benign-sounding, feel-good referendum. In reality, it’s one more in a long line of over-simplified referendums…
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…
I have a hunch. This late summer or fall, after Labor Day but before Election Day, progressives in Maine will…
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…
This year’s voting will be more exciting than usual in Maine. The Democrats are eager to regain control of the…