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…
Policymakers are always asking: ‘What can we do to attract young, talented people to our state?’ In Maine – which…
Socialism appeals to many millennials under 30 because of Socialism’s two built-in fallacies: ignorance of human nature and ignorance of…
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…
Medicaid expansion is the law, and I am committed to implement it. But I am forced to veto LD 837.…
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…
Medicaid-expansion advocates plan to bring busloads of able-bodied adults to DHHS offices on July 2 to enroll in MaineCare. But the Legislature…
Government meddling in competitive industry invariably hurts all citizens, and higher education is no exception. America has the highest tuition…
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…
The founders recognized that it is in man’s nature to become seduced by the siren songs of power and privilege.…
In 2010, The Maine Heritage Policy Center shared an article titled, “School Choice working for Alna, therefore must be stopped.”…
Kimberly Fichthorn exemplifies what Maine is looking for. A 47-year-old transplant from Texas, Fichthorn has three young children and operates…
Each June, Maine voters go to the polls to elect local officials and vote on school budgets. The addition of…
Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) chief executive officer Matthew Gagnon has sent a letter to Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap…
The days are winding down until the June 12th primary elections take place, and negativity has intensified among the candidates.…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is sitting down for detailed policy discussions with the gubernatorial candidates running to replace Governor…
When it comes to the student loan debt crisis, government-oriented reforms are not the solution; they are the problem. One…
As World War Two neared its end in June of 1945, General George Patton stated, “It is foolish and wrong…
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…
Something beautiful happened this week – something that should scare every elected official who thinks their opinions supersede those of…
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…
After years of its status as a beacon of opportunity for young people, the city of Seattle is experiencing troublesome…
This article first appeared in the Portland Press Herald. “Nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as he spends his…
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…
“A plan to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken All…
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…
As the legislative session enters its last weeks, Democrats are sitting on their hands, hoping voters won’t notice they have…
In December 2012, after the The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre on December 14, Stephen Hunter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former film…
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…
On Monday, April 9, at 1:30 p.m., Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs will hold public hearing…
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…
Education in Maine is captive to progressive administrative and structural stagnation. Our educational system has become the dream of progressive theorists…
Political spats in Maine are threatening free press rights, and a bad law is at the source of it all.…
I have been working hard to protect our elderly Mainers and to help them stay in their homes. But Democrats…
This article was originally published in the Portland Press Herald The First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech is under…
James D. Herbert’s Feb. 11 column in the Portland Press Herald, “Are We Just Another Echo Chamber?” drew less attention than one…
The federal tax cuts will provide about $1 billion in tax relief this year and next to Maine families and…
A lot of ink has been spilled detailing the catastrophic consequences of crafting tax policy through public referendum, as left-wing…
The nationwide school walkout scheduled for Wednesday, March 14 at 10 a.m. is not a meaningful civics lesson or a…
Here we go again. There’s another referendum on the ballot this fall that sounds too good to be true. Trust…
The anti-gun crowd cannot absorb the absolute truth that deranged people and plain old criminals don’t pay any attention to…
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…
Maine’s experimental education model, proficiency-based learning, has received strong pushback in recent weeks from various communities around the state as…
The level of hate and vitriol that is leveled at conservative government officials, students, educators, entertainers, media and business persons…
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…
When conservatives in Augusta pushed to implement the law enabling charter schools in Maine in 2011, their goal was to…
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…
This article first appeared on InsideSources.com As the Golden Globes Awards made a long overdue attempt to atone for a…
Did you know that you are currently in debt for over $1 million? As an individual American taxpayer, $1 million…
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…
Too many Maine families are facing skyrocketing property taxes that strain household budgets. Our elderly on fixed incomes are particularly…
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…
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls…
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…
The tax reform bill working its way through Washington is good for Maine families and small business. Here’s why: First, both versions…