All posts tagged "Opinion"
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Bangor area residents launch ballot initiative to reform governor’s emergency powers
A new citizens initiative was approved for circulation in Maine on January 25,...
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COVID aid bill would pay federal employees $1400 a week if kids are out of school
With thousands of schools still closed or partially closed across the country, millions...
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After trying to oust Maine Capitol Police chief, Senate Democrats defend free speech on social media
More than 70 elected Maine Democrats, including 13 of 21 Democratic senators, signed...
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Watch Secretary of State Bellows’ uncomfortable exchange with Congressman Steil on HR 1
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows testified before Congress on Thursday in support...
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After a difficult 2020, some lawmakers want to raise taxes on struggling Mainers
The last year has been challenging for most people in the country and...
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Certificate of Need hurts health outcomes in rural Maine
In Maine, medical providers like hospitals, out-patient facilities and nursing homes must obtain...
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Time to pull back on emergency powers for governors
Last Friday, Democratic state senator John Mannion of New York called for an end to...
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The high cost of trying to use the minimum wage as welfare
In recent years, a number of economic studies have concluded that small to...
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Which New England state will be first to enact Right to Work?
New Hampshire has a lot going for it compared to the rest of...
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Teachers unions continue to block school reopenings across America
As district school closures enter their 11th month, many parents are frustrated and...
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How would banning flavored tobacco products impact Maine’s budget?
This week, the anti-tobacco organization “Flavors Hook Kids” held an online news conference...
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Baker’s climate official resigns after controversial statements: ‘Turn the screws’ on ‘seniors on fixed income’
David Ismay, the Undersecretary for Climate Change within Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s Executive...
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Mills unveils new compromise on PPP issue, tax conformity
Maine Governor Janet Mills issued a press release Tuesday outlining a proposed path...
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Effort to expand ranked-choice in Maine voting receives hearing this week
Advocates of ranked-choice voting again seek to expand the use of the voting...
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Fake concept drafts don’t belong in a virtual legislative session
Much of the Maine Legislature’s regular business looks different this year. The Clerk...
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School choice in Maine amid the pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic and our collective response to it has changed (for better...
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Gas taxes may soon increase. Here’s why that’s bad news for the poor and middle class
I sold my car when I went to New York City in 2019,...
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How to reform emergency executive power, in Maine and the nation
At the peak of state-ordered lockdowns in response to COVID-19, 316 million Americans across 42...
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New research debunks claim that a $15 minimum wage would not reduce employment
President Joe Biden is pushing a federal $15 minimum wage in his sweeping...
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After closing Maine businesses, Mills wants them to pay state taxes on their PPP loans
Governor Janet Mills wants to balance her bloated budget on the backs of...
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Maine’s food stamp error blues
As I dig deeper into the recent supplemental and biennial budget proposals from...
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Threats of violence and thoughtcrimes: Selective speech standards at the State House
Maine’s Capitol Police Chief Russ Gauvin is on trial in the court of...
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Pandemic security theater
After the start of the Covid pandemic, my local Harris Teeter grocery store...
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3 glaring problems with Joe Biden’s new multi-trillion COVID package
On Thursday night, Joe Biden rolled out a sweeping proposal for $1.9 trillion...
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After a tough year for restaurants, Biden wants to eliminate the tip credit
It’s no secret that restaurants have been particularly impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and...
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Governor Mills’ budget sleight of hand
Maine Governor Janet Mills released the details of her second proposed biennial budget last Friday...
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Why most fell for the lockdowns, while a few stood for liberty
2020 will be remembered for many things: COVID-19, nationwide riots, a divisive election....
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First bills of the 130th Legislature released for public consumption
Last week our team offered a preview of the First Session of the...
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Understanding the economic cost of 2020 pandemic policy
The economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, exacerbated by the response...
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Lawmakers submit more than a dozen bill requests to reform emergency executive power
After nearly a year with one person unilaterally dictating public policy in Maine,...
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Government by referendum is almost always a bad idea
The controversy over a hazardous-duty supplement to the minimum wage required by the...
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Is Anthony Fauci right that federalism undermined the U.S. response to COVID-19?
Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert who has played a leading role in...
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Gov. Mills keeps Maine out of regional gas tax scheme, at least for now
Last week, the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) released its final Memorandum of Understanding...
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WHO deletes naturally acquired immunity from its website
Maybe you have some sense that something fishy is going on? Same. If...
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Maine’s climate action plan heavy on spending, light on specifics
Earlier this month, the Maine Climate Council released its four-year plan titled, “Maine...
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Americans are in full revolt against pandemic lockdowns
Echoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio...
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Covid and the rise of cage keeper democracy
The Covid pandemic this year has profoundly transformed the relationship of government to...
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Pandemic reveals parents want more choice in their child’s education
The pandemic has revealed something many of us have believed for a long...
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Some lawmakers propose reining in Mills’ emergency power, assuming control of virus response
Some members of the Maine Legislature are speaking out against Gov. Janet Mills’...
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Maine not out of the woods despite rosier revenue projections
Though Maine’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly taken a toll on...
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Brunswick father says social isolation drove his son to kill himself
Maine is mourning the loss of Spencer Smith, a 16-year-old sophomore at Brunswick...
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New studies on COVID-19 testing underscore need for greater transparency in Maine
Maine Policy Institute has previously noted the potential pitfalls of relying on a single health...
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Maine’s transportation infrastructure needs work
The Reason Foundation’s 25th Annual Highway Report highlights something Mainers of all political...
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Carbon tax backers didn’t fare well in election
One of the overlooked stories on Election Day was the defeat of pro-carbon tax...
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Coronavirus curfews are trending again, despite total lack of evidence they help
Coronaviruses don’t get more deadly or dangerous after dark. Yet across the country, leaders...
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What to be thankful for in this dreadful year of 2020
If you like individual liberty, economic freedom and self-determination, 2020 probably wasn’t the...
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Iconic Maine businesses couldn’t survive the pandemic shutdown and restrictions
A number of iconic Maine businesses have closed this year due to the...
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Portland’s delay on minimum wage ordinance provides no legal cover to local businesses
Portland residents approved on November 3 an ordinance that increases the city’s minimum...
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PCR tests and the prickly partnership between science and state
As COVID-19 case counts rise across the United States and Europe, it is...
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Portland businesses worried about city’s new minimum wage ordinance
Portland voters approved Question A on their local ballots last week, an initiative...
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Governor Mills’ coronavirus narrative is crumbling
Governor Janet Mills’ latest batch of doomsday rhetoric is an admission that her...
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Unions lost a major battle in their war on the gig economy
Should Americans be allowed to freelance? Progressive Democrats have been pushing legislation at...
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What issues will Maine Democrats resurrect in 2021?
With Maine’s 2020 statewide general election behind us, it’s time to look ahead...
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Wearing a mask alone in public defies science
Science, science science. It’s all about the science. Is it really, though? From...
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Massachusetts voters reject RCV in surprise Election Day upset
With more than 90% of the votes counted in Massachusetts, it appears that...
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California hates the holidays
Thinking about getting together with family for the holiday season? Think again. Just...
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A plague of pandemic restrictions builds herd immunity to arbitrary rules
Perhaps the only thing worse than being subjected to seemingly arbitrary and intrusive...
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What Governor Mills can learn from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
Maine Gov. Janet Mills joined Maine CDC director Dr. Nirav Shah on Wednesday...
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Maine’s high court denies effort to keep counting absentee ballots after Election Day
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled late last week that absentee ballots must...
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Despite massive fundraising disparity, RCV still a close contest in Massachusetts
A recent Ipsos poll asked 1,001 Massachusetts adults about a number of issues,...
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Deadline coming on Maine’s decision to participate in new gas tax scheme
Maine Policy Institute and a coalition of 17 other organizations sent letters to...
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Scott Atlas a vital voice of reason on White House Coronavirus Task Force
In a recent interview on Lockdown TV, Dr. Scott Atlas, a healthcare policy...
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Maine finally sends support to small businesses months after their forced closure
Better late than never, I suppose. Maine finally began disbursing grants to struggling...
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Maine artists continue to struggle under Gov. Mills’ economic restrictions
Our relationship with the arts has been severely and permanently altered this year....
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Governor Mills among the most fiscally irresponsible governors in America
Last week, the Cato Institute released the newest edition of its Fiscal Policy...
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Thousands of doctors and scientists agree: Lockdowns are making public health matters worse
Three leading epidemiologists gathered in Massachusetts on Sunday to sign the Great Barrington...
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New survey shows 1 in 5 small businesses anticipate layoffs in next 6 months
The National Federation of Independent Business Research Center released a new nationwide survey...
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Michigan Supreme Court rules governor’s emergency extension unconstitutional
Late last week, the Michigan Supreme Court in a 4-3 vote ruled that...
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A public option is not the silver bullet for lower costs, greater access
Political campaigns are in full swing and, once again, the debate on health...
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Maine CDC stalling release of coronavirus testing data
When we hear about the challenge of testing for the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), we...
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Landlords sue Trump administration and CDC over executive order banning evictions
The Trump administration’s controversial nationwide eviction moratorium, issued through the Centers for Disease...
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One-time gimmicks can’t fix Maine’s long-term budget woes
Maine Gov. Janet Mills recently signed a curtailment order to keep the state’s...
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Pro-union state senator opposed her brewery employees’ unionization efforts
Rising Tide Brewing, a popular brewery located in Portland, faces a national labor...
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Maine’s high court rules RCV must be used in presidential election
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday that ranked-choice voting must be used...
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Mills’ curtailment order balances the budget for now, but tough choices remain in the future
Last week, Governor Janet Mills issued a “curtailment order,” a tool Maine governors...
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Maine school choice lawsuit replicated in New Hampshire, Vermont
A pair of lawsuits that mirror a Maine-based legal challenge (currently pending in...
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BDN Editorial Board tells Mainers to pay up for Gov. Mills’ mistakes
The BDN editorial board’s recent commentary on the state budget shortfall reminds us...
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How will Maine’s struggling small businesses survive the next unfunded mandate?
The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) issued a press release Monday raising...
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Shutdown Stories: Aquaboggan
Aquaboggan in Saco was forced to close in late August after receiving a...
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Mills administration and MPA conclude football, volleyball cannot be played this fall
Bowing to pressure from the Mills administration, the Maine Principals’ Association announced Thursday...
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CBO projects highest rate of US debt-to-GDP since 1945
My colleagues and I have previously written on the State of Maine’s impending...
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Understanding the CDC’s new data on COVID-19 deaths
Recently, some on social media have shared a misrepresentation of an August 26...
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Governor Mills moves the goalposts on high school sports
After telling the public that the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) would have the...
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How will the University of Maine System enforce its new social distancing rules?
Do you remember this spring when we were told to stay home to...
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School reopenings linked to union influence and politics, not safety
School closures have affected over 55 million K–12 students in the U.S. since March as...
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Mills administration appears destined to halt high school sports this fall
The Maine Principals’ Association’s (MPA) Interscholastic Management Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to...
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Survey shows 1 in 5 small businesses will close soon if economic conditions do not improve
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released a new survey Monday of...
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Court overturns SoS Dunlap’s decision to keep RCV veto off November ballot
A judge ruled late Monday that the Maine Republican Party collected enough valid...
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Governor’s arbitrary decisions will haunt Maine for years to come
We are quickly approaching Labor Day and the end to the summer season...
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Gov. Mills’ business relief package too little, too late for many small businesses
Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday the creation of a new small business...
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Coronavirus found in Brazil sewage samples months before first cases reported
Researchers studying sewage samples from southern Brazil found remnants of the novel coronavirus,...
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New CDC report highlights mental health costs of the pandemic
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released a report...
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USM president’s BLM statement and ‘antiracism pledge’ troubling for many reasons
Last week, Reason covered a story about the new “Black Lives Matter Statement...
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Maine’s current economic forecast should prompt substantial spending cuts
The latest report from Maine’s Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC), published earlier this month,...
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The effects of Maine’s economic, societal shutdown from COVID-19
Maine Policy Institute today released a new report that sheds light on the...
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Reisman: Cancel culture karma
As a long-time supporter of the First Amendment and the value of free...
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‘Defund the police’ is not a real reform strategy
The last few months have been tense, marked by social distancing and physical...
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Secretary of State misses 13,000 ballots in initial July primary RCV tabulation
Maine’s ranked-choice voting woes continue. Secretary of State Matt Dunlap announced Monday his...
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New lawsuit seeks to end the use of ranked-choice voting in Maine
Four Maine citizens filed a lawsuit late last week against Secretary of State...
