LEWISTON, Maine — For the second year in a row, Maine has been ranked second-worst, after Hawaii, in the country for making a living, according to the finance website MoneyRates.com.
Maine also ranked eighth among the 10 worst states in which to retire, according to MoneyRates.
The rankings, combined with a Gallup poll released in August that suggested Mainers were more pessimistic than other Americans about their standard of living improving, seem to paint a dire picture for the state’s future.
But Richard Barrington, the senior financial adviser at MoneyRates who compiled the list, said Mainers and New Englanders, in general, tend to enjoy a higher quality of life in cleaner environments and safer communities.
A below-average income, high cost of living and one of the highest tax rates in the nation combined to put Maine near the bottom, according to Barrington’s analysis. Hawaii’s high cost of living and high tax rate erode its near-average income level to make it the worst state in the country to earn a living, he said.
But even if Maine reduced its tax rate to zero, it still would be among the worst 10 states for making a living, Barrington said.
“Taxes are often a focal point for controversy and criticism,” Barrington said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “But I wouldn’t say that’s the defining issue that Maine has.”
To test that theory, Barrington said he did an experiment and lowered Maine’s state tax rate to 5.5 percent, the average state tax rate for the U.S., he said that change only moved Maine down one spot in the rankings. He said reducing the tax rate to nothing made Maine the eighth-worst state in which to make a living.
He said lower incomes, higher cost of living and an unemployment rate that seems to be creeping up again are bigger problems.
“Obviously, there are other things going on,” Barrington said.
He said an effort to promote the state regionally for its quality of life and relatively low energy and labor costs might be a better way to improve the economy than a strategy that aims only to lower taxes. He noted that business taxes and a more business-friendly regulatory environment were important factors that could help improve Maine’s economy.
MoneyRates uses a formula that includes taxes and cost of living to come up with an adjusted average income. Under the formula, Maine’s cost of living is about 13 percent higher than the national average, while its average income is well below the national average.
Barrington said the idea behind the list is “not to shame the states where times are tough. Instead, the inspiration for this analysis grew out of the observation that as difficult as the economy has been in recent years, there are significant differences in conditions among the 50 states.”
Maine’s ranking among the 10 worst states in which to retire is a financial point that has not gone overlooked by Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
LePage in 2011 proposed legislation that would eliminate state income tax on pensions and other types of retirement income. This year, the Legislature enacted some changes to the tax code, including expanding the amount of retirement income that is exempt from state income taxes from the first $6,000 to the first $10,000.
In May, LePage received some positive news in Chief Executives’ eighth annual survey of CEO opinion of the best and worst states in which to do business. That survey said Maine ranked 32nd, compared with 36th the year before.
LePage heralded the news in a release. “… we have started to put Maine back on the road to prosperity. However, more work needs to be done if we want to continue job growth and increase overall income, bringing Maine more in line with the national average.”
The LePage administration also has focused on regulatory reform and has reduced business tax rates. The governor most recently said the state must be more competitive when it comes to the price of electricity, noting that while in-state rates are relatively low on a regional basis, they remain among the most expensive in the nation.
Barrington warned that the MoneyRates survey should be kept in perspective. Barring any major, unforeseeable changes in either cost of living or income, Maine is likely to remain on the list of the worst places to make a living, he said.
Some of that is simply Maine being a state that’s part of the nation’s “geographical extremities,” he said. “But it’s important to remember this survey is focused on the best and worst states to make a living and not necessarily the best and worst states to live in.”
Vermont, Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, California, West Virginia, South Carolina and South Dakota also made the list of worst states in which to make a living.
Virginia, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Colorado, Michigan, Wyoming, Utah, Delaware and Massachusetts were the top 10.
Sex offenders, Methodone clinics, ridiculously high taxes…just 3 of the reasons we left Bangor. All our employees left Maine, too. Maine gave us zero incentive to stay.
Indeed, There is nothing here and you can’t afford to stay here.
Well, no wonder….who would want to live in Bangor anyway? There are nicer places in Maine.
There might be nicer places in Maine to live but your going to pay the price for living there. Those places have higher taxes all the way around
Yup sad when Wallagrass makes you get a building permit for one of those “Instant Garages” and the tax accessor doesn’t even set an evaluation for it!!! :-/
Not really, it’s all turning into a drug-infested cyst.
If you hate this place so much why are you here moaning and groaning about it constantly. Your attitude is uncalled for in general.
Don’t flatter yourself and think ME misses you.I feel bad for whatever state is stuck with you now.
Hmmmm… Hey Gov, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!!!
Sorry, he’s too busy trying to scare people into paying estimated use tax for the last eight years. In full knowledge that for many low income earners, use tax estimates are way higher than what they may have purchased out of state. In the end, Paul LePage is just a tax and hire your relatives Conservative.
That use tax scare ploy was started in the Baldacci years
What is your point? That if something bad was done by someone once, it excuses it happening now? Baldacci didnt put the current ads on the air.
Ohh, don’t you know the game? You can’t blame the other administration.
more business-friendly regulatory environment is what is needed in Maine to bring business’s in. There are so many rules that business’s have to follow, and the cost of those regulations is out of reach for most, that’s why they go to other states and just close up. The Gov can’t make jobs happen out of thin air, but he can and is relaxing alot of things so that business’s will consider Maine when wanting to expand. If you want jobs then why not open a business and hire people? Oh wait no the price of licnese’s here in Maine are crazy, not just the state ones but also the town ones. You really have to jump through a ton of hoops to get those license’s, I know I have done it. People of Maine think the Gov should have done more than what he has done to this point. Why? Did you require the same from the last 4 Gov? I think not, if you had Maine wouldn’t be this bad.
Also you need to thank the Gov for passing the law that any state worker found to be fraudulent while working for the state and is fired, will lose their pension (states portion) where as before they could keep it all. Guess that’s called getting rewarded for screwing the people of Maine
Don’t rush him.
Like him or not Gov. LePage is on the right track. The last sixteen years of regulations on business and taxing them to death has cause many to fold or move to another state. Leaving us that live here with less and less options to make a living. We can’t tax our way out of this mess and not going to be painless. Unless you are elderly or disabled, you shouldn’t make a career of living of tax payers dollars.
There is absolutely no evidence that LePage is on the right track. Unemployment is UP. Due to losses in state revenues, local taxes are UP. The Maine economy is DOWN. Due to the changes in the estate tax and income tax, the wealthy have a few more dollars in their pockets. Meanwhile, due to changes in the tax structure (and shifting the burden to property taxes), middle class working people are paying an even greater share of the overall tax burden.
State politics is more divisive than ever. Our elderly have lots more to worry about, our children have lost programs like Head Start, and thousands have more to worry about in terms of health insurance coverage.
This is progress?
Ah, trying the old class warfare argument again, eh? As for Head Start, we used to call that a parent’s responsibility. But I know it’s silly to expect people to do anything for themselves.
The fact is that the wealthy in this country are consolidating their share of the nation’s wealth AND simultaneously seeking changes in state and national policies that will help them consolidate an even greater share of the nation’s wealth. Is this in any way good for the good for the state, for the country, for the economy? Absolutely not. We “used to call that” greed.
Regarding Head Start, it would be nice if every child lived in a two-parent home and that every family was earning a living wage. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Are some adults underemployed? Maybe so. So you want to take it out on the kids — and later face much higher costs for education — and maybe for law enforcement and incarceration? Putting the money up front to give less privileged kids a head start makes all the sense in the world.
But Head Start does not work. Why do you continue to advocate for a clearly failed program? Even the Obama administrations review showed that it has no lasting educational benefit.
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/01/14/long-overdue-head-start-evaluation-shows-no-lasting-benefit-for-children/
Head Start absolutely can work! At least we better hope it can work. If it’s not working, let’s improve it to make it better.
Some of the stuff is really simple . . . kids from disadvantaged homes arrive in kindergarten with vocabularies of hundreds of words less than their more privileged peers. As many studies have shown, they are starting behind and it is very difficult for them to ever catch up.
There are also studies that demonstrate Head Start can be successful. It simply makes a lot of sense. If you can invest a few hundred dollars in a kid, would you do it at age 4 or age 18. I would say you could certainly have a lot more impact by doing it at age 4.
Did you read that there is no lasting educational benefit? You claim it can work, but give no evidence of that, in fact the evidence shows that it does not work.
Make no mistake about it! This is class warfare. Because of LePage’s puppets in the legislature, most middle class workers can’t afford health insurance now. Good middle class jobs are still being shipped out of state, more tax cuts for the rich, and their all out assault on the unemployment and compensation rules prove that. LePage isn’t looking out for the working man. He’s looking out for himself.
Looking our for himself, unlike King and Baldacci right? And those Democrat political hacks Violette and McCormick sure were looking out for the people. One was proven a thief and the other was incompetent at best. At least LePage is paying the hospitals instead of treating them like slaves like Baldacci did.
“Ah, trying the old class warfare argument again, eh?”
Bring it on.
Liberals got you conservatives way outgunned when it comes to class.
Besides that, wanna bet that jdtex is a traitor to his own class, as he screams
“class warfare” when the topic is “Maine has been ranked second-worst…,
in the country for making a living.”
LOL
So wait, do you want parent’s to work enough jobs so YOU don’t have to pay for their health insurance and food stamps or do you want them available to teach their children the ABC’s? Where should these children go while the parent’s are working 2 and three jobs to put food on the table and not burden YOUR wallet? Perhaps they could send them to your house and learn all about judging thy neighbor?
Isn’t Head Start federally funded?
Head Start receives both state and federal funding. The program in Maine has been cut. Jobs have been lost. Kids are not getting the benefits of a program that makes a lot of sense:
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/09/11/health/maine-budget-cuts-mean-fewer-child-care-options-jobs/
Head Start is a bad joke at best and a huge waste of money. http://www.educationnews.org/ed_reports/thinks_tanks/107951.html
The 2010 Head Start Impact Study tracked the progress of three- and four-year-olds entering Head Start through kindergarten and the first grade. For the four-year old group, compared to similarly situated children not allowed access to Head Start, access to the program failed to raise the cognitive abilities of participants on 41 measures. Specifically, the language skills, literacy, math skills, and school performance. Head Start is clearly ineffective in study after study.
If Head Start isn’t working*, make it better.
The alternative is to give up on disadvantaged kids.
*The study has also been disputed, as nationally many Head Start students end up going to inferior schools — and therefore any gains they might have made in Head Start get leveled out.
Getting rid of it would be the only way to make it better. It is daycare for the dirtbags
at my expense. Throwing more money at will not make it better. We’ve already tried that.
You didn’t read the study, did you? …if you did you would note the many positive aspects of the HEADSTART program in these areas:
From the executive summary:
“Cognitive Outcomes.
By the end of 1st grade, only a single cognitive impact was found for each cohort. Head Start group children did significantly better on the
PPVT (a vocabulary measure) for 4-year-olds and on the Woodcock-Johnson III test of Oral Comprehension for the 3-year-olds.
o Social-Emotional Outcomes.
By the end of 1st grade, there was some evidence that the 3-year-old cohort had closer and more positive relationships with their parents.
These impacts were preceded by other social-emotional impacts
(improvements in behavior-hyperactive behavior and total problem behavior, and social skills and positive approaches to learning) in the earlier years. The findings for the 4-year-old cohort are inconsistent with teachers reporting that children in the Head Start group are more shy and socially reticent and have more problems with student and teacher interactions than control group children while their parents are reporting that they are less withdrawn.
o Health Outcomes.
For the 4-year-old cohort, there was an impact on child health
insurance coverage at the end of kindergarten and 1st grade, and an impact on child health status in kindergarten.”
o Among the 3-year-old cohort, the subgroups showing favorable impacts include children with special needs, children of parents with no depressive symptoms, children from higher risk households, and children in non-urban settings.
In the 3-year-old cohort, there were also several groups with more favorable impacts during the earlier years of the study: these groups included children with lower cognitive skills upon entering Head Start and Dual Language Learners”
This was a pre-post cohort study, it was not a direct comparison with schools; but how well pre-schoolers did both in a government school and across a wide range of developmental indicators deemed critical.
It ended at first grade, and no further!
Why is Maine’s unemployment LePage’s fault? Are you saying that the governor has more control over the economy than the president? What do you think the unemployment rate in Michigan and Ohio would have been if the federal government did not bail out the car industry? Was that the work of those State governors?
LePage has been in office for two years and Maine is moving forward. I cannot imagine going back to democrats for another 40 year fling of taxes and welfare and more taxes and more welfare not to mention kicking more and more business out of the State because they leave a dirty footprint and cut down a tree or two. This State has had backward thinking for so long that many people living here only know that way. It’s disgusting to me to see so many hands out for their entitlements when many of them could be working and taking care of themselves.
I am still asking the question: where is the evidence that Maine is moving forward?
Though I am not defending entitled, and think LePage’s approach is far too extreme and ham-fisted, change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s too early to truly gauge the effect of his policies.
Just as I urge people to look at the next few years as the more proper gauge of Obama policies – the next few years, and the ones following his removal (I cannot fathom re-election) will be the telling years as to what LePage’s policies have brought. LePage, like Obama, has been planting. It will be awhile before we will reap what has been sown.
I agree that it is too early to truly gauge the effect of LePage’s policies.
To a great extent, Maine’s economy is tied to the national economy. Additionally, Maine is burdened with being a corner state far from transportation hubs, with long winters, with high energy costs, with a small relatively unskilled workforce.
So I agree that we can’t blame our present struggles on LePage, but — as I stated — there is very little evidence and very little in terms of common sense arguments to support the idea that we are on the right track. LePage’s primary goal has been to cut taxes. As the article shows, Maine could cut its taxes to ZERO — and we would still be far from solving our problems in terms of being attractive to business.
Improving education and improving infrastructure might do a lot more to attract business than simply lowering taxes. The other job of a governor, it seems to me, is to promote your state. LePage has maligned our schools, he has maligned our teachers, he has maligned our workers. Seems like he is doing the opposite of what he should be doing to create a positive image that might lead businesses to consider expanding to our state.
Obviously, you missed the sign he put up: “Open for Business.” Apparently, a lot of prospective businesses did too.
“There is absolutely no evidence that LePage is on the right track.”
This article proves that.
“For the second year in a row, Maine has been ranked second-worst, after Hawaii, in the country for making a living, according to the finance website MoneyRates.com.”
So why isn’t LePage just as responsible for the Maine economy as conservatives say
Obama is … right down to free market price of gasoline ?
The reason that state politics is more divisive than ever is because the Dems are on the outside looking in and becoming more and more polarized.
The evidence that he is on the right track is that he has managed to enrage the imbeciles on the left.
No kidding, and not only this, but, the Governor has declared war on the poor, yup, we got a Republican Governor who hates people, especially if you earn or have less than 50.000 a year. We have so many town regulations that an average person cannot build his own dwelling. Real Estate taxes are so high, most cannot pay them now, we have politicians that are so dumb, they cannot figure another way to fund schools, we have two Republicans Senators, who, basically have cost us our living,
by joining forces with GWB, and putting this country into the Iraq War. Maine’s government is anti-working people, the State is becoming impossible to live in, unless you have a a large amount of money in savings or somewhere, and then there is the excise tax, etc. (on and on)
Pattenpond you can’t blame the Gov for not being able to build your own dwelling, that is your town that did that. You could have stopped it had you gone to the town hall meeting and had your say. Each town sets their own regulations and it’s up to the people in that town to approve them or not. I hate to say this but, you can thank all of the out of stater that bought up property here then went to the towns to have regulations put in place to make it hard for the rest of the folks. They got regulations passed here because they couldn’t do it in the state that they lived in. Maine for the most part is spineless. These people built hundred thousand dollar home and jacked up the real estated taxes for everyone.
The two republican’s you speak of are not true republicans, they are demorcrats that couldn’t get voted in as such and they could by claiming to be republicans. They have proved that more times than one. Here’s an FYI for you. Susan Collins got married this fall in Maine. All the roads that her guest were going to travel on were repaved and lined with money she got through the federal goverment handouts. Now do you think that you could ask for that and get it? Hell no. But she did. It was more important to impress her guest then to take that money and use it on the roads that really need repairing. Why isn’t she asking for free money to improve the roads people travel on every day going to and from work, not the back roads to Lincoln. She should be ashamed of herself and her greed.
I agree Maine’s excise tax is outof control. I paid 185.00 to register a 1997 car here in Maine. I lived in Las Vegas and paid 25.oo to register my car plus a 25.00 emissions test. I lived in Iowa and it was 35.00 a year to register my card, no emissions or inspection needed, not even proof of insurance. I also lived in Missouri and there you paid personal property tax and those were through the roof. They even taxed you on your riding lawn mower. So some states are worse then Maine.
You are a very wise woman, all true that you say here, and the church that Susan Collins was married in was worked on all summer, too. Susan Collins knows how to play Mainers like a fiddle, but there are a few who can see through her, thanks for writing what you did.
I hope your not implying that the church she was married in was remodeled with taxpayer money because it wasn’t. It was only about half done when she got married and to say ALL of the roads were repaved isn’t true either.
Up a lazy River, in the noon day sun, (if I was implying anything, there would be no question), up a lazy River, when the day is done.
While personal property taxes in Missouri might seem ridiculous, the OVERALL standard of living is significantly higher there than it is here (I know, I just moved back home last year from St. Louis, as my user name suggests). Fuel, groceries, health insurance premiums and rent are all much cheaper there, leaving you much more disposable income with which to enjoy life.
Comparisons: I paid $3.47/gallon yesterday for gas. A friend paid $2.98 there. Our health insurance cost $460/month there. Here, with benefits offered by a larger company (hence supposedly lower cost to employees), premiums are $830 for less coverage. A 12-pack of soda here at Walmart: $3.98. There? $3.49. My rent here is $100/month higher for a 1100 sq. ft. apartment than what I paid for a mortgage on a nice two-year old home with 4 bedrooms, three full baths, a completely finished basement, over-sized two car garage and approx. 2700 sq. ft. of living space. Get the picture?
While I don’t regret moving back home, living here is really difficult, financially-speaking. Just my two cents…
If you’re paying 185 for a 1997 vehicle, it’s a vehicle with an original sticker price of close to 50k. The rate is based on original MSRP. Though I don’t deny that excise fees are high, you might be better served moving to a more moderately priced used car. Just something to consider.
“So some states are worse than Maine.”
Must attest to the fact that despite all of these Gulp-polls and Forbes denouncements, and a governor with absolutely no use for us, Maine’s 1.3 million population still appears to be quite satisfied living in what has to be – the most beautiful state in the Union.
We have some problems, but we endure. Just look how we’ve feathered the choppy waters churned up by Le Page.
thats why im packing it in and headed south
That’s where the jobs and the sun are. Not bad!
Don’t forget your cooler.
I think Gov. LaPage is doing a great job. He doesn’t hate the people of Maine he is trying to make Maine a better place for them to live. You can’t continue to support people that don’t want to better themselves. I think everyone able to work that is on welfare should be given 6 months to get a job, regardless of where that job is. The elderly and disable are exempt from it, no questions asked. Those that are able to work need to either go to school, (which the state will pay for) or they need to get a job, any job to show they are trying to better themselves and the quality of life for their families. I took a job at Wal-mart making 8:30 an hour, and no I don’t get any welfare help, my husband and I both work but we needed to be able to make ends meet so I went to work. I’m not ashamed to say I work there, I’m glad they hired me and that I get a paycheck every two weeks to help pay the utilities here in Maine. Maine is my home and I left it for 18 years and came back 2 years ago to be with my grandchildren. It’s been tougher to live here than any where I have lived in 18 years. It’s sad that so many people have lost their pride and just want to lay back and take and give nothing in return.
The Federal govt has destroyed the economy with its continual deficit spending over the past 50 years. That has added up to making it hard for a lot of people to find a job these days. I think people on welfare should get a job, too, but jobs aren’t easy to come by.
I think a better solution would be workfare for ABLE-BODIED people (not the disabled, as I have been criticized by liberals for this in the past). Able-bodied people on welfare should be working, somehow, someway, probably to benefit people in the community, in exchange for the check that they now get for doing absolutely nothing. If they would work, it would give them a sense of accomplishment and maybe a little pride in their abilities. Then maybe they would consider looking for a real job in the private sector to better themselves. It wouldn’t hurt our state at all, but Democrats have demo’d this idea in the past. Let’s get real about helping people now, and give them a hand up instead of a handout.
Well stated! And I couldn’t agree with you more regarding the able-bodied working. Our neighbor was diagnosed PTSS decades ago, but he seems to have no problem grilling burgers, working in his yard, or chain-smoking cigarettes. I don’t remember any of this BS being mentioned by my grandparents’ generation.
PTSD has a long history dating back to WWI, and beyond. It has been called many things including shell shock. So yes, your grandparents did have it to, they just treated those who had it as a “crazy” and kept their distance like they would a leper.
With deep regret my friend, that treating PTSD folk’s as ‘crazy’ hasn’t changed one dammed bit. Just go look at the VA Medical Center’s and listen to their psych staff’s. What’s worse is go listen to the State DOL’s Career Center staff’s comment on those folk’s who are both vet’s and looking for work that have a PTSD disability. Laughed at (and that’s as polite as I can call it here w/ the BDN’s Guideline’s being what they are) is the least of what they have to go thru. The State National Guard Commander, General Campbell, is a 11 series officer. That means he’s heard the ’round go of in his ear. Go ask him, and the State’s Guard Company Commander’s just how they are coping. The answer is very likely to be far different than what you expect. Now, go chew on that and ask yourself “What have I done to help ?”. From LePage all I’ve seen is a means to legitimately keep these folk’s from working because of deliberate willful ignorance of PTSD. That PTSD is what has kept this Country free for over 200 years. Think about it !
PTSD is tough to treat, the best treatment so far has been group therapy, but the counselor far too often lets these groups turn into rap session where they just swap war stories. The other effective treatment is very dangerous and takes a highly skilled person to do them, which sadly are far and few between. It involves reliving the traumatic events and bringing the Vet back to a safe place when its gets to be too much. Very, very dangerous because if the therapist pushes to far, or doesn’t bring them back in time, or the client loses sight of the “safe place” , the person may be forever lost.
There was an Englishman who first began studying PTSD during WWI, he was laughed at. You have to remember, PTSD has only been recognized as a legitimate thing for a short time. Yes, the government would pay disability for those with “shell shock,” but the real down and dirty psychiatric work is still in its infancy and it is not biologic so no one cure will fix everyone. The brain is a truly amazing, and sometimes horrible thing.
I will keep to myself my thoughts on PTSD keeping this country free for 200 years.
…..
So, someone who has a mental illness should not be allowed to grill meat or mow a lawn now? Also, smoking nicotine calms a lot of people down and helps to ease their stress., right or wrong. I would highly recommend educating yourself a tiny bit and also, maybe, looking up the word ‘compassion’ in the dictionary.
Two words: Living Wage
Learn a skill that has some value and you’ll get a living wage. We spend $130,000 per student providing a k-12 education. Then we provide more support for post secondary education. If you aren’t disabled and you can only get a minimum wage job after that then you have no one to blame but yourself.
Have you read a newspaper since the “W” administration? A degree does not mean a living wage. The person working the fry-o-lator at McDonald’s who has a college degree,and was employed using that degree, is now spending their day a working for minimum wage asking if you want an apple pie with that.
If your degree is in women’s studies or art history then what exactly did you expect to do for a living?
The battle to live, survive, make it in Maine is becoming more and more a uphill battle. The influx of flatlanders, the shipping out of our manufacturing jobs, the rich going after all the processing plants on the coast, getting them closed so there yachts hulls would not get dirty, the low wages, the regulations about building dwellings, the stricter auto inspections, the putting of corrosive solutions on the roads that eat brake lines and gas lines, the schools being finances only by real estate taxes, stupid and greedy senators, but JudyH, you have the wrong take on the Governor, he isnot doing a great job, the wages are so low, and the cost of living is so high, that unless wallmart wants to pay enough for people to make a living, the state and fed need to help, almost like some par system. People get sick, they need help, not all people getting help waste it, it is war on the poor for sure, Maine is designated a rich out of state retirement and recreation state, and the poor are not welcome, like Susan Collins paved roads to her wedding, the poor are taking up too many old maine homes, but the reverse will happen, the war on poor will created more poor, that if they had just left the old safeguards like TANF and so on alone.
Bravo! Well said.
I agree that those who can work should do so. But we need jobs for them as well as the thousands who seek work. We can’t afford to see our educated young people leave the state or older folks who need to supplement their Social Security not being able to find the jobs they can still do.
The Republican Party has declared war, not on poverty, but on the poor themselves. As long as they rebel against raising the minimum wage, repeal laws that benefit the poor, outsource jobs, merge corporations (leading to lost jobs), or attack unions, they must be repelled by the voters. The way to do this is at the polls. If anyone does not agree with the Republican agenda, please vote to unseat them. Every election, big and small, matters. A ballot not cast is a voice not heard.
It is the Democratic party that is in the business of promoting and creating poverty in order to maintain their largest constituency. The have created poverty as an industry and a way of life. Success for a Democrat is how many people can get on a program and therefore be beholding to the Democrat Party. The last thing that a Democrat wishes is to get people independent and out of the spiral of poverty. If they are sucking at the democrat entitlement nipple the democrats can count on their votes
igg
“…take and give nothing in return….”????? Wal-Mart does nothing but “take”! We subsidize them to a much greater degree than poor people in our social safety net. You may not utilize MaineCare and Food Stamps, but those programs cost taxpayers $500,000 per store because the wages there are too low.
That figure does not include the direct corporate welfare subsidies; the way they drive small businesses out of communities etc.
People do have a choice to work there or not. If no one worked there the wages would have to go up. Its estimated that Walmart saves the poor a billion$ a week. Why do the imbeciles ofn the left only look at Walmart when the hardware store on main street pays less and offers no benefits
Maine has been dying for years. Throwing a tantrum about a man who has been in office a fraction of that time is lame. You’re about to OD on the Kool Aid.
Folks, it is very simple: if you do not like struggling to make a living, then leave Maine. The state is what it is, and there is no simple way out of its decades of poor management.
We left a decade ago and our income has risen over 100%, all while living in a place where people are actually happy and do not look as though each day is pure agony. Adios sucky roads, high taxes, scowls, excise taxes and long winters.
ditto—worked for me
Where did you move to? We’ve been considering Virginia, as well as Texas but still reside in Maine.
You’ll love Texas and Governor Rick Perry. Be just like staying home. Perry is a big backer of Le Page. The driest year yet. Hardly any water in the ponds and lakes. Soil looks like an over baked Brownie.
Whatever works for you, it’s a free country after all. My experience living in Maine has been quite different. Northerners aren’t generally as friendly and outgoing as southerners perhaps, though scowls and agony? Can’t do much about the weather, though less severe winters have certainly been the trend.
There are just too many factors to consider, to say the whole state is in shambles and a “drug-infested cyst” . Some areas, like any state, are worse than others – apparently you lived in one of the worst.
Yes, what utopian, jobs filled and drug free state is it you live in anyhow?
The best thing about working in an area where wages are higher is that you accrue more money in your Social Security account. You can do the same job in an area that pays less and see a smaller check in your retirement years. The trick is to work where the pay is higher but retire where the cost of living is lower. That way your retirement funds last longer. Hopefully, they’ll outlast you.
i show this video of maine people in other
states
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXgeqmjv_hU
but ur in Maine?
Well DUH! Tell us something we havent known for years moneyrate.com.
My only gripe with living in Maine is the price of gas, the current tax rates and the state wanting to be my nanny all of the time. I step out my back door and breath fresh air, cut my own firewood, enjoy the vast outdoors we have available. My wife and I both work full time jobs and do quite well, of course we made sure early on that we had marketable skills and don’t work Mcjobs.
I can still leave my house and vehicles unlocked most of the time. I know my neighbors and they know me. Real estate is far more affordable here than in other places in the country ( we bought 105 acres a few years ago for $55000, try doing that in any other state)
no difference in what is going on in the rest of the country. Romney held the car manufacturing hostage for the bail out money and black mailed them unless he received money so they could buy parts from his company, Obama is creating death panels to decide who lives and dies because of denying certain screenings for older adults while they both have the life time insurance for their families and same with all the other life career politicians. While they continue to give our money away to other countries. I want my tax payor monies to take care of the old and sick family members of my family and friends. Just watch the Montana race on Frontline and just see who is running this country and why the citizens should be in an uproar and the over throw of this countries government should be done. None of these people represent “in the best interest of the people of the US”. Just morons leading morons and it’s just getting worse.
This past legislative session the Republican party pushed through a piece of legislation that is now hurting small business owners here in Aroostook County. It’s LD 1333 which effectively allows insurance companies free reign over setting premiums. In Presque Isle alone, one business owner had to stop providing health insurance to his employees. His premiums soared by100%. Others saw their premiums escalate by 50%. Most of our jobs depend on small businesses. If there is no insurance for the employees, these businesses might not be sustainable. We simply can’t afford to lose those jobs. Please consider this when voting. Select candidates who are most likely to amend LD 1333 to protect our small business owners.
And The County went crazy for LePage.I feel bad for those people who are screwed now but those that voted for Paul deserve what they got.Nice payback from Paul and Anthem.
Blame the Govervor, the one term Governor…!!!
Blame the president…the one term president!
Blame the politicians. All of them.
Most of the commentators here show the kind of ignorance that makes progress in Maine almost impossible. This ignorance is the resentment felt toward the poor and not the 1%. Your situation is not because of taxes that support the poor! You are f***ed because of the control of the 1%! They want low wage and uneducated workers, and low taxes for themselves with less support and higher taxes for everyone else. Get real. I read yesterday that the president of Honeywell makes $55 million a year. What multiple of his workers pay is that? 1,000? I remember when the multiple was closer to 20.
And Head Start is one of the most cost effective programs out there for families who cannot afford health care, education, and nutrition that others can. Just because some Mainers were deprived children in the past does not mean current children must be.
You want a higher quality of life? Redirect Defense money to build things we use: bridges, roads, schools, a new electricity distribution system. We spend on defense what the next 15 biggest countries spend, COMBINED.
If ever there was class warfare in this country, the big dogs on the top floor have been the ones waging it – and for a long, long time. We’ve heard the old saw about their being there because of hard work, inventiveness, frugality and all the rest, and in some cases it’s true, but the operative core of that crew has used far different attributes to get and stay in the corporate penthouse: connections, connections, connections – not what you know but who you know, legal chicanery, fine print, pay to play, the whole gamut of pin-stripe fun and games. Over the years they’ve managed to convince too many people that they’re actually smarter and wiser than the rest of us. It may be true in a way, for they’ve long known a lot about the rest of us: to “never give a sucker an even break” ( W.C. Fields), that “a fool and his money are soon parted”, that it’s useful to “give them bread and circuses” (eg NFL,NBA, Reality TV, tabloids), and that, generally, the “masses are asses.” They get high marks for creativity all right, but is it the sort any responsible citizen ought to admire?
The US Government itself conducted a massive study finding Head Start ineffective despite billions spent on it. It’s a jobs program for people who work in it and the CAPs who run it.
:http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/01/head-start-earns-an-f-no-lasting-impact-for-children-by-first-grade
Odd… I moved here from ATL 12 years ago and absolutely love Maine.
If folks are so unhappy with living in Maine… why are you still here?
We used to be happy. Until all the flatlanders moved here.
Sorry toots… I work, pay my taxes (far above state average), support my neighbors and Maine charities…
If that’s what makes you unhappy, it would seem that citizens like you are the problem with Maine.
I lived in four states and I travelled throughout this country. I’ve never seen people so disenchanted with their home state as I have here in Maine. Yet the grass isn’t necessarily greener elsewhere. People who have bad living conditions, including stifling heat and humidity for months on end, don’t speak poorly of their home states. It’s time Mainers take pride in their state. Why should businesses relocate here if the natives have no pride?
Try a mountain. Or, even a hill. Maine has plenty.
Like a fella says – population ain’t dropped from 1.3 million for sometime now. Wonder what keeps ’em happy?
Whats our catch phrase? “THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE” really??
Oh my God, really, like this is something we do not already know. Wake up Mainers and help elect Romney as President to assist Govenor LaPage in continuing to turn around Maines economy for the better!
In eight short years GWB certainly turned Maine’s economy around along with that of most of the world. Who could doubt but what Romney would do his best to continue along the same lines?
Were it not for GWB I probably would not have built solar hot water heaters and photovoltaic panels for our home, and for that I am grateful.
My electric bill is now about half of what it was, even though I’m now also heating my cellar/office with solar radiant heat.
I’m also investigating foods that will cause my wife’s body to give off more heat energy so we won’t need the electric blanket at night. If you’ve got a woman who can throw off the blankets every night and sweat in a room that is 55 degrees, that’s worth a gallon of heating oil right there.
When anyone asks what got me to invest in free solar energy I quickly tell them that it was the economic policies of George W. Bush.
The humble Farmer
My adult kids in their 20s moved out of Maine and have full fledged careers going on, they have never seen a day of unemployment. When they come back to Maine, they can only stomach the place for 3 hours,then they cant wait to get the h– out .
Our kids too. They laugh at Maine’s insane liberalism. As for economy, thanks Dems and Angus King..
Ha ha
Wiki says Maine had the most wind power in New England in 2011, (watch green map progress) in part thanks to twelve grants for wind projects in Maine from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The Energy Information Agency says in 2011 Maine had the lowest bundled and unbundled average retail price for electricity in New England.
The coast of Maine where I live resembles the west coast of Sweden. Trees and abandoned granite quarries. About the same climate.
People vote in both places.
Yet, in one of those places people have voted for a political and social system that has not only eliminated poverty but has given them one of the highest standards of living in the world. No rusted cars. No salt on the road to rust out cars. Excellent healthcare for everyone. Excellent retirement for everyone. No veterans sleeping on the streets. Excellent education for everyone. Excellent jobs for everyone. No poor people. No fallen down barns or unpainted houses.
The only difference between the two geographic areas is that in the one infested by fallen down barns and low wages, a media owned by the richest people in the country has convinced many uneducated people to vote against their own economic interests.
Would making it economically possible for each child to complete graduate school without a crushing debt change the outcome of future elections? — Would a young educated population vote for a government that serves them and not some billionaire in Vegas?
The humble Farmer
“Obviously, there are other things going on,” Barrington said.
The biggest thing going on is the lousy governor we have.
000000000
Gulp-poll is a bit too late.
Gov. Le Page popped out of hiding the other day and declared a State of Emergency.
He’s way late. We knew that the day he became governor.
When I saw the headline, I said “Hordes of screeching moonbats will be flying around this porch light.” And then I read some of the comments. I was right.
Let’s open some more WalMarts, Family Dollars, and Big Lots. That should help with the low wage problem…
ROMNEY / RYAN 2012 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why does it always go to the people on welfare NOT wanting to or being willing to work?! I am VERY curious how many of you people who make those comments have ever sat down and actually had a conversation with someone in that situation. I am willing to bet almost NONE. Do not assume that which you know NOTHING about. Guess what? There are just as many economic blood suckers who aren’t on welfare! You can find dirt bags in every socioeconomic status so lets just drop the welfare crap. I know lots of people who are gainfully employed and STILL need to fall back on Mainecare and food stamps! The problem is that there are no freakin’ jobs! You want to act like you know it all but let me make a point that I am sure some have never thought of….yeah, you can flip burgers – how much money do you think you can make doing that? Not a lot. THEN let us factor in child care costs, those are astronomical like HUNDREDS/week/child…oh, wait, then there is gas….you have to get back and forth…by the time you pay your bills you are in the negative. “Add another job!” you say, sure, now you are driving TWICE as much, factoring in MORE childcare….are you seeing where I am going with this? A lot of people who have no degree are pretty much screwed in this State. Hell, I have seen jobs posted looking for people WITH degrees and they don’t pay for crap. I think it is very sad, PERIOD. It is just sad. So, those of you lucky enough to have a job, please stop “knowing” why everyone else doesn’t and TRY a little compassion.