Oh boy, more hot air from Augusta. The people want to hear about what the governor is going to do to save money.

This state is in so much trouble the actions needed to help get it going in the right direction are so drastic that almost everybody would be pi$$ed about something.

How about cutting wasteful spending, reforming welfare so that Maine isn't a magnet to those on the system, and leaving a little more money in the pockets of the minority of us who work every day to pay the bills. That would be a nice start.

The reason there is a "minority of us that work every day to pay the bills" is because Washington has screwed up so bad over the last 8 years we will be looking up to see bottom for the next 3

Obama has done more damage to the deficit and the country in the past month the Bush has done in eight years. More than the last few presidents combined. When someone knowingly hires appoints crooks and closes successful programs then I know it's going to get worse.

I think OPTIMISTIC is a GOOD tone to have. We al should be a little more optimistic, good times are coming :)

I'm not an optimist, I'm a realist..optimists aren't always prepared for the worst.

Well said, Elizabethann. His ‘optimistic tone’ will be nothing but a coverup for the terrible state of our economy, which is 100% his fault. He needs to make major cuts in both positions (like all of his so-called "special assistants" whom earn way more than the average taxpayers) and programs. It's time for we-the-taxpayers to wake up and demand positive change! The BS needs to stop.

This stimulus package will cost every household over $18,000 dollars. That's not money to help me run my small business, or help to grow my business, help me pay off the investment in my business so that I finally show a worthwhile profit to even keep it running, invest in my retirement, pay off my bills, and educate my kids. In this state, government has their hands so much in my business it's hard to keep it going and make a profit. A business we built with no help from the government. I want my government to keep their hands out of my pockets. It's money we earned with our talents and gifts and hard work. I want to give to those who are stuggling and need a helping hand. Not to those who have a sense of entitlement or victim mentality.

Baldacci, you are "tight lipped" because any money we as a state may have received from this stimulus package, I doubt we as Mainers will ever see the benefits of that. It will probably end up in someones special interest project or some company that has no intention of helping Mainers. They will only help themselves.

We as Mainers should hold these politicians all accountable for every penny spent.

"The reason there is a "minority of us that work every day to pay the bills" is because Washington has screwed up so bad over the last 8 years we will be looking up to see bottom for the next 3"

This State has been losing good paying jobs for a lot more than the last 8 years.

When I was a kid 30 years ago all of the talk was "how are we going to get good jobs here so our kids don't have to leave the State to find them"

People are still flapping their gums about it and still putting Dems in office so they can drive good jobs out.

Sure we can be a tour guide in almost any coastal town we want now at $8 an hour, or we can be a hunting guide now since we can't even afford to hunt ourselves (if we can find land some green nut hasn't bought up and posted to keep us off).

Thanks so much for that.

It is evident that what this country has been doing for the past 8 years was NOT working. Obama has used his time quite wisely to try and SAVE our economy! 8 years of doing nothing but saving your own special interest did nothing for our country. Obama has taken drastic measures that are currently necessary in order to preserve our financial vitality.

I can't believe how blind people are. Obama is not a savior. The Democratic party is not about freedom, it is about license, license to do whatever people want. Why is it that every speech Obama gives starts with, "we inherited this". A true leader never speaks like this, if so, anyone of us could be President. Did Bush cause the attack on the World Trade Center? All the planning for this terrorist attack happened under the "do as you please" sham of a president Clinton. You don't like what happened in the last 8 years? Maine is historically a Democratic State, we are always overtaxed, overworked and underpaid, because our Democratic leaders choose to give away free housing, free food, free everything and even advertise for out of state people to move here for all the freebees. What do we expect??

The State of Maine gives way to much welfare!!!!!!!! Alot of people from other states are moving in Maine so they can get more welfare then the state they left. I have emailed all the State Senators in Maine to tell them this when whey wanted ideas about cutting the budget most of them did not answer back some answered back and blamed the other party for not being able to do anything the a few of them said this was not true. How would they know this they sit in their offices and don't have a clue whats going on. Just in the town I live in I see alot of out of state welfare people who have moved in and some of them have even admitted they move here because Maine gives out more welfare then most other states. My recommendation to the State Senators was to NOT give any welfare to any out of Staters for the first 6 months that they are in Maine. That would slow down the people coming in and they would have second thoughts about coming to Maine for welfare

We're all supposed to be tightening our belts but the parties at the White House are going on full force. The celeberties are having a grand old time. Send the bills to Oprah...SInce she had a big part in getting this guy elected we should send her the bills. I don't want the high life. I just want to be able to fill pay my bills and help the elderly woman down the street with her heating bills.