Let's send more jobs out of state and elect Libby Mitchell to run us under !

By the way KEVIN MILLER , I look forward to your column.Thanks.

LD 1665 is a bad bill and needs to be stopped.

Thanks Kevin for the updates and I as well look forward to your regular reports....I have a gut feeling that many things our legislators deal with end up falling "under the hammer" just like Rep. Blanchard....An "H1N1 related bill regarding employer paid sick days"? This should be interesting especially being sponsored by one of our candidates for the Gov's office....

BDN: this is more like it. Thanks, Kevin Miller.

I resent being told that my business has to somehow come up with what amounts to a paid vacation for each of my employees (because if they are entitiled to paid sick time, they would be nuts not to use it to the full extent, what am I going to do-accuse them of lying?) Also I would have to hire an additional employee to cover all the shifts that employees called in sick for,which means that an additional employee would be required to be on call at anytime, because I would never know when an employee might need "paid sick day". These polititians assume a lot-like your business can automatically afford to do this. This is just another unfunded state mandate by an idiot pollitician who has no idea how the real world works. LIBBY DO YOU KNOW WHAT A RECESSION IS? DO YOU THINK THE PEOPLE IN THIS STATE NEED TO PAY MORE FOR SERVICES AND PRODUCTS OFFERED BY BUSINESSES? CAN YOU THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN DO TO DISCOURAGE BUSINESSES FROM COMING TO MAINE? WHY DON'T YOU JUST START YOUR OWN STATE OWNED UNION? No problem, I'll just print more money like ......oh yeah, I can't do that-dammit. Uh huh, this is just the kind of governor Maine needs (eye roll).

Libby Mitchell's idea that business should be REQUIRED to provide paid sick days is just....SICK. As though small businesses (any businesses) in this state don't have a hard enough time just existing. Maine state government taxes anything-everything that breathes EXCEPT mosquitoes, black flies, and the ever-present and increasing welfare recipients. Why not provide more employment opportunities as in more business opportunities, Ms. Mitchell? Employers and employees will know when sick employees need to stay home and when someone can come to work. Instead, why not use your "influence" in trying to get sufficient immunization shots/etc. here on time to provide real and adequate prevention. Now that would be meaningful work for someone who wants to be governor.

the bad thing about Libby's bill is that she did not even write it, she got it from the "progressive states network"...and word for word used their suggested "messaging" to sell the populace on the idea. People need to google progressive states network and look at the "multi" state agenda, most if not all of the up coming legislation is coming from this group.......................news flash.........THATS NOT REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT and would make a great story for the paper! Libby is not the only progressive activist/ representative in Augusta..there is a lot of them! come on BDN tell uswhats really going on and do some investigative reporting about the progressive states network!

Paid sick days should be up to the employer not the Government. I currently am allowed three paid sick days per year unless I get H1N1 which is very unlikely and then I get the entire time off. In a sense I am lucky to have this option but it is my employers choice. Small businesses should not be required to give paid sick days. In a time when we as a state are trying to create jobs in Maine and keep jobs in Maine as we battle our way out of this recession, this bill should not be on the table for any state. Especially in Maine where more and more of the young workers such as myself are leaving the state to find jobs. (By the way, I am a Liberal).