Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed $6.57 billion biennial budget has set the stage for plenty of policy debate in Augusta. As the governor hits the road to sell his controversial plan to Maine taxpayers, Democrats are taking a different approach.
Our lawmakers are crisscrossing the state on a jobs tour to listen to small business owners, workers and students about the tools they need to prosper. Maine House Speaker Mark Eves and Reps. Sara Gideon and Bob Saucier were just in Presque Isle to hear firsthand about innovative new training opportunities to match our workforce with better-paying jobs.
This is the foundation of our work in the year ahead. Democrats’ top priority will be jumpstarting our economy to bring the American Dream within reach of every Mainer. The governor may think a short-sighted tax shift can get us there, but Democrats are focused on long-term prosperity.
To achieve the greatest economic return, we must invest in Maine’s greatest engine of economic growth: our people.
Our state’s work ethic is renowned because of the generations of Maine families who put in 12-hour days at the mill or in the classroom. Our plow truck drivers have been working around the clock to clear the snow, teachers are working harder with fewer resources, and minimum wage workers are holding down two to three jobs to get by.
Yet, fewer Mainers are able to save for retirement, their children’s education, or even afford that annual family vacation. That’s not the way life should be, and it’s not a status quo we can accept.
We must put hardworking Maine families first. That means supporting young families by improving access to paid sick leave, reliable health care and early education opportunities for their children. It means providing opportunities for workers to update their skills and providing long-term care solutions for our seniors.
It also means leveling the playing field by asking the wealthiest 1 percent to pay their fair share. And closing tax loopholes for companies that invest overseas and keeping Wall Street in check so that our small and growing businesses remain competitive.
Democrats nationally have called this approach “middle-class economics.” In Maine, we call it common sense. The best shot we have to improve our state’s economy is to ensure our families, neighbors and communities all have a chance to prosper.
LePage’s budget does just the opposite.
The governor is selling a budget that middle-class Mainers simply can’t afford. He’s even calling his proposal a “tax cut” plan, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. His budget proposal will be a tax cut for the wealthy and out-of-state corporations while asking working Maine families to pay for it.
Under his plan, a worker with a taxable income of just more than $50,000 per year will pay a higher income tax rate than a worker with $250,000 in taxable income. His proposal also eliminates the Homestead Exemption for Maine residents under age 65, which is equivalent to raising property taxes between $120 and $160 for hundreds of thousands of Maine families.
That doesn’t seem like a common sense or fair approach.
He also is planning to eliminate revenue sharing, a partnership set up with Maine cities and towns to help fund our public services and schools. As mayor of Waterville, the governor supported this program. After his move to the Blaine House, the governor quickly changed his tune. Now he’s turning his back on the rural communities that re-elected him, forcing town leaders to choose between raising property taxes or cutting funding to pay for schools, roads and public safety.
If history has taught us anything, it’s that these Republican policies don’t work. Trickle down economics and tax loopholes have made it harder to make critical investments while doing more harm than good to our job market. Our middle class is shrinking as our state’s income gap grows. Wages are 20 percent lower than the rest of the nation, and education costs are rising as Maine ranks 7th in student loan debt. The national economic recovery is passing us by.
Mainers don’t need to hear these statistics, they feel the effects firsthand. Maine ranking at back of the pack in job growth, wages and health care costs clearly isn’t attracting new businesses. That’s why Democrats are investing in long-term economic growth. Rather than focus on tax shifts, we believe in building a strong economy that keeps young people in Maine by expanding job opportunities and better wages.
It’s time to chart a new path forward for our state. Democrats will work for a better budget deal for Maine families, one that puts hardworking Mainers first.
Phil Bartlett is chairman of the Maine Democratic Party.