The changes include an increase of one dollar– from $3 to $4– for drivers who pay in cash at the York toll plaza and the slashing of discounts for frequent E-ZPass-holding travelers.
Browsing: Commentary
LD 1045 sets the stage for a disastrous and expensive government takeover of Maine’s health care system.
“The Invisible Hand” is a notion coined by Adam Smith in the context of economics, and in particular, the free-market…
The government has spent its way into an inflationary mess, which we’ve already felt at the gas pump, among other places. Don’t be surprised if everyday expenses continue to be more costly and your disposable income starts to fall.
One of the great things about America’s 50-state federal system is that people can vote with their feet in response…
When one group of lawmakers shirk their Constitutional duty and walk out on their constituents, any potential for dialogue is lost, as is the opportunity to deliver for the people of their state.
In recent months, we’ve heard a lot about child care in the news and from pundits. Whether it’s the so-called…
Saying “no emergency is going to be perfect,” Facteau outlined his hesitancy to limit the powers the governor has during a time of need in the interview.
Gov. Janet Mills just missed the mark on two controversial and misguided pieces of legislation this week: an extended producer…
Individual responsibility and autonomy will always outweigh government coercion, and that includes getting vaccinated for COVID-19.
What was supposed to be both a fun and educational opportunity for families across Maine was morphed into a political football and, now, as a result, won’t be able to be enjoyed.
A recent CNBC article highlights a common economic fallacy surrounding the concept of inflation. The author claims that inflation can…
Though the ban is a win for now, Mills’ next moves towards offshore wind must be vigilantly watched as future development plans take form just off of Maine’s shores.
LD 1117 would have accomplished nothing in terms of lowering prescription drug costs for Mainers, and Mills was right to veto it.
The Court’s decision on Carson v. Makin could stop this kind of state-sanctioned favoritism for good and put religious schools on equal footing with public ones.
Facial recognition tech cannot be used as a tool by the government for mass surveillance. Thankfully, the Legislature has put a stop to such a situation becoming a reality in Maine.
The vetoes, among some of her other recent ones, are a welcome check on ever-expanding state power and restrictions of free markets.
If the tragedies of the last month show us anything, it is that the current child protection system is drastically failing, and it must be reformed.
COVID-19 vaccines: a personal choice or a workplace requirement? Well, to Maine’s top hospital group, the answer is a requirement.…
The issue of how this subset of workers is taxed is not going away anytime soon, and so it would have been an impactful and incredibly significant ruling had the Court taken the case.
A new report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quotes an analysis from economists who found that states that have…
The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee voted unanimously Sunday to advance a supplemental budget, and lawmakers in the House and Senate approved…
Gov. Janet Mills made the right choice in vetoing LD 920, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Kessler (D-South Portland), a bill…
Gov. Mills recently issued vetoes for seven pieces of legislation approved by the Maine Legislature. Her veto of several of…
The Granite State passed a new budget last week that should have people in the Pine Tree State jealous of…
Should Mainers have to pay more in taxes for buying a new piece of real estate? The Legislature says yes,…
A new bipartisan budget agreement might prove that lawmakers learned a valuable fiscal lesson from the fallout of the pandemic,…
This week, Maine lawmakers will vote on LD 221, Governor Janet Mills’ supplemental budget proposal. Also known as the governor’s…
Imagine if California passed a law telling Maine lobstermen how much to charge for their lobsters – in Maine. The…
In an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of cheerleader Brandi Levy last week regarding the First Amendment…
Proponents of big government spending have desperately argued that mounting price inflation is just temporary. But multiple alarming inflation metrics…
Making our government more representative and fair is an idea both sides of the aisle can get behind.
A new Harvard analysis of various data points throughout the pandemic shows that poor Americans, those earning under $27,000 a…
The primary finding of the study was that following the implementation of SIP policies, excess mortality actually increased, not decreased.
Two bills to increase taxes on hardworking Mainers failed to pass at the end of the Maine Legislature’s hectic, marathon…
An attempt to rein in one of the state’s most troublesome acts is gaining steam in the Maine Legislature. A…
Even if the allegations in Loder’s lawsuit are not true, the fact that we can’t easily know is reason enough to close the doors of this poisonous arm of government overreach.
During the stress, added financial and mental burden brought on by the pandemic lockdowns, no individual should have to worry about additional taxation without representation.
The picture painted is one of working-class destruction.
A bill to limit license plates with profane or vulgar references passed under the hammer in the Maine House and…
Policymakers have, yet again, committed an act that is sorely ironic: they have stalled a review of their own strategy to tackle a pandemic, which will surely hamper lawmakers down the line come the next and inevitable contagious disease.
This study on the nationwide impacts of the historically high UI has simply confirmed what many have been sounding the alarm on for weeks: if you pay people to stay home, they will.
A recent study by Dr. Calvin Lakhan of York University has found that under LD 1541, average monthly grocery costs for a family of four in Maine will increase by at least nearly $32, or as much as almost $60, depending on the kinds of costs incurred on producers.
This week, the Maine Senate passed “Making Health Care Work for Maine,” a package of bills in the legislature that…
Over the last few days, headlines have been dominated by a story that is being treated by many as a…
To force these new labor restrictions upon employers now would be a grave mistake. LD 553 would likely harm employment across the state of Maine when we most sorely need it.
ProPublica’s deceptive and misguided campaign to convince the American electorate that billionaires don’t pay their fair share in taxes has only been further debunked by their own report.
On April 28, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in the case of Mahanoy Area School…
If the administration wanted to pass these items not directly tied to infrastructure, they should have put them forward in a separate, more transparent bill.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new light and perspectives to many issues we may never look at the same: politics,…
As we all learned in our high school history classes, the United States outlawed alcohol in the early 1920s in…
A prominent refrain in the pandemic recession-recovery story has been the persistent labor shortage seen across the United States. Coupled…
Many advocates in Maine and around the nation have highlighted the need for more stable and faster internet speeds, especially…
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that at least 50% of Canadians have received at least one shot…
On Monday, May 24, nearly eight months after it was first ordered, Maine Gov. Janet Mills lifted the state’s universal face…
On Monday, May 24, a fascinating social experiment began to unfold across Maine as the Mills administration lifted most mask…
This legislative session, lawmakers on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee held public hearings on three bills that would make…
Seven Maine lawmakers were stripped of their committee assignments on Monday by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau following a spat at…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee held a public hearing last Thursday on a bill sponsored by Rep.…
Last week, Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), announced on a monthly business community video…
Governor Janet Mills unveiled a new supplemental budget last week that would grow state spending in Maine to record levels,…
Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released numbers indicating that the average price level of consumer goods has risen…
When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, he provided state and local governments over $350 billion in much-needed assistance.…
On Tuesday, Maine Governor Janet Mills joined President Joe Biden and a small group of US governors for a virtual…
Maine Sen. Susan Collins grilled US CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday during a Senate Health Committee hearing where…
A disappointing new jobs report shows that hiring is down and the unemployment is rate is up, even as wages…
Now that the dust has settled on the Health and Human Services Committee hearing for LD 1550, a bill that…
Last week, Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing on LD 1550, “An Act To End the…
Over the past year, there have been numerous instances of top-down solutions being offered — by lawmakers in Washington, D.C.…
This week, my legislative colleagues on the Taxation Committee held a public hearing on my bill to reform Maine’s income…
The nonpartisan Revenue Forecasting Committee met recently and determined Maine is in a strong financial position, with the General Fund…
Janet Mills is notorious for her abuses of power and seeming disregard for the best interests of Mainers in favor…
President Joe Biden believes joining a union isn’t merely a right that workers have but something the federal government has…
With Maine’s economy still recovering from the pandemic, it’s important that our lawmakers take actions that put more people back…
The Maine Legislature will soon debate LD 1550, a bill that would ban the legal sale of all flavored tobacco…
On Monday, the US Census Bureau released its first estimate of state and national population numbers for the 2020 Census.…
Governor Janet Mills’ reign over Maine people doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon, unfortunately. Democrats on Maine’s State and…
Maine’s Committee on State and Local Government held public hearings last Friday on two bills that would require a legislative…
It’s taken much longer than it should have but at last it seems to be happening: the lockdown paradigm is…
With each day that passes, the number of lives lost in COVID-19-related deaths continues to tragically grow. However, in a…
Lawmakers on Maine’s Judiciary Committee held a public hearing Wednesday on LD 864, “An Act To Protect Teachers’ Privacy While…
On Tuesday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced that he will lift all business restrictions, except for mandating masks indoors (including…
The 100 percent increase in taxes on all tobacco products as proposed recently in the State legislature (LD 1423) doubles…
For over a year well-to-do Americans have quite literally been “quarantining” packages shipped to them, and that were dropped off at…
On March 1, facing the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the world, the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis introduced…
In late March, the 130th Maine Legislature met in-person at the Augusta Civic Center for just the second time this…
On Wednesday afternoon, Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing on LD 1344, a department bill…
“Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years,…
So-called “deaths of despair,” those involving drug abuse, alcohol, or suicide, have been the subject of numerous studies over the…
Since last summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have used an obscure federal regulation to impose a nationwide moratorium on…
This month marks the one-year anniversary of when states and the federal government first declared states of emergency over the…
Members of Maine’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee will hold public hearings Tuesday on a number of bills…
The Biden administration on Wednesday released a comprehensive $2+ trillion spending proposal ostensibly focused on infrastructure. But there’s much more…
On March 11, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a nearly $2 trillion spending…
On March 2, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was lifting all government restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of…
Maine lawmakers convened at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday to tackle the state’s next two-year spending plan. The budget…
Over the last few weeks, a central pillar of pandemic-era decision making crumbled. The arbitrary measuring stick for defining whether…
As many Mainers question the appropriateness of a year-long state of emergency, in which a sole political official holds the…
Maine’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee met on Thursday to hold a work session on LD 715, a concept draft…
The Maine Legislature will convene in person on Tuesday to approve the state’s next biennial budget, likely along party lines.…