Tag Archives: New Hampshire

How do we lower Maine’s tax burden?

Taxes are a complicated thing. You are taxed in many ways, not just on your income, and not just by one government. Indeed, American federalism guarantees that you are in fact taxed by your national government, you state government, your county government and your town government, to say nothing of the “fees” you pay to […]

No, I don’t want to live in Massachusetts

In addition to running a public policy think tank and writing this column every week, I have also been blessed for the last three years to host the morning drive time radio program on WGAN, southern Maine’s biggest news and talk radio station. A couple weeks ago, we decided to host a conversation with lawmakers […]

Congratulations Gov. Mills, now lower taxes

Dear Gov. Mills, By the time you read this, the word “elect” will have been dropped from your title, and you will be our new governor. I say “our” new governor, because too many politicians of both parties forget that they have been elected to represent everyone, including those who love them and voted for […]

Making childcare more affordable doesn’t take a government program

The funny thing about Maine politics is that, for the most part, everyone agrees on the same problems. There are two specific instances of that concept which we are constantly presented with: Maine’s economy, and the need to get younger. The Maine economy is strong right now, in relative terms. Unemployment is low, wages are […]

More money for Maine schools won’t fix a broken system

Since the passage of Question 2 on last November’s ballot, the debate over it has centered around the question of taxes. Does Maine want to have, depending on how you count it, the highest or second highest income tax rate in the country? Is that what Maine people voted for, or were they just trying […]

We don’t need certificate of need

Have you ever heard of certificate of need? Neither had I, until a few years ago when I began to learn more about the health policy environment in Maine, and just how backward it has been. Put simply, certificate of need is a regulation that requires healthcare entities to obtain government approval before making large […]