Maine Can Do Better

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2010

Maine Can Do Better Praises Federal & State Leaders for Balanced Approach to Supplemental Budget

MAINE - With the Appropriations Committee’s unanimous approval of the supplemental state budget, Maine Can Do Better leaders stand in praise of the many important budget restorations and the excellent work by Maine’s state and federal leaders.

“Because of this budget, Maine will do better,” said Benjamin Dudley spokesperson for the Maine Can Do Better coalition. “Thanks to the hard work and forward thinking of our congressional delegation, Governor Baldacci and legislative leaders, additional revenues will restore most of the cuts that would have undermined Maine’s economic recovery.”

Compared to the original proposal, the budget makes the following restorations: $70 million in programs serving the needs of seniors, people with disabilities and families living in poverty; $26 million in support for k-12 education; $11 million in funding to Maine towns and cities; $8 million for higher education; and $5.6 million in property tax relief to low and middle income families.

“These federal revenues and the restorations in the budget clearly demonstrate that Maine’s state and federal leaders recognize the need to preserve public structures that serve all our interests, especially in challenging times,” said Dudley. “The heart of fiscal responsibility is to prevent problems from getting worse and more costly down the line. That’s precisely what the restorations in this budget do.”

The new state revenue that made these restorations possible was largely the result of the 2009 federal stimulus bill and a newer companion measure that together will directly infuse $114 million into the state budget. Both these measures had the support of Maine’s U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, as well as Maine’s U.S. Representatives Michael Michaud and Chellie Pingree.

According to Maine’s Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission, federal stimulus is also partly responsible for Maine’s improving economic outlook. This accounts for the state’s positive revenue reprojection of $51 million -- largely from increased corporate and individual incomes.

For two years, Maine Can Do Better has been actively making the case that defunding programs that keep people healthy, prepare Maine’s workforce, support local communities, and preserve jobs in a difficult economy will only make things harder in the long run. They point to some examples:

• Large-scale defunding of public programs during a recession further removes demand from the economy, creating major job-loss ripple effects;
• Limiting preventive health care leads to worsening conditions that are more expensive to treat;
• Removing basic supports that allow people who are elderly or disabled to continue living at home or other low cost settings requires many to seek institutional care that can be more expensive;
• Cutting access to necessary mental health treatment can shift greater burdens on to families and lead to expensive institutionalization and incarceration; and
• Cutting state aid to education and municipal governments puts even greater pressure on local property taxpayers.

This budget still reflects some painful choices (e.g., waiting lists for seniors to receive home based care, cuts to Maine’s community mental health system, remaining cuts to local education funding) that must be carefully monitored. However, these new federal revenues will fund critical services in ways that help rebuild our state’s economy. Maine Can Do Better urges legislators to adopt Governor Baldacci’s and the Appropriation Committee’s intelligent approach to this budget.

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