As legislative hearings on the biennial state budget are set to begin next week (week of Feb. 16, 2026), people directly impacted by state policies, as well as advocates and policy experts, are urging legislators to go beyond Gov. Janet Mills\u2019 proposed budget and expand vital programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaine is in a moment that demands bold action to shore up the people in this state in the face of cruel and dangerous federal policies,\u201d says Cate Blackford (she\/her), Maine People\u2019s Alliance public policy director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFederal cuts have made health care inaccessible, child care access questionable, and taken food off the table for many. Countering what they\u2019ve done means coming together to ensure that \u2013 even as the federal government cuts funding for vital programs and attempts to drive apart our communities \u2013 Mainers can access health care, childcare, food and housing, and can feel safe as we go about our lives. It\u2019s what we all deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Specifically (and not exclusively), Maine People\u2019s Alliance is calling on the legislature to fund investments in childcare and health care, by increasing taxes on the wealthiest Mainers and profitable corporations that do business here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Health care (Housing and Economic Development, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1:30)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Paying for health care is now Americans\u2019 top financial worry<\/a>. It\u2019s no surprise \u2013 here in Maine, the fact that Republicans in Congress have killed the ACA subsidies that allowed many people to finally afford health insurance means that they\u2019re either going broke to pay for it, or going without<\/a>. Tens of thousands of Mainers will also lose MaineCare<\/a> because of new work requirements, which incidentally will cost the state millions to administer every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gov. Mills\u2019 proposed budget contains funds to help pay the administrative and labor costs associated with the Medicaid cuts \u2013 but it does not directly help Mainers who lose their coverage. This won\u2019t come close to making things right for people who will go broke, become ill or even die because they lost coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The legislature must fund healthcare by providing support to people who can\u2019t afford their health insurance, and additional funding to fill federal cuts to MaineCare and rural healthcare providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John Costin of Sanford (he\/him) has owned a small business for three decades. Now, at 62 and 63, he and his wife are being forced to go without health insurance until they can access Medicare at 65.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout the ACA enhanced subsidies that Congress failed to save, we were looking at spending more than $49,000 per year in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. Our state legislature has a chance to give people like us a way to access health insurance \u2013 which we should all have. That\u2019s by making sure people who are really wealthy, and corporations that make huge profits, pay what they actually owe.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Childcare (Housing and Economic Development, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1:30)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All parents deserve access to affordable, high-quality childcare and early education for their kids \u2013 and all providers deserve to earn a living wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why the upcoming budget must include funding to support families paying for childcare, and to help child care providers cover child care for their own kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s so hard for families to find childcare in Maine,\u201d says Crystal Parritt (she\/her), director of childcare services at the YWCA of Central Maine in Lewiston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen they can, it\u2019s often completely unaffordable. If we care about Maine families, we need to make sure parents can afford childcare \u2013 and that we have enough childcare providers, by making sure they themselves can afford childcare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parritt adds, \u201cIt\u2019s one of the best ways to keep young families here, and attract more people to the state in the future.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Raising revenue to pay for vital programs, and our state\u2019s future (Taxation, Thursday, Feb. 19, 9am)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Increasing taxes on the wealthiest Mainers and rich corporations would raise revenue that could fund these and other programs in Maine. But in spite of what you may have heard from people stuck in a Reagan-era mindset, making our tax system fairer is popular too \u2013 across the political spectrum (and statewide).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a poll conducted last year, <\/a>Mainers also said that raising taxes on individuals with higher incomes, corporations and more was acceptable \u2013 but cuts to housing, health care and childcare were unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we raise revenue by taxing the wealthiest Mainers, we can access hundreds of millions of dollars every year<\/a> we\u2019ve been leaving on the table \u2013 all without raising taxes on ordinary Mainers \u2013 by raising taxes on people with incomes of more than $1 million<\/a>, making sure that rich corporations pay what they truly owe in taxes<\/a>, and making our income tax system more progressive<\/a> by adding higher tax brackets, so people who make $60,000 per year don\u2019t pay tax at the same rate as people who make $600,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When legislators make the choice not to increase taxes on those who can most afford it, they make the choice not to serve the rest of us adequately. Cuts to things like health care and childcare only hurt us \u2013 now, and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The legislature must pass bills to increase tax revenue from the wealthiest Mainers and corporations doing business here \u2013 or include those tax changes in the state budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cate Blackford says small, incremental changes will not meet the moment, and legislators must take this opportunity to raise revenue to take care of our state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight now, health care costs are skyrocketing, along with so many other costs. Inaction right now will literally kill people, and will have impacts \u2013 on our communities, our workforce and the overall health of our state \u2013 for decades. Instead, we can choose to be bold, and brave. We encourage our representatives in Augusta to do the right thing and do it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ####<\/p>\n\n\n\n