So let us get ths straight - you wish that a hospital would deny some one service if they cannot pay for it? Well that is the fundamental question isn't it? Me - I think that a society as great as in the US everyone should be able to get medical services. I had a daughter who was born with a serious birth defect and my greatest fear is that they would let her die. We need to work with those less fortunate than ourselves.
As it stands now - we all still pay for everyone's health care. Nobody in the state of Maine is denied services and they often use more expensive alternatives such as the emergency room to treat non-emergency situations. Right now there is huge overhead costs in running the private insurance system. Indeed there is a whole industry of workers who do the billing and paper work - not doctors - not their staff - not insurance people - billing people who are experts in handling all the intracies of the system. A single payer system would be more efficient. It is about making a system which is fair to all and which is affordable for all. Canada has nationized health care and it works rather well. We can afford it - but we need to revisit the tax structure and spending on the military.
Same sex marriage is here - It is not going away. Once a person has been liberated from persecution it is impossible to re-enslave them.
We have a mixed economy - some socialism and some free market enterprise. Ask folks whether social security, medicare, police protection, public education,(all socialistic in nature) ... are good things. Most of us think that they are. I am for a strong free enterprise system with meaningful regulation. So I do not believe in either extreme. Throwing terms around as some sort of invective will not move the discussion forward.
The notion that lower taxes for the wealthy will somehow benefit the working person is bizarre at best. It is similar to stating that 'creationism' is science. The fundamental question here is -- Is health care a right or a privilege? If one has the view that medical services should only be administered to those of us who can afford it (by insurance coverage or economic circumstances) then the present system must be adjusted and health care denied to those who cannot pay for it. If on the other hand you think that health care is a right of citizenship - then we need to develop a system to adequately fund and to control the health care cost so that we, working people, do not have to pay more than our fair share. To my mind a single payer system like Gov. Shumlin in Vermont has passed would be in our best interests.
w/o government regulation, corporations would not adequately look after the people or the enviroment - their interest is making money. It seems to me that health care costs have soared primarily because more procedures are being done, more expensive and extensive medical equipment and drugs, for profit hospitals and care for the uninsured. The last point speaks to your assertion that poor people get free care. Nobody gets free care - the hospitals and the doctors get their money. We have to pay for it by paying higher premiums for our insurance. The most logical answer would seen to be a single payer system with mandatory participation. (Like the Obama/Romney health care plans) I for one have paid health insurance premiums for over 50 years and have used very little medical care. I think that it is money well spent so that when and if I need medical care it will be there for me. BTW - it is the GOP who controls the Maine legislature these days.
I could not agree with Ms Larson any more. We could replicate the Vermont ideas here in the great state of Maine and then we could once more be the state where life is the way it should be.
It seems to me that we need to decide whether or not having health care is a right for all of our citizens. If you think that it is a right earned by having a certain amount of success making money then we can have a multi-tiered structure of health care - this is what we have now and the passing of LD 1333 will not change that. I think that providing medical services for all should be a right of citizenship and we should develop a single payer system - similar to what is going on in Vermont.
Whilst there are those that doest protest - MPBN is the voice of a more pure, non-commercial messenger. All Things Considered, Maine Things Considered, Click and Clack, Fresh Air, ... all programming that takes in depth looks at issues and problems of the day. Since there are no commercials, more time and detail can be included in the presentation. It is also good that there is no conflict of interest wrt the desires of the commercial world. There is no liberal bias - only the lack of the right wing bias that is so prevalent on talk radio and FOX news. So I agree with you Jean.
Mike True - Lille
Gary
Thank you for responding to my comments. I was not referring to the election - but rather to the simple fact that the governor's actions have not endeared him to working people. Lepage did not win a majority of the votes in the election and it seems that his popularity is even less today - but I do not have any real data to substantiate that comment. From here I do not see the efficacy of removing a mural from the bureau of Labor. While it is technecally a fact that he does not go to the legislature to introduce legislation - please forgive me. If this occured without LePage's blessing, then he needs to get his political act together. The trials and tribulations of businesses in Maine (and elsewhere) - should not be placed at the feet of the working class or the unions. We need working people to have the capital to purchase the products and services of businesses. We need safe working conditions and we need rights for labor. Most workers are loyal to the company for whom they work and want to see it survive long term. We have allowed the government to make trade treaties with nations which do not ascribe to the same labor and enviromental standards which exist in the United States. There used to be ad campaigns to "buy American" and buy union made products. No longer does this make sense - because we do not manufacture all the goods that are needed here in the US - indeed many consumers are happy buying products made in foreign lands because the cost is less. I would submit that this is a terminal strategy and we are beginning to see just how devastating it will be when the middle class no longer shares in the bounty of our economy. Businesses and labor need to work together - and we all need to see how we could bring back at least some of the manufacturing that used to exist. I do not see the governor's first few months in office as moving this agenda forward.
There is no recall process available at this time and it does not look like it would be easy to pass with the present leadership. Most Mainers undoubtedly agree that Mr. LePage is not working out that well. He seems to not grasp the importance of workers and workmanship either His dissed workers by removing murals that recognized the importance of the middle class and labor. Now he proposed to further water down the workers market by letting companies pay teens less than minimum wage and work more hours per week. With 7-10% unemployement this will only make labor cheaper for Maine companies. Does Mr. Lepage really think that this is going to create more and better paying jobs in Maine? At least we know that the LePage agenda is not working to stand behind workers and us middle class Americans who have families to support. No recall is not the answer - citizen action must be taken to make our wishes known.
IMO the murals should be re-hung at the department of Labor in Augusta - the governor's time and energy should be spent on helping to create jobs in Maine. Glad that the L-A museum wants the murals - but we need to be careful not enable LePage to dis the working class like this.
It appears that LePage is in over his head. Some questioned his gravitas before the election and now it appears painfully clear that he can not govern effectively. He is governor for all the people - this includes the middle class and working people - as well as corporations. To those of you whe criticize the LSJ for writing about the Mural debacle - the LSJ wrote an editorial supporting this move!! It is time for the editorial staff to reconsider and to join us working stiffs to rehang these murals in our government building of Labor.
Mr. Cox
Thank you for your thoughtful response. Unions are not perfect - but workers do need protection - and it is good for the economy to have a strong middle class consumer. The shrinking tax base is due to lost jobs and disproportionately small share paid by large corporations (off shore tax shelters and tax loop holes) and the wealthiest wage earners. Most economists do not think that stimulus jobs are 'false' - by injecting money and jobs into the system - real growth is stimulated - by increasing demand for goods and services. We are a mixed economy which requires that the government do things that are not well suited for private enterprise - such as security, education and welfare. My personal view is that the government should not give welfare - but make it available for work performed -ie. the government should be the employer of last resort. We could clean and rebuild our cities. Effective unions do not tell the corporation how to run the business, rather it works collabratively to build a more efficient operation. Most workers have a interest in the long and short term profitability of their employer. Finally I would add, that no man became rich without help from others and to my mind there are no 'poor' people - only those who have no money (or with negative monetary standings.)
Welfare gone over the roof - yes. Why is this happening? Is it because people don't want to work? I think not. Our national policy of free trade made the US market available to countries that do not have labor standards and enviromental restrictions. So the proud manufacturing foundation of the L-A area has been decimated. It is hard to start a business because we are not sharing the wealth equitably. The wealthiest Americans have done very well over that past 50 years - but labor and middle class America has not done well. So the market for goods is reduced. Unions came into existence to redistribute the wealth created by manufacturing more equitably - now industry and corporations have 'outsourced' us to death. I am not especially sore about LePage winning the governorship - but the solution is not to deregulate - it is to redevelop fundamental industries like shoes, textiles, leather, paper, ... right in this country. Sadly I do not see this happening unless we address our so called 'free-trade' position - which corporations support because it allows them to produce goods with exploitation of men, women and children in foreign lands. That is not to mention the enviromental degradation that happens as well. Make nomistake about it -corporation overwhlemingly supported Lepage and his anti - labor positions - which my friend will not help us working stiffs.
Given the long history of exploitation of labor by industrialists working to increase the bottom line - it is (was) only fitting to have bold, impressive murals in our Government building of labor. We need to be mindful of the possible evil that the profit motive takes in abusing men, women and children. Workers have struggled to get safe working conditions, reasonable hours, middle class wages, rights to health care and some input into the operation of businesses. Taking down the murals is an affront to all working class people and the SJ should be ashamed at this editorial.
These murals should not be taken down. They are statements about the labor movement in the state of Maine. We have a proud history of earning rights for workers. Mr. LePage is making a greivous political error by disrespecting middle class Americans. Let's please do away with the pensions for ex-governors - they have no trouble finding their next cushy job.
It seems to be about controlling the message. The GOP goes about sullying the reputation of the Obamas, attacks the existence of unions and speaks to the fears and biases of all of us. Notice that they insist on tax breaks for the rich and the ownership class. The method is intended to control the outcome of elections to gain even more for the rich and powerful. Public Service Unions are the only 3 Democratic PACs in the top 10. These PACs control the focus of the debate in elections by smearing and belittling the opponent. Look at the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry -- foul play! He is a decorated war veteran. These people call Obama both a facist and a communist - he really can't be both - carry signs thst show him with a Hitler mustache - with the SCOTUS decision to allow corporations and the chamber of commerce to produce ads and entire propaganda shows as they wish, it is only going to get worse. There is a reason for their partisanship.
It seems to be about controlling the message. The GOP goes about sullying the reputation of the Obamas, attacks the existence of unions and speaks to the fears and biases of all of us. Notice that they insist on tax breaks for the rich and the ownership class. The method is intended to control the outcome of elections to gain even more for the rich and powerful. Public Service Unions are the only 3 Democratic PACs in the top 10. These PACs control the focus of the debate in elections by smearing and belittling the opponent. Look at the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry -- foul play! He is a decorated war veteran. These people call Obama both a facist and a communist - he really can't be both - carry signs thst show him with a Hitler mustache - with the SCOTUS decision to allow corporations and the chamber of commerce to produce ads and entire propaganda shows as they wish, it is only going to get worse. There is a reason for their partisanship.
As a retired teacher I do not get social security - I get the Maine State retirement. Since my teaching job was barely sufficient to earn a living, I also taught in the University of Maine system, coached, refereed basketball, drove a milk truck, worked as a maintainance worker ... - some of these jobs took Soc. security out of my paycheck - now I get reduced benefits - about $200 per month. This is fine because I have no house payments and live modestly - our retirement benefit is fine - but it is certainly not excessive. If the government hire people they should compensate them fairly -- last time I checked we still need teachers, police, firefighters, maintainence workers ...
I do not disagree that LePage won the governor's race - but his campaign did not win the majority of Maine votes - Cutler and Mitchell split the votes of folks with a similar agenda. I agree that some of the education spending could be pared - the number and pay of administrators is high. But this does not address the fundamental disconnect facing our country. We have gutted the manufacturing sector, the middle class is under attack and the ability to earn a living wage is becoming more and more difficult. The L-A used to have many shoe shops and textile operations - how many exist today? When the middle class is gone - and it is endangered now - who will the rich sell their goods to? We have long had a graduated income tax - which means that rich people pay no more taxes than I pay on whatever my lowly middle income is - say $20,000 - the rich pay the same as I do on that amount of money. It is on the amounts above that - that the rich pay more - with the reduction of the upper class tax rate - the rich pay only slightly more. When Bush gave us all a tax cut I got $300 while a person making $250K got $20,000 - is that fair? Am I, a hard working, college educated worker worth that much less because I chose a life of service to the community?
I agree with you 110% - the Walker talker would have us believe that it is the pblic school teacher who is the one guilty of avarice and must cede his/her bargaining rights. After all teachers only work 9 months of the year and get out of school in the middle of the afternoon and get paid $50,000 + per year - but he forgets continuing education and paper work - students are not the only ones with homework. Meanwhile corporations get huge tax breaks and I bet the walker talker makes more than $50k!
What do you wish to forgo first? The 40 work week? Holidays? Vacations? Health coverage? Overtime pay? Safe working conditions? Lunch breaks? Without unions workers would be at the mercy of corporations - their sole purpose is to make as large a profit as possible. No - maybe we should be union made products and make 'fair' trade the foundation of our import/ export policy. (By 'fair' trade I mean we do business only with countries that hold up labor and enviromental policies that respect the dignity of nature and workers.) Please rethink your position - unions are not perfect - but they offer the singular chance for the working, middle class American to have a decent life.
I guess the GOP cannot find an arguement that supports their economic policies - take from the average worker and give to the rich - so they find these social cultural issues to drum up political support. Nobody thinks abortions are good - but it is not my place to say when they should occur. Where are the libertarians on this issue - do they think that the government should dictate the decision of a woman and her family to decide what happens with her body? I am old enough to remember before Row v. Wade and it was not a pretty scene. The rich could find a way to get a sanitary abortion - either by a trip to Bermuda or by having a regular doctor with connections. The poor and unconnected relied on coat hangers and voodoo medicine - very ugly. Do we really want to go back to that?
Governor Page won about 38% of the vote - he does not represent the majority view of voters in Maine. There are always two sides to the questions of budgets - expenditure and revenue - Like the federal government we need to look at having folks that are in the higher income brackets pay more - they have gotten the greater financial benefit - so they should pay more in taxes. We'd have plenty of money in this country if we were not so militaristic and involved in 2 foreign active military operations. It is all about priorities and the middle class does not have the voice or the resources of the wealthy and the corporate entities.
We need to raise the tax rate on the wealthier earners in this county -- it is called shared sacrifice for the welfare of the nation. We also need to cut spending - especially military spending - we are overly commited in two wars in the Mid East - and Obama was faced with the option of either not renewing any of the Bush tax cuts or renewing them all - his choice was to renew for only those making less that 250K per year. Could not get what he wanted so he had to do the best he could. So do you want to lessen government regulation? Cut medicare? Cut Social Security? Cut the military budget? I made a choice -- can you?
We need to raise the tax rate on the wealthier earners in this county -- it is called shared sacrifice for the welfare of the nation. We also need to cut spending - especially military spending - we are overly commited in two wars in the Mid East - and Obama was faced with the option of either not renewing any of the Bush tax cuts or renewing them all - his choice was to renew for only those making less that 250K per year. Could not get what he wanted so he had to do the best he could. So do you want to lessen government regulation? Cut medicare? Cut Social Security? Cut the military budget? I made a choice -- can you?
I agree with you completely dear writer. Let me add that the attack on Unions is political as well. The only 3 contributors in the top 10 that were not rightwing corporate pacs were 3 public service unions, the SEIU, the AFSCMU and the NEA. (by the way none were in the top 4!) The motivation is to beat down the Dems and the middle class - ver dangerous if we do not take action.
I agree with you completely dear writer. Let me add that the attack on Unions is political as well. The only 3 contributors in the top 10 that were not rightwing corporate pacs were 3 public service unions, the SEIU, the AFSCMU and the NEA. (by the way none were in the top 4!) The motivation is to beat down the Dems and the middle class - ver dangerous if we do not take action.
Recent Comments
we do - but you don't want to
So let us get ths straight - you wish that a hospital would deny some one service if they cannot pay for it? Well that is the fundamental question isn't it? Me - I think that a society as great as in the US everyone should be able to get medical services. I had a daughter who was born with a serious birth defect and my greatest fear is that they would let her die. We need to work with those less fortunate than ourselves.
Vermont health care
As it stands now - we all still pay for everyone's health care. Nobody in the state of Maine is denied services and they often use more expensive alternatives such as the emergency room to treat non-emergency situations. Right now there is huge overhead costs in running the private insurance system. Indeed there is a whole industry of workers who do the billing and paper work - not doctors - not their staff - not insurance people - billing people who are experts in handling all the intracies of the system. A single payer system would be more efficient. It is about making a system which is fair to all and which is affordable for all. Canada has nationized health care and it works rather well. We can afford it - but we need to revisit the tax structure and spending on the military.
marriage and socialism
Same sex marriage is here - It is not going away. Once a person has been liberated from persecution it is impossible to re-enslave them.
We have a mixed economy - some socialism and some free market enterprise. Ask folks whether social security, medicare, police protection, public education,(all socialistic in nature) ... are good things. Most of us think that they are. I am for a strong free enterprise system with meaningful regulation. So I do not believe in either extreme. Throwing terms around as some sort of invective will not move the discussion forward.
trickle down aka voodoo economics
The notion that lower taxes for the wealthy will somehow benefit the working person is bizarre at best. It is similar to stating that 'creationism' is science. The fundamental question here is -- Is health care a right or a privilege? If one has the view that medical services should only be administered to those of us who can afford it (by insurance coverage or economic circumstances) then the present system must be adjusted and health care denied to those who cannot pay for it. If on the other hand you think that health care is a right of citizenship - then we need to develop a system to adequately fund and to control the health care cost so that we, working people, do not have to pay more than our fair share. To my mind a single payer system like Gov. Shumlin in Vermont has passed would be in our best interests.
decades of experience
w/o government regulation, corporations would not adequately look after the people or the enviroment - their interest is making money. It seems to me that health care costs have soared primarily because more procedures are being done, more expensive and extensive medical equipment and drugs, for profit hospitals and care for the uninsured. The last point speaks to your assertion that poor people get free care. Nobody gets free care - the hospitals and the doctors get their money. We have to pay for it by paying higher premiums for our insurance. The most logical answer would seen to be a single payer system with mandatory participation. (Like the Obama/Romney health care plans) I for one have paid health insurance premiums for over 50 years and have used very little medical care. I think that it is money well spent so that when and if I need medical care it will be there for me. BTW - it is the GOP who controls the Maine legislature these days.
agree with this commentary
I could not agree with Ms Larson any more. We could replicate the Vermont ideas here in the great state of Maine and then we could once more be the state where life is the way it should be.
LD 1333
It seems to me that we need to decide whether or not having health care is a right for all of our citizens. If you think that it is a right earned by having a certain amount of success making money then we can have a multi-tiered structure of health care - this is what we have now and the passing of LD 1333 will not change that. I think that providing medical services for all should be a right of citizenship and we should develop a single payer system - similar to what is going on in Vermont.
MPBN
Whilst there are those that doest protest - MPBN is the voice of a more pure, non-commercial messenger. All Things Considered, Maine Things Considered, Click and Clack, Fresh Air, ... all programming that takes in depth looks at issues and problems of the day. Since there are no commercials, more time and detail can be included in the presentation. It is also good that there is no conflict of interest wrt the desires of the commercial world. There is no liberal bias - only the lack of the right wing bias that is so prevalent on talk radio and FOX news. So I agree with you Jean.
Mike True - Lille
LePage agenda
Gary
Thank you for responding to my comments. I was not referring to the election - but rather to the simple fact that the governor's actions have not endeared him to working people. Lepage did not win a majority of the votes in the election and it seems that his popularity is even less today - but I do not have any real data to substantiate that comment. From here I do not see the efficacy of removing a mural from the bureau of Labor. While it is technecally a fact that he does not go to the legislature to introduce legislation - please forgive me. If this occured without LePage's blessing, then he needs to get his political act together. The trials and tribulations of businesses in Maine (and elsewhere) - should not be placed at the feet of the working class or the unions. We need working people to have the capital to purchase the products and services of businesses. We need safe working conditions and we need rights for labor. Most workers are loyal to the company for whom they work and want to see it survive long term. We have allowed the government to make trade treaties with nations which do not ascribe to the same labor and enviromental standards which exist in the United States. There used to be ad campaigns to "buy American" and buy union made products. No longer does this make sense - because we do not manufacture all the goods that are needed here in the US - indeed many consumers are happy buying products made in foreign lands because the cost is less. I would submit that this is a terminal strategy and we are beginning to see just how devastating it will be when the middle class no longer shares in the bounty of our economy. Businesses and labor need to work together - and we all need to see how we could bring back at least some of the manufacturing that used to exist. I do not see the governor's first few months in office as moving this agenda forward.
recall
There is no recall process available at this time and it does not look like it would be easy to pass with the present leadership. Most Mainers undoubtedly agree that Mr. LePage is not working out that well. He seems to not grasp the importance of workers and workmanship either His dissed workers by removing murals that recognized the importance of the middle class and labor. Now he proposed to further water down the workers market by letting companies pay teens less than minimum wage and work more hours per week. With 7-10% unemployement this will only make labor cheaper for Maine companies. Does Mr. Lepage really think that this is going to create more and better paying jobs in Maine? At least we know that the LePage agenda is not working to stand behind workers and us middle class Americans who have families to support. No recall is not the answer - citizen action must be taken to make our wishes known.
Art work placement
IMO the murals should be re-hung at the department of Labor in Augusta - the governor's time and energy should be spent on helping to create jobs in Maine. Glad that the L-A museum wants the murals - but we need to be careful not enable LePage to dis the working class like this.
LePage's Bias
It appears that LePage is in over his head. Some questioned his gravitas before the election and now it appears painfully clear that he can not govern effectively. He is governor for all the people - this includes the middle class and working people - as well as corporations. To those of you whe criticize the LSJ for writing about the Mural debacle - the LSJ wrote an editorial supporting this move!! It is time for the editorial staff to reconsider and to join us working stiffs to rehang these murals in our government building of Labor.
LePage
Mr. Cox
Thank you for your thoughtful response. Unions are not perfect - but workers do need protection - and it is good for the economy to have a strong middle class consumer. The shrinking tax base is due to lost jobs and disproportionately small share paid by large corporations (off shore tax shelters and tax loop holes) and the wealthiest wage earners. Most economists do not think that stimulus jobs are 'false' - by injecting money and jobs into the system - real growth is stimulated - by increasing demand for goods and services. We are a mixed economy which requires that the government do things that are not well suited for private enterprise - such as security, education and welfare. My personal view is that the government should not give welfare - but make it available for work performed -ie. the government should be the employer of last resort. We could clean and rebuild our cities. Effective unions do not tell the corporation how to run the business, rather it works collabratively to build a more efficient operation. Most workers have a interest in the long and short term profitability of their employer. Finally I would add, that no man became rich without help from others and to my mind there are no 'poor' people - only those who have no money (or with negative monetary standings.)
LePage
Welfare gone over the roof - yes. Why is this happening? Is it because people don't want to work? I think not. Our national policy of free trade made the US market available to countries that do not have labor standards and enviromental restrictions. So the proud manufacturing foundation of the L-A area has been decimated. It is hard to start a business because we are not sharing the wealth equitably. The wealthiest Americans have done very well over that past 50 years - but labor and middle class America has not done well. So the market for goods is reduced. Unions came into existence to redistribute the wealth created by manufacturing more equitably - now industry and corporations have 'outsourced' us to death. I am not especially sore about LePage winning the governorship - but the solution is not to deregulate - it is to redevelop fundamental industries like shoes, textiles, leather, paper, ... right in this country. Sadly I do not see this happening unless we address our so called 'free-trade' position - which corporations support because it allows them to produce goods with exploitation of men, women and children in foreign lands. That is not to mention the enviromental degradation that happens as well. Make nomistake about it -corporation overwhlemingly supported Lepage and his anti - labor positions - which my friend will not help us working stiffs.
worker exploitation
Given the long history of exploitation of labor by industrialists working to increase the bottom line - it is (was) only fitting to have bold, impressive murals in our Government building of labor. We need to be mindful of the possible evil that the profit motive takes in abusing men, women and children. Workers have struggled to get safe working conditions, reasonable hours, middle class wages, rights to health care and some input into the operation of businesses. Taking down the murals is an affront to all working class people and the SJ should be ashamed at this editorial.
labor murals
These murals should not be taken down. They are statements about the labor movement in the state of Maine. We have a proud history of earning rights for workers. Mr. LePage is making a greivous political error by disrespecting middle class Americans. Let's please do away with the pensions for ex-governors - they have no trouble finding their next cushy job.
partisan pollution
It seems to be about controlling the message. The GOP goes about sullying the reputation of the Obamas, attacks the existence of unions and speaks to the fears and biases of all of us. Notice that they insist on tax breaks for the rich and the ownership class. The method is intended to control the outcome of elections to gain even more for the rich and powerful. Public Service Unions are the only 3 Democratic PACs in the top 10. These PACs control the focus of the debate in elections by smearing and belittling the opponent. Look at the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry -- foul play! He is a decorated war veteran. These people call Obama both a facist and a communist - he really can't be both - carry signs thst show him with a Hitler mustache - with the SCOTUS decision to allow corporations and the chamber of commerce to produce ads and entire propaganda shows as they wish, it is only going to get worse. There is a reason for their partisanship.
partisan pollution
It seems to be about controlling the message. The GOP goes about sullying the reputation of the Obamas, attacks the existence of unions and speaks to the fears and biases of all of us. Notice that they insist on tax breaks for the rich and the ownership class. The method is intended to control the outcome of elections to gain even more for the rich and powerful. Public Service Unions are the only 3 Democratic PACs in the top 10. These PACs control the focus of the debate in elections by smearing and belittling the opponent. Look at the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry -- foul play! He is a decorated war veteran. These people call Obama both a facist and a communist - he really can't be both - carry signs thst show him with a Hitler mustache - with the SCOTUS decision to allow corporations and the chamber of commerce to produce ads and entire propaganda shows as they wish, it is only going to get worse. There is a reason for their partisanship.
retirement
As a retired teacher I do not get social security - I get the Maine State retirement. Since my teaching job was barely sufficient to earn a living, I also taught in the University of Maine system, coached, refereed basketball, drove a milk truck, worked as a maintainance worker ... - some of these jobs took Soc. security out of my paycheck - now I get reduced benefits - about $200 per month. This is fine because I have no house payments and live modestly - our retirement benefit is fine - but it is certainly not excessive. If the government hire people they should compensate them fairly -- last time I checked we still need teachers, police, firefighters, maintainence workers ...
the 38%
I do not disagree that LePage won the governor's race - but his campaign did not win the majority of Maine votes - Cutler and Mitchell split the votes of folks with a similar agenda. I agree that some of the education spending could be pared - the number and pay of administrators is high. But this does not address the fundamental disconnect facing our country. We have gutted the manufacturing sector, the middle class is under attack and the ability to earn a living wage is becoming more and more difficult. The L-A used to have many shoe shops and textile operations - how many exist today? When the middle class is gone - and it is endangered now - who will the rich sell their goods to? We have long had a graduated income tax - which means that rich people pay no more taxes than I pay on whatever my lowly middle income is - say $20,000 - the rich pay the same as I do on that amount of money. It is on the amounts above that - that the rich pay more - with the reduction of the upper class tax rate - the rich pay only slightly more. When Bush gave us all a tax cut I got $300 while a person making $250K got $20,000 - is that fair? Am I, a hard working, college educated worker worth that much less because I chose a life of service to the community?
its outrageous
I agree with you 110% - the Walker talker would have us believe that it is the pblic school teacher who is the one guilty of avarice and must cede his/her bargaining rights. After all teachers only work 9 months of the year and get out of school in the middle of the afternoon and get paid $50,000 + per year - but he forgets continuing education and paper work - students are not the only ones with homework. Meanwhile corporations get huge tax breaks and I bet the walker talker makes more than $50k!
what do you wish to forgo first?
What do you wish to forgo first? The 40 work week? Holidays? Vacations? Health coverage? Overtime pay? Safe working conditions? Lunch breaks? Without unions workers would be at the mercy of corporations - their sole purpose is to make as large a profit as possible. No - maybe we should be union made products and make 'fair' trade the foundation of our import/ export policy. (By 'fair' trade I mean we do business only with countries that hold up labor and enviromental policies that respect the dignity of nature and workers.) Please rethink your position - unions are not perfect - but they offer the singular chance for the working, middle class American to have a decent life.
Pence et al
I guess the GOP cannot find an arguement that supports their economic policies - take from the average worker and give to the rich - so they find these social cultural issues to drum up political support. Nobody thinks abortions are good - but it is not my place to say when they should occur. Where are the libertarians on this issue - do they think that the government should dictate the decision of a woman and her family to decide what happens with her body? I am old enough to remember before Row v. Wade and it was not a pretty scene. The rich could find a way to get a sanitary abortion - either by a trip to Bermuda or by having a regular doctor with connections. The poor and unconnected relied on coat hangers and voodoo medicine - very ugly. Do we really want to go back to that?
repetion
sorry - sorry
Governor Page won about 38%
Governor Page won about 38% of the vote - he does not represent the majority view of voters in Maine. There are always two sides to the questions of budgets - expenditure and revenue - Like the federal government we need to look at having folks that are in the higher income brackets pay more - they have gotten the greater financial benefit - so they should pay more in taxes. We'd have plenty of money in this country if we were not so militaristic and involved in 2 foreign active military operations. It is all about priorities and the middle class does not have the voice or the resources of the wealthy and the corporate entities.
one trick pony
We need to raise the tax rate on the wealthier earners in this county -- it is called shared sacrifice for the welfare of the nation. We also need to cut spending - especially military spending - we are overly commited in two wars in the Mid East - and Obama was faced with the option of either not renewing any of the Bush tax cuts or renewing them all - his choice was to renew for only those making less that 250K per year. Could not get what he wanted so he had to do the best he could. So do you want to lessen government regulation? Cut medicare? Cut Social Security? Cut the military budget? I made a choice -- can you?
one trick pony
We need to raise the tax rate on the wealthier earners in this county -- it is called shared sacrifice for the welfare of the nation. We also need to cut spending - especially military spending - we are overly commited in two wars in the Mid East - and Obama was faced with the option of either not renewing any of the Bush tax cuts or renewing them all - his choice was to renew for only those making less that 250K per year. Could not get what he wanted so he had to do the best he could. So do you want to lessen government regulation? Cut medicare? Cut Social Security? Cut the military budget? I made a choice -- can you?
attack on unions
I agree with you completely dear writer. Let me add that the attack on Unions is political as well. The only 3 contributors in the top 10 that were not rightwing corporate pacs were 3 public service unions, the SEIU, the AFSCMU and the NEA. (by the way none were in the top 4!) The motivation is to beat down the Dems and the middle class - ver dangerous if we do not take action.
attack on unions
I agree with you completely dear writer. Let me add that the attack on Unions is political as well. The only 3 contributors in the top 10 that were not rightwing corporate pacs were 3 public service unions, the SEIU, the AFSCMU and the NEA. (by the way none were in the top 4!) The motivation is to beat down the Dems and the middle class - ver dangerous if we do not take action.