And America’s pastis full of uncertainty It’s hard to recall another time as uncertain as this. Americans are worried that they are vulnerable to terrorist attacks, that they won’t have enough money to retire or pay medical bills, that jobs are becoming less secure, and that the next generation will be worse off financially than […]

Employers, like most people, tend to trust their intuitions. But when employers decide whom to hire, they trust those intuitions far more than they should.Suppose that you are considering two candidates for a job in sales, Candidate A and Candidate B, and have interviewed both. You and your colleagues were far more impressed with Candidate […]

The costs of groceries, housing and other basic necessities keep going up, but wages haven’t. With passage of Question 4, Maine’s minimum wage will increase from $7.50 an hour to $9 in 2017 and then by one dollar each year until it reaches $12 an hour in 2012. After that it will keep pace with […]

Question 2 is the wrong solution for Maine’s education funding problem. Question 2 raises taxes, it doesn’t fund school infrastructure, and it creates more unfair funding distributions for Maine schools and towns. Question 2 raises taxes, more than $157 million on Maine households. In fact, this law would make Maine’s top rate the second-highest in […]

Question 1 would make youth pot possession lawful, and that’s just the beginning In 2014, Lewiston voters were presented with a ballot initiative that would’ve “legalized” the possession of marijuana within the city. During that campaign, DC-based Marijuana Policy Project spent tons of money and littered Lewiston streets with misleading campaign signs. Without any organized […]

On Nov. 8, Maine voters have the opportunity to adopt a rational marijuana policy by legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana for adults 21 and over. The proposed law contains strong regulations to protect kids; testing for safety and potency; and protections for employers and landlords. It also contains strong local controls so towns can decide […]

All Maine children deserve an excellent public school education. The opportunity for a solid pre-K-to-12 education is the foundation for lifelong learning that can mean the difference between a life of hardship and a life of prosperity. Right now, we have a problem: Maine is failing to give all Maine children that opportunity. Since 2004, […]

Ballot questions that will appear on the Nov. 8 referendum ballot (in the order they will appear): Question 1: Citizen InitiativeLegislation Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of […]

Question 4, which would give Maine the third highest minimum wage in the country, simply goes too far, too fast and will hurt Maine’s restaurant industry most of all. While we all can agree that the minimum wage should increase, the elimination of the tip credit in this referendum will change Maine’s critically acclaimed restaurant […]

There are approximately 18 states across the country that have expanded background checks and, of those 18, only three (Colorado, Washington and Oregon) have a version of universal background checks like the one proposed in Maine. Only Colorado has been in effect for more than a year, and all were pushed by ex-New York mayor […]