AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine voters will have at least four bond proposals to consider when they go to the polls in November. But even if they sign off on borrowing $75 million for transportation, water, higher education and land conservation investments, Gov. Paul LePage says he’ll make sure the bonds aren’t sold until the state’s fiscal house is in order.
LePage made the statement Friday in a message explaining his veto of a $20 million bond proposal earmarked for research and development spending. “As governor, I will not agree to issue [bonds] until we get our spending problem fully under control,” he wrote.
“I cannot personally support any of these bonds and will not vote for them at the polls in November,” LePage said in a statement Friday, announcing that he was not signing four other bonds approved by lawmakers earlier this month.
The four bonds will go to voters in November without LePage’s signature. Lawmakers will consider his veto of the R&D bond this week.
“Even with the voters’ authorization to borrow this money, my administration will not spend it until we’ve lowered our debt significantly. That could be several years,” he said in the statement.
While the state treasurer’s office ultimately puts Maine’s bonds on the market for sale, the governor can keep that process from happening. The governor and treasurer must sign a financial order before bonds can be issued and sold, so either officer can withhold his signature, said Deputy State Treasurer Barbara Raths.
“Either the governor or the treasurer could unilaterally say, ‘A bond will not go to market,’” she said.
And if it’s clear from the start that the governor isn’t going to get behind issuing a particular bond, the treasurer’s office isn’t likely to follow through with putting it on the market, Raths said.
There are a number of ways — both formal and informal — for the governor to keep bonds from being issued, said Raths and Robert Lenna, executive director of the Maine Municipal Bond Bank. He can withhold his signature from the financial order, choose not to cooperate with ratings agencies trying assess the state’s capacity to repay debt, and avoid budgeting for debt service payments, they said.
“If I was the treasurer and the governor wasn’t going to sign off on the issue, I just wouldn’t do it,” said Samuel Shapiro, who served as state treasurer from 1981 to 1996.
If voters approve any of the bond issues on November’s ballot, the state has five years to go to market with them, Raths said. And the state probably wouldn’t go to market with most bonds right away, she said.
“We don’t rush to market and borrow the money when it might not be needed for the project for several years,” Raths said. “It’s only when [the agencies doing the work related to the bond] think they’re going to need the cash when we sell the bonds.”
And there’s no requirement that voter-approved bonds be acted on at all.
Before the state issues a new round of bonds, LePage wants to address “structural problems” within the Department of Health and Human Services, said spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett. Lawmakers have passed two supplemental budgets within the past two months to address shortfalls in the agency’s general assistance and MaineCare programs.
“We understand in being government that there are required supplemental budgets,” Bennett said, “but to have to go back to the table multiple times to address a budget is concerning to the governor.”
The four bond issues voters will see on the ballot in November are:
• $51 million to fund transportation projects, including highway and bridge repairs.
• $11.3 million in higher education funds to be spent largely at the state’s community colleges.
• $8 million in water and sewer infrastructure projects.
• $5 million for the Land for Maine’s Future program, which purchases land parcels to set aside for conservation, forestry and recreational use.
Legislators will return to Augusta on Thursday to consider overriding LePage’s veto of the $20 million research and development bond, which passed both the House and Senate with support from more than two-thirds of members, the threshold lawmakers would need to override the veto.
Without roads how will people get to all of those new jobs, oh that’s right there are no new jobs.
For Lepage it’s not about jobs, it’s about cuts. And cuts do not equal jobs.
Congratulations, LePage, you have single-handedly shown us how little
the people’s vote matters, or the Congress, and how one man can become
so fanatically anti-compromise that he drags us all deeper and deeper
into misery, wasting more and more opportunity.
We need leadership that moves and stimulates the economy, not shackles
the motivation that could bring us those jobs, jobs, jobs you promised.
We’ve in a dark prison of stagnation thanks to one man’s hidebound myopia.
You keep describing life under King and Baldacci with such wonderful precision. Thank you.
And your puppet masters at the Maine Heritage Policy Center are very proud of you!
ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………………
That’s a really snotty comment.
Hi Naran. do you remember writing this to me?
” I would always prefer to have a civilized dialogue focusing on facts and principles. ”
That last comment was short on facts and principles.
Yes, I agree with the Governor.
Before the state issues a new round of bonds, LePage wants to address
“structural problems” within the Department of Health and Human
Services, said spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett. Lawmakers have passed two supplemental budgets within the past two months to address shortfalls in the agency’s general assistance and MaineCare programs.
All he wants to do is create more misery and problems. What a cachon.
“Cachon”? It’s spanish for “wave”…
I believe the Guest meant to use “cochon” which is the french word for pig.
I’d love to wave good-bye to LePage…. or would that be adieu…
Either way, I’d only use one finger.
I think he wants people to get off their fat and lazy keisters and go to work or where work is.
If he wants people to work then he needs to take out bonds to create some dang jobs because there are NOT anywhere near enough to go around for all those who need them.
Thank you Governor Lepage for not spending what we don’t have: the math is so simple you’d think even a liberal could figure it out.
It must be nice to be able to walk everywhere you go.No roads to drive on nor any bridges to cross.Must be nice to never have to borrow money yourself.Most of us will continue to dodge potholes and hope the bridges hold up.
Remember the bridge collapse in MN in 2007 that killed 12?There was much hoo ha about fixing everything.NOTHING was done.
If we didn’t borrow against future earnings — and then invest what we borrowed — most of us would be lifetime renters without a chance to ever own a house.
Borrowing is not always a bad thing. Borrowing is not always a good thing.
LePage is apparently too simple-minded to see that, especially during an economic downturn in a time with low interest rates, some bonds might actually be a very good thing. But, alas, subtleties and complexities are beyond his grasp.
The best time to buy something is when its price is low. Interest rates are currently at historic lows. They will not stay there as the National economy further strengthens. Delaying infrastructure projects will only cost us more in the future.
….
Like alot of people did and we now have the current housing crisis. If you don’t have any money to repay a debt no matter how low the interest rate you don’t borrow.
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Dear talkingtrashagain, Please educate yourself. The housing crisis was not caused by people borrowing too much money. It was caused by lenders luring people in and then chopping up their mortgages into tiny pieces that were put into private equity and hedge funds that only benefit the big borrowers. We paid to get those big borrowers out of the hole and they are once again raking in the profits. Corporate welfare and lack of regulation put us in this hole. Only a Republican would blame the borrowers. Homes were devalued after the fat cats got their welfare and left homeowners high and dry. Foreclosures have been illegal. Banks cannot even produce the original loan documents. Educate yourself, please.
Some of these bonds would create a few of the jobs, jobs, jobs Mr. LePage “said” he and the GOP/Tea party were going to bring to Maine. Since his/their time in power all he/they’ve done is isolate Maine from other New England states as the last place any business would like to come to or stay in.
What you say about isolating is true. But Still even you have to agree that him and his tea party parrots have done an excellent job of it.
Ye like what? new business to bring jobs to Maine for people who are out of work and need jobs to support their families and keep a roof over their heads, help for the elders who are on a fixed income and have to pay high price for their medicines and handicapped who have to depend of services to keep them alive and good education for our children and the list goes on. So how can you or anyone sit there and say this governors is doing the right thing and I guest your rich for you can afford good health insurance and have a good paying job. Remember he made a promise to us people of Maine or did you forget that for I didn’t and there is no jobs here for I have to come out of retirement to keep a roof over my head find a job which Maine does not have and to think about it Maine there will a lot of people leaving Maine because the governor didn’t keep his promise of bringing in new business that will have for people to work.
Elizabeth I was referring to Still’s comment on LePage isolating Maine. It is called sarcasm. If you have taken the time to read any of my postings I doubt you would call me a LePage supporter.
If I remember correctly was it not Lepage who instituted the charter schools? Do you not know what this means, I come from a poor town and I had to go to poor schools but because of this, my kids will not get an education based on their address. This also makes schools compete to be the best schools so that they can attract students and parents to them. So stop saying he doesnt care about the future, he is eliminating debt so my generation doesnt continually have to pay for the carless spending of the many spend-happy generations before me and I refuse to say that all this spending when we dont have the money is okay.
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We need to get rid of him now. People’s initiative? Vote in a fully democratic legislature and then have a vote of No Confidence? I hope so. I have no confidence that anything good will come of this man being governor.
=-=-=
Maybe Paul’s plan is to have Maine/Mainers become so isolated that we all totally forget how to get the heck outta here after Charlie Summers tells us we’re old enough to drive. Only the 1% will of course be given directions to Florida.
Although I vote Liberal, I live conservatively. I owe nothing, have no loans. My kids are through college, private and public, with no student loans. My house paid for. My ocean cottage, paid for. My boats, paid for. Two cars, paid for. It feels real good, I can tell you.
So I understand the desire to refrain from borrowing. And Mr. LePage’s stand on this issue would make a kind of sense but for one thing. If you’re not borrowing, you’d better be saving in order to pay in cash for what you need.
But he and the Republican legislature just passed a law that prevents saving. Any surplus must now go to tax cuts. So with no borrowing and no saving then no schools, no roads, no land for Maine’s future, no sewage treatment replacement or upgrades, no research and development and on and on…
So please, Mr. LePage, what’s the plan? Tell me you’re not doing all this just to get attaention. Because that’s sure what it looks like.
Yes, you’ve got it! The party of No has brought us all the “NO’s” you’ve listed along with NO JOBS, prospects for jobs, or plans for keeping the jobs we have. Why? Because they’re in a great position to say nothing but no because they already have taken and or hidden more of everything they need for themselves. For them life is grand and everyone not them is either a leech or a kind hearted sucker.
You are incorrect with regard to the new law on surplus and tax relief. The new law states that IF there is a surplus after all annual bills are paid, a portion will go to tax relief, and a portion will go to the State’s Rainy Day Fund.
———————-
http://www.kjonline.com/news/income-tax-cut-passes-house_2012-04-05.html
The measure, L.D. 849, passed the House 74-71….. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Courtney, R-Springvale, will
slowly lower the top income tax rate over time using surplus state
funds. The rate will be lowered only when there is extra money, but once the rate goes down, it stays at that level.
The bill adds an income tax relief account to the rainy day fund,
putting it on a list of uses for surplus money which includes making
payments to the retirement system. It would require 20 percent of any
excess funds to be put into the tax relief account.
You have simply confirmed what I have said. “The rate will be lowered once there is extra money.”
The “extra money” is the surplus that will not be saved for cash payments for roads, schools, etc. Instead it will go to tax cuts.
You stated that “any surplus” must now go to tax cuts. You are incorrect. The total amount of the surplus will not be used solely for tax relief. A portion of the surplus will be used for immediate tax relief, and another portion saved in the tax relief savings fund. A larger portion will be saved in the Rainy Day Fund.
immediate tax relief for the top income tax rate. can you say 1%ers?
Rainy Day Fund!
Do you really believe that Fairy Tale?
The Kind of Rainy Day, where “More” Tax Cuts for the Mythical ” Job Creators “come from!
Isin’t That where the “Bush Tax Cuts” came from?
We are , as a Nation, in the process of coming out of the worst recession since The Great Depression. Maine unfortunately has yet to reap the rewards of a recovery. Thousands of Mainers are out of work with no prospects for finding employment anytime soon and Naran and the rest of The Tea Party Parrots are telling us about putting money away for a rainy day. HELLOOOOOO Naran IT IS RAINING
Stick your hand out the window!
IT’S RAINING!
Naran must drive a Sherman or a Humvee. No worries from this poster about fatigued roads and subsequent pot holes. Only liberals worry about such things. After six months of winter our streets, sidewalks, roads, ditches, bridges, and everything else used by liberals, republicans, democrats, commies, and even tea party people — need fixin’.
How much more rain has to fall before you notice that hole in the roof?
i am sure you didn’t amass all these assets till you could afford them? right? so you saved like a smart person and bought these things when you could pay for them. all the governor is trying to do is what you did. he is not saying they will never borrow again, just saying let us wait till the house is in fiscal order and can afford these things. he has a mess on his hands because for generations, it has been tax and spend and just borrow, borrow, borrow. you just can’t keep doing this and continue to stay alive because the banks will stop lending some day and he is trying to slow this down before the banks do.
I like the way that you think.
The “PLAN” is to Cripple the Government by defunding it and replacing it with For Profit Corporate controlled Buisnesses!
The sign is on the Turnpike!
Open For Business’s
Maybe when they put that sign on the New East West Highway beside the $150.00 Toll Price people will finally begin to understand the scam!
Take land by State Law of eminent domain and give it to your cronies to make a profit!
After all the State is Broke and can’t afford the road, as that was made sure of by the Republican Tax Cuts!!
You have hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head. That is exactly what our governor and his Republican cronies are up to. It’s sickening.
He is completely oblivious to anything, other than the tea party manifesto.
You still must feel confident that the resources exist to pay off the bonds as they mature. Maine does not currently enjoy that “feeling”. Maybe when LePage gets our house in order we can feel it, but right now, the house is in ruins after 40 years of free wheeling spending by democrats.
I have no doubt what so ever that Maine will pay off her bonds when they come due. But to hell with what you or I think neither one of us , well I know I’m not, are in the business of rating a State’s ability to repay its debt. Moody’s on the other hand is in the business of rating whether a State has the ability to repay the debt on bonds when due and they do not share your “feeling”. If they did they would have downgraded Maine. They did not. I hope that makes you sleep just a bit easier tonight.
You need to read the articles detailing why Moody’s downgraded Maine’s credit rating, and stop embarrassing yourself by writing inaccurate nonsense.
Show me where Moody’s or any other rating agency down graded Maine’s credit rating. You are the one peddling inaccurate nonsense.
You really need to learn how to use Google.
———————-
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/05/18/business/moodys-cuts-maines-rating-outlook-cut-to-negative-on-medicaid-spending/
Posted May 18, 2012, at 7:43 a.m.
One of the nation’s top rating agencies has downgraded its outlook for Maine bonds because of the state’s continuing budget problems, especially Medicaid spending, and its lack of reserves.
Moody’s Investors Service on Friday lowered its outlook from stable to negative for the state’s $498 million in general-obligation bonds.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/05/25/business/standard-poors-affirms-maines-aa-credit-rating-outlook-improves-to-stable/
What really needs to happen Naran is that you need to keep current with what is happening in the world. I can Google quite nicely and most certainly do not need you to tell me what to do. I love the way you take out of date information and try to treat it as gospel. I am enclosing a link, as I did above, to more up to date information. Now I know that you Tea Party Parrots like to live in the past, but really Naran when it comes to information you really do have to keep current.
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2012/05/25/sp-revises-maine-outlook-stable-negative/1201181
00000
So lets see, Maine is unable to balance its budget, we are cutting spending everywhere but yet we still can borrow and find the money to repay the debt – now I understand.
Gosh I love the way Tea Party Parrots can spin things. First off Maine’s budget is balanced so put that lie away for another time. From everything I have seen the cuts, while I actually believe a lot of them were needed, would not have been necessary had it not been for two whopping tax cuts that the Tea Party Parrots just had to have right now. Besides we have plenty of money or hadn’t you noticed. I only say that because LePage felt it was a great idea to spend $300 Thousand on a study for a private road. I mean really if we were half as broke as The Tea Party Parrots have been telling us how on earth could we spend taxpayer money on a private road?
economic ignorance on display and 20+ liberal fans cheering it on…..go figure
conflating interest rates (the cost of money) with consumer prices (or producer prices) displays the deficiency in fundamental economic concepts that has essentially brought this nation to its knees
interest rates at historic lows simply means the government is devaluing the money you currently earn and hold in your bank account by inflating the supply of the commodity
interest rates at historic lows will inevitably drive prices up and considering the fact that interset rates have been at “hostoric lows” for years, your comment suggesting the time to buy is now because prices are “low” is very much innacurate….prices are at all time highs and it precisely the result of the approach you suggest that we have come to the mess we are in today
Yay ! And so let’s keep giving insane tax giveaways to the already-rich so they can keep hiding it in the Cayman Islands. The radical ignorant arrogant TeaPublicans are anti-Christian, anti-American, unPatriotic, JOB KILLERS.
One thing they aren’t is anti-Christian.There’s plenty of the radical right Christians pulling the strings and with Citizens United,you’ll never know who they are sitting in their tax free mansions.
The rest of your post however couldn’t be more accurate.Remember in November!
I never hear them say anything that Christ might have said. Maybe I have a liberal Bible that smooths out His vicious, mean tongue.
A liberal Bible would be a great idea.It would certainly be better than the rewritten lies that have been shoved down our throat for years.
check out The Christian Left, also on Facebook:
http://www.thechristianleft.org/
well put
Unless you can’t afford it at all. I don’t know if that is our case, but we do seem to have some high taxes compared to the rest of the country.
You think . Move to sunny florida and you will see what tax’s are. I did an i came back.
You may not have been paying attention.
The only tax higher in Florida is sales tax. 6% as opposed to 5% here.
Florida has NO income tax. We do.
Florida’s homestead exemption is $50k Maine is $10k.
Taxes are way higher in Maine.
They may not have income tax but they tax everything to make up for it and as far as thier homestead exemption it depends how long you have lived there because if your a new property owner they raise the value of your home then give you 50k off. Also every county has its own sales tax so effectively it is 7 to 8%. also each county adds a percentage to the gas tax and cigarettes and alcohol . O and they also add a tax for trash,road repair and fire protection seperately to your property tax bill. So when you add it up it’s worse in putnam county florida!!!!!
Part of what you say is true. However, this is the proper way to look at it.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/89702927.html
Less anecdotal more factual.
Tax burden on income is the bite that all taxes take on state’s total personal income
Florida is ranked 36th.
Maine is ranked 6th.
Clearly Maine people pay a larger share of their personal income to the state.
FYI on the Florida Homestead Exemption. You are kinda right. I got this from the Florida Dept of Revenue site:
Every person who owns and resides on real property in Florida on January 1 and makes the property his or her permanent residence is eligible to receive a homestead exemption up to $50,000. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, including school district taxes. The additional exemption up to $25,000, applies to the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 and only to non-school taxes.
School taxes make up a large part of a property tax bill in Florida. To be honest with you I have never sat down to figure out which State, Maine or Florida has the highest overall tax burden. I do know that Florida has taxes like fire district taxes as well as County sales taxes as well. I don’t qualify for a homestead exemption in Florida. I only live there 4-5 months a year depending on the particular year.
Thanks for the response. I was unaware of the handling of the school tax portion. Take a look at the link I provided which is good for comparing personal tax burden by state.
And infrastructure projects create JOBS!!! What has this governor done to create jobs? Nothing that I can see.
You need to review what Baldacci and King Angus did to Maine’s budgets and debts, before you condemn LePage’s refusal to float more bonds. Maine is billions of dollars in debt, and LePage is doing the right thing.
Baldacci repeatedly “borrowed” money from the DOT to fund his expanding social programs. Most of that money was never repaid. Instead, he bonded more money, and then siphoned it off again.
When you’re facing bankruptcy and foreclosure, if you’re a responsible, intelligent person you don’t go buy new siding and a pool. You pay the existing bills first.
Naran – what’s your education, background and experience again? You must have extensive CV.
We’re all ears.
You first. You can start by posting your actual name. We’ll wait.
Here’s a quote from You Naran:
hahahahahahahaha
Deflection Alert! Deflection Alert!
New siding and a pool are luxuries. Roads and bridges are not.
I agree, Naran, that restraint is needed. A person who is really trying to stabilize things, though, also paints and repairs his/her house, even when times are tough, because not to do so is to allow a valuable asset to become less valuable. When that becomes a pattern, it is really a form of deficit spending.
Perhaps I can write a guest column explaining these simple facts of life for the readers of “Naran’s Kennebunk News.”
Noran your type writer must be stuck on the same false facts. The whole mess started with Jock McKernan, write it down so you will not comment and look ignorant again:)
and if your bills are higher than ever you don’t ask you boss to give you less money…so how about those fabulous tax cuts he shoved through for the wealthiest?
{ When you’re facing bankruptcy and foreclosure, if you’re a responsible, intelligent person you don’t go buy new siding and a pool. You pay the existing bills first.}
Give it a Up!
The First thing that your “Idol” Lepage did was “Diminish” the Revenue by Giving out Tax Breaks!
That’s like quiting your job because you have to many bills!
Governments don’t invest. They spend.
LOL…absolute BS, “investment” is NOT borrowing money….investing involves putting up capital stock with the notion that your stock will provide profit (i.e. a return on investment)….debt is NOT capital….I know that’s a bit hard for you Krugman liberals to understand but in time, after this depression, perhaps you’ll finally understand, most likely not, however. One only needs to look at Greece and Spain for fine contemporary examples of a society of humans that actually believed the child’s fantasy where debt is considered capital. They’re doing great….bankrupt
Investing is spending money on assets that will generate a return in future income. Roads, bridges, and education and research facilities are all assets that generate future income through economic growth. Borrowing money – especially at the low interest rates we have today – is extremely prudent. Successful companies leverage their growth by doing just this.
Unfortunately a government is not a company so there is no “leveraged growth”. Just debt.
Can anyone here say they NEVER borrowed?Most of us haven’t been able to pay cash for a house and rarely for a car or higher education.Maybe some had a house given to them but not many.
I agree that my previous post could have been more clear. But it IS a common practice to borrow money and then invest it. (It is also possible to borrow money and spend it foolishly, but that is not what we’re talking about here.) For those of us who were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths, borrowing and hard work go hand in hand with investing.
To draw a line in the sand and say no to all bonds is shooting yourself in the foot.
I’ve traveled to countries that have failed to invest in infrastructure. It’s not pretty.
That is correct. However the government does not live within there means when they spend poorly they do one of two things raise taxes OR sell bonds.
Unfortunately, past Maine administrations did both, while failing to pay down accumulating debts like hospital/medical provider bills, and the state employee pension funds.
So you are including McKernan this time Naran.
i don’t care how low the interest rate is, you still gotta pay it back sometime. you should move to washington dc since they like to do that to the tune of trillions. you may have to move in with obama cause the state will not have the money to continue your welfare checks……
So, if I understand your point of view correctly, there is no such thing as a good bond or a good loan?
And, to clarify further, if your town could build a clinic that would provide medical care for hundreds of needy children by taking out a loan for $1000.00, you would be opposed to it?
Such absolutist thinking, such preference for a purity of ideas over practical concerns, such obsession with money rather than people is not American. This kind of extremism is more at home in the middle east. You won’t like the comparison, but it is an apt one.
Disqus generic email templateTHAT is the difference between someone who is realistic and someone who is not. yes I would like to cure all the ailments of all the people in the world but is it realistic? no of course not. so don’t try to deter from the subject at hand which is the state of Maine spending money we don’t have at this time to pay back. OBVIOUSLY you don’t own a business. example. go hire the contractor to build your clinic for 1000.00 and tell him you will pay him when you can or might have the money, not sure when but someday you will pay him.
We’re already halfway there with the war on women and American Taliban like Santorum.
Remember the $10 for $1 debate question?That said it all.
Hmmmm, yeah, but when you borrow to buy a house or any investment for that matter, you have to intelligently calculate whether you can make the payments on the principal + interest without going into further debt which will pull you under. We know from the foreclosure crisis that a lot of people can’t do that. We know from state governments teetering on the edge of bankruptcy that our elected leaders often can’t do that. Fortunately for us, LePage CAN make the wise calculations.
the rate we are going though, by the time future generations, are on their own, it will be the great depression all over again. You can only take so much, when eventually there wont be any more to take.
I’m not criticizing your comment, but your statement “If we didn’t borrow against future earnings — and then invest what we borrowed — most of us would be lifetime renters without a chance to ever own a house.” made me think of the primary cause of the stock market crash of 1929 – too many people borrowing on the future at a time of very low interest(margin) rates. Then, as in 2008 with real estate, there was almost universal agreement among traders that the market couldn’t go down…only up. That false premise is what caused the crash and helped to cause the real estate market to collapse in 2008.
When you don’t borrow,you don’t pay ANY interest!! Duh!! Oh yeah,you are liberal.
It isn’t a question of whether you are a liberal, a republican, or democrat. It’s about whether you support the autocratic rule of one man? If you do – dismiss the Legislature.
We are faced with a decaying infrastructure. Unless we take action quickly and repair our roads and bridges, we might end up as one big pot hole. Le Page doesn’t give a hoot. He drives around in a state supplied chauffeur – driven Humvee
The Tea Party rules the state.
It also rules Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia, and Iowa. The Koch brothers initiated the Tea Party purely to benefit their selfish pursuits, and others, who comprise the rich one percent of the nation’s population.
Plutocracy is neither Republicanism, and certainly not Democracy. Plutocracy? Take your pick: The rule of power of wealth, or, of the wealthy. 1. A government or state in which the wealthy class rule. 3. A class or group ruling, or influence, by exercising power or influence by virtue of their wealth.
As a dictionary asks: Are we more of a Plutocracy rather than Democracy, because only rich people can afford to run for the office of the president?
The fact of the matter is that if the voter’s decide to invest on infrastructure, then the voter’s have decided. The voter’s are what gave him his friggin job, the voters are the boss here, not some clown who’s home address is in Florida.
Paul Richard LePage is dead set against Bonds. Bonds are a form of borrowing very similar to a mortgage. There seems to be only one problem LePage does not practice what he preaches.
http://www.clerk.org/or/or_inq/summary_tab.jsp?recordID=2011032413
There is a big difference between borrowing on your own account and borrowing on the peoples account. Liberals love to spend OPM (other peoples’ money).
And whose money are the Conservatives spending? Everyone is a liberal with other people’s money!!
Yeah, the “Jobs Jobs Jobs” guy who doesn’t want to make the investments, now at a GREAT deal on interest and matching funds, that will help create “jobs jobs jobs.” LeBUFFOON is exactly that, a BUFFOON. And his silly party in the legislature will be CRUSHED at the polls come November because of it and because they are almost as bad.
Yet he gives away money he doesn’t have, in the form of tax cuts to his friends. That’s called hypocrisy .
Bravo Governor LePage !! He understands the financial mess that we are in,
unlike the budgetless liberals who are so outspoken and critical of him.
IMO Maine has become a welfare state.. We used
to have extended families and took care of our own grandmas and grandpas and
old aunts.. Putting an extra plate on the table was not an inconvenience.. People
had work ethics and would do whatever job it took to put that food on the
table and a roof over their families head.. Before it was easier to take the
hand out than the hand up… Our government is our structure, not our babysitter
or our benefactor. We have been duped and suckled into dependency. Step one to
a weakened society primed for socialism.
Thank you for putting such a totally true assessment of this ‘bond topic’ into one sentence. The one thing I don’t agree with you is, “even a liberal could figure it out”. If you read the rest of the posts on this page it will show you are wrong. These people, most of whom are the same usual suspects, will continue to whine about LePage no matter what he does.
i see both sides we need things fixed but we need to stop “robbing the piggy bank” to do it. Now if only my husband would learn from this.
I would bet that you don’t have any financial problems or that you don’t understand basic economics. Please educate yourself before making such idiotic statements. And please share what good this governor has done our state. Jobs? No. Infrastructure improvements? No. New industry? No. What?
Sounds like the big gov thinks he knows what’s good for the people better than the people do themselves. AKA Nanny state. Isn’t that one of conservatives’ biggest complaints, when government tells them what to do? How is overriding the people’s vote any different?
Yup…thank you governor for putting your personal political agenda ahead of the majority of the representatives of the people of Maine and, for any of the bonds that are voted in, the majority of Maine voters.
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Ok so Daniel Craig is no Sean Connery, but really who is? He is doing better than Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. So to say no more Bonds is really a bit drastic, I think they should just do a better job picking Bonds… wait… I’m not sure we are talking about the same thing…
……..
LePage: “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!” Funny thing is, LePage kind of looks like Goldfinger…
http://images.wikia.com/deadliestfiction/images/6/6a/Goldfinger1.jpg
It’s nice to see that the gov. wil respect the will of the voters or the legislature.Sure deteriorating roads and bridges can wait until the cost get higher. I guess we already knew he has no respect for the majority of the people in Maine.
basically he’s telling the voters to go eff themselves.
Unfortunately, it’s King and Baldacci who had no respect for the residents of Maine.
Wrong again Noron, it was Jock McKernan who started this whole mess, please get your facts rehearsed before you take your attack suit on as a paid worker for the Maine Heritage group. They have plenty of funds. Why, in fact i think they even feed a poor person today just for practice:)
Are your comments always so tiresome and boring?
You’ve got real nerve to tell someone else that their comments are ‘so tiresome and boring’ every other comment from you is “KING AND BALDACCI”. You call for facts from others but you just repeat and repeat your Maine Heritage Policy Center talking points.
bzzzzz……bzzzz……..bzzzz…………….
bzzzzz……bzzzz……..bzzzz ,
Chirp Chirp Chirp
and a couple of la di da’s.
That’s how the crickets crick all day
in the Merry Ole Land of Conservatives!
Hi Naran. do you remember writing this to me?
” I would always prefer to have a civilized dialogue focusing on facts and principles. ”
That last comment was short on facts and principles.
It’s not exactly brilliant leadership to wring your hands and leave the big decisions up to the voters. Kind of makes you wonder why this guy is drawing a salary.
Actually he is declaring that he will purposefully go directly AGAINST the will of the voters.
Surely you’re not implying that he is a dictator? If you are – I agree.
I don’t care about those bonds, as long as he approves my H-2 bond so I can come to Maine and cut wood.
stay home
You mean on the fresh new highway?
All of these people who agree with the Gov are dolts. We need JOBS now! These bonds pay for JOBS. The Bonds are sold to wealthy investors who get a return eventually but in the meantime our people go to work, pay taxes, keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. I call that a wise investment. The bonds pay dividends many times over and their eventual cost is nothing compared with what more unemployment, welfare, and foreclosures cost us. What short-sighted idiots!
Maine has had the one of the very worst records for job growth in the country since LePage took office.
Job Growth??? Did you say Job Growth. There are less jobs in Maine today then there were the day Paul Richard LePage took office.
He did give his Daughter a job – hired with NO jobs skill as she just finished school. Now she is living in the Blaine Manson with a total cost to Maine of $67,515. which includes room and board and health insurance. Oh, i almost forgot the Gov. gave his spouse relative a job with NO appropriate job experience for the position – his one qualification is that he OWNS A HAMMER:)
Lauren LePage paid rent and board the entire time she lived at the Blaine House, and she moved out months ago.
Her state position is not a new one, and the salary and benefits are the same as they were under the Baldacci administration.
If you’re going to post criticism of Governor LePage and his family, you could at least get the details straight.
You keep singing that same song, tell us about her QUALIFICATIONS for the well paying job her father gave her.
Do it yourself, O Boring Anonymous Heckler.
What’s wrong Naran, didn’t get enough sleep last night? YOU are the one defending Paul and his daughter. Tell us about her qualifications IF YOU CAN!!!
The Pay and Position are NOT the Issue!
Credibility is!
kind of like the letter from mysterious secret admirer It’s the world wide search for the most experianced and talented candidate who rose to the Top!
low and behold— she was right before his eyes!
Regardless of her paying rent, its still Nepotism.
The Republicans don’t care about job growth and they have made that very clear. They want to cut government programs that help average Americans and continue to redistribute the wealth the the top few.
Maine has one of the best records for economic/budget/debt repair in the country since LePage took office. Hospital debts almost wiped out in one year. Pension debts paid down more quickly. Departments streamlined, MTA fraud eliminated, DHHS and DOE streamlined with reforms under way; Maine Bond Bank’s NYC junkets on the taxpayer dime eliminated. MSHA has new leadership with an eye on reforming its spending and cost-efficiency.
Naran you are not stating the real facts, not the funny type facts. The Hospital Debt remains at around $600,000. Just go to Maine.gov and open the Treasurer link where all the debt information is located. Then come back and apologize for writing false comments.
Do you know what it was? Since 2006? Hundreds of millions. $600,000.00 is nothing compared to what it was. Thank you, Paul LePage.
When Gov. LePage took office, the state owed Maine hospitals over $400 million – debt that built up under Baldacci. By the end of his first year, LePage paid that debt down to $125 million. You can read the links below. Since the first year, he has also paid another $40 million.
http://articles.boston.com/2011-01-13/news/29345955_1_hospital-debt-budget-proposal-budget-revision
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2011/01/12/health/with-supplemental-budget-lepage-seeks-to-pay-hospital-mainecare-dept/
The debt has risen again since the first payments, because medical services funded by MaineCare don’t stop. However, Gov. LePage has paid down more hospital debts in two years than Angus King and Baldacci paid down in ten.
The OPEGA investigation of the Turnpike began well before LePage took office.
Department streamlining is claimed by every governor.
Bonds have long been paid off early.
I’m pretty conservative, too, Naran. But I try to have some integrity and not just be a cheerleader because LePage wears the conservative team jersey. You ought to give it a try.
Are you guys brothers?
No, married, but I sleep on the couch most nights.
LOL I bet.
Tonight’s menu: hot tongue and cold shoulder :-)
Naran is a woman, if you click on her name you can see her picture.
Not any more. Not important anyway.
It rhymes nicely with “harangue”
I am not related to the person cited above.
And no one is more grateful for that fact than I. If we were married, you’d give me poison, which I would gladly drink. And then ask for a second helping.
“Like” X 1,000
DHHS streamlined ?? If thats what you want to call kicking THOUSANDS of disabled people off of Mainecare who now will have to make the choice of do I keep living inside or do they get a tent to live in untill they can save enough money to go see a doctor ? Streamlined ? If you say so……keep in mind that the feds have NOT approved ANY changes to Mainecare and the “streamlining” quite possibly will lead to class action lawsuits that will cost Maine MILLIONS…..looots of millions
Why is it up to the government to make jobs? They helped the jobs waltz out of the country.
Make your own jobs and businesses. All it takes is an idea and physcial movement.
Um, actually, its all the private sector jobs that are now overseas…. perhaps govt “helped”, but the private sector did all the waltzing on their own.
You don’t think it takes two to tango?
I guess the lack of import fees leaves one
one to think they danced alone. I’ll bet if the US
said double import fees maybe things
would be different?
You mean like all the bonds baldacci got payed for jobs? Ha thats a laugh. Lepage has made it easier to open biz. in Maine period. He has reformed rules and regulations to make it easier to get things going and also unemployment has dropped in Maine since he has been in office, mind you it has only been a little over a year and our unemployment rates have dropped from 8% to 7% which is actually a LOT of jobs when you break it down…..Just saying
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The problem is that Baldacci and King bonded so much money they ran Maine’s economy into the ditch, and expanded the budgets and welfare programs over 80%, along with shortchanging the DOT and other departments repairing our infrastructure.
No more bonds until our debt situation is resolved.
00011100101 000
I would be willing to bet you are one of the people who blames the bush administration for all of obamas mess
Why should’nt we? It will take way more than eight years to straighten out the second bush’s mess . Only when we get the mojority in the house and senate can we fix this as the tea party republicans have done all they can with the fillabuster to make obama look bad. Wake up it’s allmost to late allready.
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You’re as bad as the person who allows their dog to poop on my driveway and then claim it’s my fault.
Baldacci and King. Baldacci and King. Are you sure you aren’t Darkcat? You both have the same answer for everything. Baldacci and King. Oh is it true what was said in the Portland Paper? That your organization shares space with MHPC?
Just a reminder since you seem to have forgotten – this whole financial mess started with Governor Jock. Now does that refresh your memory? Think about it and just Google for the facts.
Stop bringing up the past. You probably are critical of Obama blaming Bush, and he’s only been out of office for 3 years. King hasn’t been in office for 9 years. You’re a broken record. LePage promised us jobs and we’ve lost jobs since he’s been in office. Look at facts from people other than spin machine Maine Heritage.
Where’s your link Naran, give us numbers, give us dates, keep the hot air.
I thought the voters would decide ? Mmmm…
Stick to your guns, Gov. You are doing the right thing and I support you 100%.
I don’t support his work, 1000%…….he has created NO JOBS, Clearly he is not demonstrating a “transparent” governorship, he is rude, he is abrasive and he IS NOT WHAT IS NEEDED during a period of slow economic recovery. He is hindering any and all thoughts and ideas regarding the state’s policy and regulations. The State of Maine, simply, is not Marden’s.
That is the reason that he is rated as the “Worst” Governor ever elected in the history of Maine. Fear not thou – the Green Shirt people enjoy his comedic skills.
So, if the voters say to do it, he still won’t????? He obviously does not know what a democracy is. He will get a lesson in the next election. Dictatorships do not belong in the US, time to send him packing.
While LePage goes to the polls in November to vote against Bonds Maine voters will be going to the polls as well to vote against something……..REPUBLICANS
!!!!
Way to go, Governor! Don’t issue bonds while interest rates are low! Cater to the ignorant armies that haven’t figured out that allowing infrastructure conditions to fall (read: lose value) is a different form of deficit spending.
Wait until later, when costs are higher and the cost of money is, too. The ignorant armies will applaud.
Maine should take no more bonds until the massive debts and bad economic policies of the past have been corrected.
I guess you can figure out you are battling the same type of mentality that has run Maine into the ground for decades.
Let’s make a leap of logic here…..
Therefore, we are correct in assuming that when the “big box” stores run a sale on the merchandise you deride as cheap foreign imports you applaud your home budgeter for going out and buying out the whole display even though you just lost your job last week.
No, wrong leap. I’m saying that even though you lost your job last week, you still need staples, and you buy them cheaply rather than dearly.
You still need fuel oil – so if possible, you buy it early when it is less expensive, rather than later when the price is high.
Your leap to the assumption that “staples” is what I meant as an exclusive inference is wrong. Priorities usually place mortgage or rent on the top of the list. If there’s no money for either due to job loss there’s no room in the budget for “come-ons” that lead one to 50 cases of soda which with coupons come down to a “deal you can’t refuse”.
No research, no development, no business’s, no business development, no job’s. Not unless you count on working for a short term project like the E-W Highway or at Marden’s. And some folk’s say Paulie doesn’t have a heart !
One should not spend what one does not have.
May God bless you, Gov. LePage and adminstration.
You must be blinded by his xtra large shadow or in some bad dream. Please wake up before it is to late.
Poliquin could use some blessing.
This is one of those seesaw issues … we should not spend money we do not have, but there are things which need to be done, and are normally done by floating bonds.
Community Colleges? want do they need which is time dependent?
Water & sewer? That’s big city stuff …
And the Land isn’t going anywhere.
BUT … roads and highways. Can we sue LePage personally if a bridge collapses? How about an accident caused by cracks and potholes? Especially if, because of a lack of timely maintenance, they take out a tourist bus, or cause a truck to flip contaminating a major section of some community? LePage going to assume personal liability — or does the state get saddled with the cost?
It isnt that the governor isn’t spending what we don’t have. He is letting the people of Maine make that decision if they want to spend the money.
Just pointing out that we Hvae yet to vote on these bonds, they will be on the November ballot, so everyone is jumping the guns saying he isnt listening to voters because we still may not vote them into action and for my generations sakes I hope everyone will vote against them. I do not want to have to be paying them back for the rest of my life.
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“I cannot personally support any of these bonds and will not vote for them at the polls in November,” another big fail for poor Paul.
Mr LePage’s comments and those of his followers raise multiple questions for and to them:
Does Mr LePage now or has he ever realized he is a servant of We the People ? As such he has an obligation to perform as the majority wish. That said if We the People vote in the majority to support the referendum he has an obligation to spend the funds we support.
Does Mr LePage think he is smarter than We the People or just dictatorial by nature ?
Should Mr LePage inhibit the expenditure of the highway improvement funds and a motorist and / or their family be injured or worse yet die due to a deficeny that was not addressed will he bear the expense or pass it onto to We the People ?
Do you the supporters realize that Mr LePage has no long term concerns regarding the State of Maine or its citizens ? The day he no longer governor he boards a plane for Florida.
Does anyone see a double standard when Mr LePage continually reduces the safety net for our elderly, disabled, children and the poor while living in our mansion with his relatives at our expense?
Does anyone see a double standard when Mr LePage attacks our state employees regarding the retirement benefits they invest in yet when he moves to Florida he will take one of the higher benefit packages with him ?
When a new industry or business fails to locate in Maine due to our failure to invest in our infrastructure will Mr LePage accept the blame ?
In most businesses failure to follow the direction of the board of directors ( We the People voting for bond issues ) is seen as insubordination. Will Mr LePage willing resign ?
The list goes on and on but there is only so much time.
1. No.
2. Yes and yes.
3. No.
4. Yes.
5. No.
6. No.
it is more about holding a thumb down on people they do not like… this all has nothing to do with money and everything to do with bigotry and hatred.
Sorry he does not have to preform as the majority wishes.. It is not the job discription.. I don’t know where you got that Idea… the house and senate can over ride though
LeRage thinks our votes don’t count. Just wait until the time he’s the thing we’re voting for…..or against.
It doesn’t matter, He is not a professional politician… Sorry.. Win or lose he is going to do his job, not cater to the voter blocks..
Old school politics needs to go.. Most people worry about their jobs and next elections as politicans rather then do the right thing for the people…
Th photos the BDN insists on using of Gov. LePage aren’t fooling voters or taxpayers.
Paulie drinks too much Koch a Cola !
…and we suffer from the hangover.
Once again, Governor LePage uses blanket decisions. He seems unable to find any good if one item is bad.
why compromise.. compromise doesn’t make sense to me..I don’t think so… No Bonds. we don’t need them.. bonding for temporary jobs is a stupid investment. Compromise has distroyed this country. Hey pssss!!! I vote for your bill if you vote for mine. even though they are both stupid.
Do not spend till we have a working budget.
With LaBafoon in charge, it will be 4 years of heading backwards towards oblivion, for Maine. An awful lot of young people will be forced to leave Maine to find decent employment and opportunity.
That’s already been going on, for years.
“Even with the voters’ authorization to borrow this money, my administration will not spend it until we’ve lowered our debt significantly. That could be several years”
I for one hope, you are not in office for several years…..
Bedsides if we borrow money, and not spend it don’t we still have to pay on it even if we don’t use it, like say a loan on a car? The bank doesn’t say “Hey we will lend you $10,000 and you pay nothing until you drive a mile” If you don’t drive it, you still pay on something you are not using. Wouldn’t that be the same with the bonds? We have the money, but it won’t be spent, but at the end of the say we still got to pay it back.
We don’t owe money on bonds until the state actually borrows the money. Voters approving a bond at the polls is not the same as the state taking out the loan.
You might decide to buy a house, but you don’t owe any money on the house until the closing happens. Voters make decisions, but until the state actually borrows the money, we owe nothing.
Thank you… time and time again it has to be explained.
You are welcome.
So I guess the Dictator of this hostile takeover WILL NOT abide by the people’s wishes should the bond issues pass. Certainly not a democracy!!!!!!
They didn’t submit my bond, and the people won’t vote on it either.what about my wishes.
I’m glad we don’t live in a democary!!!! I’m not into mob rule.
the spending will never be under control because there are too many lawmakers in the good old boys club where you scratch my back and ill scratch yours.hopefully voters will see this and make some changes in nov. i hear bruce is offering free memberships and a tax break on property for the peoples vote
he is doing what he said he would do. what are the democrats doing to offset it. Probably nothing. That would require smart thoughts and work.
Our roads, bridges and streets all need some work. But we can’t do repairs without the tar and cement. Perhaps the Tea Party has the answer?
Nothing more than a political ploy when he knows full well the people of Maine are NOT going to support the bond issues anyway. This is him simply taken the popular stance or possibly even hoping to use reverse psychology and hope that for a change if he actually sides with the majority of the people of Maine, maybe because they are so against him, they will want to go against him and vote for them….Wont work though Mr. Lepage. Fool us once, shame on you, Fool us twice, shame on us. You wont get that chance.
Please show us the list of bonds that have failed in Maine over the last 30 years. (Hint – you won’t need much room on the page).
Mainers have never voted down a bond issue for several decades anyway…..
Thank you!!! Governor Paul Lepage. You are a good man..
The will of the people plays no role in this discussion?
None. The emperor has spoken.
The emperor has no clothes.
Forget the people. The Tea Party rules.
Thank you finally for a responsible adult. For to long our government has been acting like a spoiled child that gets whatever it wants while walking down candy isle.
What about our roads an bridges how will those get fixed ??
Anyone who drives a Caddie or a Hummer doesn’t worry about tires, rods, shocks and springs. Those little things are for you and I to enjoy.
Im glad you have the money to fix those things
I’m glad someone understands that we can’t spend more than we make.
“Even with the voters’ authorization to borrow this money, my administration will not spend it until we’ve lowered our debt significantly. That could be several years,” he said in the statement. It would seem that Dictator Lepage has, once again, forgotten that he works for the people of Maine. I am simply waiting and praying that the people are smart enough to also vote out the controlling Republicans in Office not only in STATE Government but also in Federal Government. It’s time to stop listening to BS RHETORIC and Media Spin. LOOK Around you, See the empty buildings where businesses have been closing their doors and RUNNING For other states. See the neighbors who are out of work because of this and struggling to find jobs in a job market where there are still 100 applications for 1 position. See the friends and family members who are losing their homes because it’s all they can do to feed their families. And then VOTE.
Candy so will taxing people and businesses at high rates will change that???
You know, in general, I think the guy sticks his foot in his mouth too frequently, but in this case, I have to had it to him. He’s sticking to his guns better than anyone before him and I thank him for it.
Mr. Lepage is trimming the hedges here…..
Just another sign that Maine is not open for business.Why would anyone relocate to a state with crumbling roads and bridges,a decaying water and dam infrastructure and failing to invest in our students?
You left out the catch phrase, What about the children.
Government exists to provide services to the citizens. Not to provide power to the politicians.
If you can’t pave the roads and fix the sewers, Guv, what good are you?
….
My issue with this isn’t economic. Mi issue is the continued arrogance of the governor. As Shayna Alexander said many years ago,
“Somewhere along the way this business of who’s working for who got out of hand.”
Yeah, I’ve felt that way about Democrats for a long time.
That’s rich coming from you!
Why is it that no matter what people attack Lepage, so lets do a recap here:
He has droped unemployment rates from nearly 8% to 7%, he has eliminated 1.7 BILLION in taxpayer debt, He has paid back tens of millions of misused funds to our government, Passed the LARGEST tax cut in maine history, reduced workers comp rates TWICE, Helped restart the Katahdin mills, he refused to raise the gas tax, He eliminated our state as a sanctuary state for welfare recipinets, put a five year cap on welfare and wants to make drug testing mandatory for welfare recipients. All of this welfare talk makes people upset but I am sick of many able bodied people my age 23 and younger just being lazy. As the saying goes give a man a fish he will be hunger tomorrow but teach a man to fish and he will be self sufficient.
This is only a FEW things he has done, not to mention the fixing of shortfalls that Baldacci left for him. He also Opens his office to the people on Saturday mornings so if You have something Nasty to say why not go and tell him your issues so he can work on fixing them. We as a country are BROKE, there is not a need to borrow this money to make us further in debt regaurdless of how low intrest rates are. I am a young American and I do not want to inherit the debt of a selfish and careless generation. Everyone says how concerned about the “kids” they are but it neve stops them from leaving us a mess to clean up.
THANK YOU LEPAGE FOR DOING WHAT HAS TO BE DONE!!!!
If Lepage refuses to fix our dilapidated roads then he should be charged with murder when someone is killed on the unsafe roads his actions have created.
DOT has money in it’s budget to fix roads.
Since the DOT is controlled by the Lepage administration ,why is he waiting until someone dies to do something about the roads?
How about not issuing bond proposals until all members of state govt. who have stolen from the state are prosecuted?
Why is it that no matter what people attack Lepage, so lets do a recap here:
He has droped unemployment rates from nearly 8% to 7%, he has eliminated 1.7 BILLION in taxpayer debt, He has paid back tens of millions of misused funds, Passed the LARGEST tax cut in maine history, reduced workers comp rates TWICE, Helped restart the Katahdin mills, he refused to raise the gas tax, He eliminated our state as a sanctuary state for welfare recipinets, put a five year cap on welfare and wants to make drug testing mandatory for welfare recipients. This is only a FEW things he has done, not to mention the fixing of shortfalls that Baldacci left for him. He also Opens his office to the people on Saturday mornings so if You have something Nasty to say why not go and tell him your issues so he can work on fixing them. We as a country are BROKE, there is not a need to borrow this money to make us further in debt regaurdless of how low intrest rates are. I am a young American and I do not want to inherit the debt of the careless generation. Everyone says how concerned about the “kids” they are but it neve stops them from leaving us a mess to clean up.
THANK YOU LEPAGE FOR DOING WHAT HAS TO BE DONE!!!!
Then you will really like working for 35 or so years retire for a few and have the rug pulled out from under you by a rule change…… Like so many retired teachers and state workers who played by the rules ALL their working careers.
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Isn’t it amusing that with Governor LaPages short time in office he is getting blamed for all the past woes of the State of Maine? When I believe the past administration spent and spent and spent, at least it kept the votes coming in. The current state of our affairs did not happen over nite.
We think it’s smart not to spend money we don’t have especially when our financial house is not in order. These liberals love to tax and spend. I understand sometimes we need to borrow but unless our financial house is in order, we shouldn’t borrow until it is.
I understand everyone thinks we needs these bonds, but we have to figure out a better way to pay for what we need… We can not keep borrowing all of this money at every election and not think it is going to come back to bite us. That is why, until we can improve the spending accountability in our state and get at least some of it under control, I will not be voting for any of the bonds either. On this one thing – the governor and I agree!
I am not going to come out and say whether or not I agree or disagree with Governor LePage. I will say this though; I am uncomfortable when one person decides that he or she will not follow the will of the people when they make a collective decision on how they vote in favor of bond issues. Mr. LePage needs to remember that he is a public servant. That being said, if the citizens of Maine disagree enough with his decisions and actions as governor, they can choose to not reelect him in 2014. Until then, unless he breaks the law, he can proceed with these actions. Our state laws allow for him to decide as to whether or not to issue the bonds.
Stand firm Governor!!!
Hey!!! Question to liberals
How do you get 10 bad laws passed???
Answer; Compromise
…
compromise is used to stratch each others backs. The liberals profected it.. Ill vote for you bill if you vote for mine… Most of the bills passed durning the liberal rein could not stand on there own merits, thats why they needed to compromise. you liberals made it dirty.. It’s not business as usual in Augusta and alot of people lived off of governement pork. That is all done for the time being. Next election for governor will tell if the people are happy or not.
So, if the people support issuing the bonds, the Governor will, unillaterally, decide not to issue the bonsds. Apparently he thinks he is KING, not Governor.
Thank you ! go Lepage
It is not spending we have to worry about, it is disinvestment in our shared futures. The cuts to education and infrastructure have been carried out to provide the wealthiest Mainers a tax break they don’t need.
Responsible borrowing is how future prosperity is ensured. There is no way to a more prosperous Maine future without investment. If we don’t spend the R&D money, someone, somewhere else will. the capital will flow outward. This is no matter to LePage since most of his support and money comes from out of state billionaires anyway.
It is time we elect a new statehouse full of people who govern for Mainers, not oil billionaires who offer our people, especially our children, nothing.
Baldacci estate/death tax chased the money away long ago
Typical coward response….change the subject and blame someone else.
It will not be too far in the future these short sighted policies will come home to roost. There are dark cloud forming on the horizon and the real impacts of the disinvestment will be apparent to all.
You assuming that any form of government, State/Local/Federal has any money left over is funny.
…
The comparison of state funding to household budgeting is often used and always misleading.
Governments are not households. Their income resources are not dependent on an employer or the continued health of the families income earners so the flexibility of planning for necessary expenditures is different.
Borrowing against future revenues doesn’t represent the risk associated with family borrowing and, in fact, is the most prudent way of insuring the continued excellence of critical infrastructure by funding timely major capital projects.
These are needed programs and by refusing to fund them, several obvious things happen:
1) In the case of maintenance programs, further deterioration of existing assets will take place,
2) For new development programs, unique opportunities will be lost,
3) The ultimate expense of all projects will escalate sharply and
4) The immediate economic benefits of local spending (in terms of wages, services and materials) will be abandoned.
But there is another hidden negative aspect to the Governor’s refusal to issue these bonds. One of the factors that rating agencies consider in their examination of a state’s credit worthiness is the condition of and investment in such things as transportation, education and municipal services within the state.
From several points of view, Governor LePage’s arbitrary decision is actually counter-productive to Maine’s stature in terms of continued favorable forecasts by ratings companies because it displays doubt about our state’s future rather than confidence and determination.
Now all the voters need to do is figure that he is in fact correct in his judgement and take the politics out of it. We should not be borrowing money until our financial house is in order. You do not do it at home and Augusta is no different.
Using your logic, you would not borrow money to fix your car so that you could get to work. You would not take out a mortgage to purchase a home. You would also, so it seems, not take out a student loan to get a college education. Such logic would put you into a downward spiral into poverty, much the same as this state will be in if we blindly follow our very short-sighted governor.
And using your logic you borrow into oblivion. We need to stay within our budget. We also need to build to fund the maintenance to our infrastructure not go out and bond everytime something is broke. In other words live within our means.
Let’s say it again…Taxpayers are broke. They have no money. All their money is gone. Who’s going to pay for your coveted spending plans? Where does the government get its money? Where do taxpayers get their money? Where do jobs come from?
Some facts of life are in order.
Jobs come from inspired and committed self-employment, micro companies, small businesses, medium businesses, large businesses and corporations.
A choice is to be a Big Government Control Freak. You can choose to squeeze, strangle and suffocate to death businesses of all sizes to reduce the number of jobs and the amount of taxes you can collect so you can self-righteously whine about mean people.
The second choice is to be a Free Marketer. You can choose to squeeze, strangle and suffocate to death Big Government in order to support economic growth which produces jobs and increases the tax revenue you need to pay for all your coveted spending plans.
Ok so by the way you talk when roads an bridges get to bad just close them down till the state saves up the money to fix them . By the time the state dose have the money the farmers will be able to hay the roads thats how long it will take the state to save up the money .
The better the business environment, the greater the tax revenues.
Hopefully when the Democrats sweep the elections later this year they will have enough of a majority to impeach LePage.
On what legal basis? Specifics would be helpful.
Time and time again Naran you tell people to Google it. Take your own advise.
Mardens take this guy back please put him in the reduced for quick sale bin but still think no one would want him .
Let the state’s infrastructure go to heck, don’t properly fund the higher education institutions which produce work ready adults, and make sure we have old fashioned plumbing.
Yes, that plan is sure to attract businesses to Maine!
And put off the inevitable until it’s so much more in need of help and the money is so much more expensive! Good plan – he’s so smaht!
By the way, if there are things on the ballot I don’t like, does that mean I don’t have to follow the will of our democratic republic?
Funding for preventive programs has been cut of in many areas. There are no respite funds for families of children with high needs. There are no recreational funds for children whose families are working 2,3 jobs to stay afloat and still cannot afford the gas, food, and tickets to take their children to places such as Maine Wildlife Park. There is no flexible funding for safety items in homes. I have a boy as a client who wanted to take karate lessons. His single mother was deserted by his deadbeat father who subsequently ended up in prison. We have money for that. This boy committed an act of vandalism and is on informal adjustment. DOC paid for him to take karate lessons for six months. What did this boy learn? Get it into trouble and get karate lessons. Prevention NOT Incarceration!!! Our governor and his cronies seem unable to think this through. If you are old enough, think about the old Fram oil filter ad on television. Pay me now or pay me later.
What has these programs done again to help, prevent and lesson the amount of people who need help???? I would think with all the help the Dems provided over the last 30/40 yrs that everyone would have the perfect life by now. But no we have 10 fold the people in need of help. So how does this work again.
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Once again, iron-fisted autocrat Le Page stomps his Jack Boots.
Under tea party fascist ideology, governors rule, as he and other do. Discussion is dead. Dismiss the Legislature.
They can over ride any veto, Let the legislature grow some and prove you right. LOL.. like thats going to happen (-;
Can you say “dictator”. If it is passed by the legislature, if it is approved by the voters, then it is a single person who controls the outcome based on their opinion of how things should be done. That would be the definition of a dictator, or perhaps just an autocrat. So much for democracy.
A Republic, sir a Republic is what we live in.. A Democracy would never have survived as long as our Republic has..
The Passion of the moment is how Democracies work..
We vote on the same bonds every two years. When is enough, enough???
When the people lead, leaders listen. Vote all of the Republicans out. Hamstring LePage. We, the people, whom he does not listen to or regard as anything more than an inconvenience can show him who really has the power in this state. Referenda, People’s vetoes, people’s initiatives. How dare he ignore us. Vote them out!!! Impeach him.
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You mean….*states are individuals*?
I’m with the Gov for sure….I’m tired of borrowing money that takes years to pay for on the backs of citizens…By the time these projects are completed they over run cost by millions every time…The taxes we pay at the gas pump are supposed to be dedicated to highways…Where is this money going? They stick it in a general fund and spend it stupidly…the U.S Constitution calls for a ballanced budget…My budget calls for a responsible output of funds…Spending future prospect money is stupid…
Borrowing money does take years to pay back – that is the idea. Money has a time value. A dollar today is more valuable than a dollar tomorrow (not just because of inflation).
Projects overrun by millions every time? Most projects in Maine are only in the $1-2 million range, anyway, and they do not overrun by millions. I have no idea where your information is coming from.
The taxes you pay at the pump *are* dedicated to highways. A small portion of the state fuel tax goes to the State Police, who police the highways. I am not sure of any other diversions at present. I think the other diversions ceased quite some time ago.
The US Constitution calls for a balanced budget? If so, then why do conservative candidates, especially, call for a Balanced Budget Amendment? Why have we had only a half-dozen or so balanced Federal budgets since the 1950s?
I have no idea whether you are a troll or just on bath salts.
Maine needs to raise more money, let’s get it from the tourists for a road tax. Roving toll booths using the EZ pass to collect. Get the National Guard to set it up and do something to earn their keep here in Maine. Guard our economy. The George Washington Bridge is $12. New Hampshire has a toll on I-95 and their road is wide and smooth.
We need one price for mainers and a higher price for others. We definitely need better roads and have to get the money somehow.
Tourists use the roads and pay very little towards the upkeep; why shouldn’t they pay more? We have something special in Maine that they can’t get somewhere else, maybe?