Mainers are falling further and further behind amidst legislative inaction
This is Rep. Shelley Rudnicki of Fairfield with the weekly Republican address.
American personal incomes grew this past spring in every state but Maine.
While the personal incomes of the other 49 states grew 5.3%, Maine’s personal income fell by 2.7%.
In the other New England states, personal income growth ranged from 2.7% in Vermont to 5.6% in Massachusetts.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis report identified the end of a one-time state refundable tax credit as the leading cause of Maine’s decrease.
Meanwhile, only 58.6 percent of the Mainers that can work, actually work.
Despite a slight recent uptick, that percentage if far lower than neighboring states with similarly aged populations.
New Hampshire and Vermont have a similar median age, but have much higher rates of labor force participation than Maine. For New Hampshire, it is 64.8 percent. In Vermont, that participation rate is 64.9 percent.
Lagging personal income growth, limited workforce participation,, and a rapid expansion of welfare benefits is a recipe for disaster.
Couple that with the incoming migration of asylum seekers, who are prevented from working by federal regulations, AND an ever expanding homeless population.
Maine is in trouble.
We need to get back to the original Maine heritage that made our state appealing.
Hard work,
Thrift,
Industriousness,
And compassion for our neighbors.
Increasingly, these neighbors are struggling to survive in a state that grows more expensive by the day due to price increases and high taxes.
The plight of Mainers of modest means falls on deaf ears.
Maine House Republicans will continue to offer proposals to lower electric costs and allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money by lowering taxes.
We are confident that more and more citizens are waking up to the fact that our state government is taking Maine in the wrong direction at the expense of hard-working taxpayers.
Maine should be a state where everyone can afford to live here.
This has been Rep. Shelley Rudnicki with the Weekly Republican Radio Address.
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