New Report Reveals a Need for Balanced Budget Solutions

Portland, Maine — The Maine Can Do Better Coalition, a coalition of more than 150 organizations from across Maine, praised the annual report by the Maine Economic Growth Council (MEGC), saying it should serve as a wake up call for Maine legislators.

In their report, “Measures of Growth in Focus”, the MEGC echoed Maine Can Do Better’s call for policymakers to look beyond Maine’s immediate challenges, stating “it is precisely during [economic] downturns that states, just like companies, must position themselves for growth when the economy finally turns around.” The report continues, “We need to continue investment in our workforce and in our infrastructure. We need to support investments that will grow the ‘new economy’ in Maine”.

In contrast, the current supplemental budget proposal would weaken the state’s ability to address two of the three measures flagged by MEGC as needing attention: higher degree attainment and the cost of health care.  The budget proposal includes dramatic cuts to health care and education (both k-12 and higher education) which, if adopted by the Legislature, threaten to worsen these key economic indicators.

In keeping with the MEGC recommendations, Maine Can Do Better is advocating a more balanced approach to the state fiscal crisis to ensure a speedier return to economic prosperity in Maine.

“Two of the hardest hit sectors in the budget are education and health care,” says Sara Gagne-Holmes, Executive Director of Maine Equal Justice Partners, “yet, those are the sectors that have been flagged as needing the most attention in order for Maine’s economy to thrive. Hopefully our elected leaders will see this as evidence that Maine cannot reach its full potential if we limit the budget conversation to cuts alone.”

“We need to start connecting the dots,” says Ben Dudley, spokesperson for the Maine Can Do Better Coalition,  “Continually cutting health and education funding increases long term costs by diminishing the ability of Maine’s workforce to compete in the new economy. This is why the state budget writers must consider the relative costs and benefits of all available balancing options: program cuts, operational efficiencies, and responsible enhanced revenues.”

Click here to read the full report: http://mdf.org/publications/Measures-of-Growth-in-Focus-2010/214/