Graph courtesy of Maine Center for Economic Policyanalysis by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

There's a war going on between people who should be looking out for one another's best interests because, if for no other reason, those interests dovetail exactly with their own. Here's a true story, and a cautionary tale:

A few years ago, a group of teachers at a midcoast school district met to discuss a grievance many of them shared. This issue was typical in many ways - the school was asking teachers to give up after-school time without compensation or recognition on a daily basis to cover things like detention and bus duty, tasks that had formerly been the purview of education technicians, whose jobs were being cut. These requirements affected all teachers, whether or not the teachers were already engaged in tutoring, after-school activities, coaching, or other events involving students, and they had valid concerns. But during the meeting, several teachers also spoke up about janitorial staff pay, which they pointed out (in this school district) was higher than typical for the area. Rather than lauding their fellow employees' collective bargaining skills, these teachers were upset about the janitors' pay, especially in light of their own new responsibilities.

analysis by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

MADISON, Wisconsin -- In the heady rhetoric about democracy and freedom in Cairo last week, one important fact may have been forgotten.  The revolution was essentially a pocketbook issue.  It began because the price of food was so high and the wages were being kept so artificially low by an authoritarian government.  Trade unions led the way in the Cairo revolution, along with Facebook-driven students and families who couldn’t afford to buy bread for their kids.

So it isn’t terribly surprising that the revolution is coming home, brought into the streets by people who are justifiably concerned that their hard-won rights to collective bargaining with their employer - in this case, the state of Wisconsin - are in danger of being unilaterally taken away by a governor who wants to balance his books on their backs.

analysis by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

AUGUSTA — Last Friday, Governor Paul LePage offered up his state budget for the next two years. There weren’t too many surprises in it – except for one rather large issue – the price tag.

LePage’s budget proposal totals $6.1 billion, roughly $300 million more than the current budget designed by Governor John Baldacci and the Democratically controlled Legislature.

The budget proposes long-term changes to the state’s retirement system and welfare programs, and provides for a series of tax cuts that affect everything from the marriage penalty to estate taxes.