Posted on 11/06/2008 11:37:53 AM PST by mainestategop
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci has told state agencies they have a week to come up with ways to cut $150 million from current state spending as state revenues fall further behind projections.
“We are in a recession,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “I don’t want to cut, but I have an obligation to balance the budget.”
Baldacci said Maine is not the only state facing steep declines in revenues, and he is having discussions with legislative leaders about whether to have a special session this month to make cuts he cannot make under the budget curtailment law or have the new Legislature in December consider cuts just after lawmakers take office.
(Excerpt) Read more at bangordailynews.com ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Why make spending cuts? Wouldn’t it be easier to increase the sales tax like Arnold is doing in California? There are a lot of New Yorkers and Massachussets people who vacation in Maine and would be happy to pay higher sales taxes on their vacations.
Sarcasm/
Pummeled? I guess. Although his Dirigo-funding beverage tax (42 cents per gallon! yikes!) was overturned by the voters voting yes on #1 to overturn it...
The stinkin’ legislature is even now more democratnik. Both the Maine Senate and the Maine House have large democrat majorities now.
Many districts (including the second US congressional district) didn’t even have viable candidates. It’s a shameful state of the party. Unfortunately, not much I can do as I live in one of the few areas that has a highly functional party apparatus.
What so many Outtastatahs don’t understand, is that in Maine... Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are quite conservative compared to the rest of the state. And the southern part of the state (Boston North a/k/a Cumberland & York Counties) elected a card-carrying LOBBYIST to the congress rather than the admirable Charlie Summers.
If we had any sort of national party compared to the DNC’s Senate campaign under Schumer and House campaign under Emanuel, Summers would have gotten national assistance to defeat Pingree, who’s simply the worst of the worst type to send to DC.
It’ll be fun to watch Baldacci have to cut more though. He can start with these 48 odd Special Advisors to the Governor. At about 150K a pop in salary and benefits, dismissing ALL of them would net an immediate $8 million. Throw out all their aides, secretaries, and assistants and vice-assistants, and that should just about take care of it all.
Furthermore, Maine doesn’t need 150 representatives and 35 senators. Nebraska, with 50% more population, gets by just fine with 49 senators in a unicameral Legislature.
Why, if Maine got rid of this excess of 136 do-nothings... and all their staffs... we’d surely save another parcel of taxpayers’ money.
No sympathy for anything New England.
No sympathy needed.
It is interesting though, that California, with a Republican governor, decides to raise taxes...
While Maine, with a Democrat governor, decides to make CUTS IN SPENDING!
I think Baldacci actually should be congratulated... as he’s very likely now to be called a DINO by all the DUmmies.
Any idea how the Lewiston Somalis voted?
democrat, republican. does it really matter anymore? the faults of the huge federal gov't have trickled down to the states.
Our Guv Baldy-acci sees over the horizon to blessed things happening for Maine now that he will have a ‘friend’ in the White House. Maybe a spare set of keys to the Treasury’s printing press room?
Also, Unicameral lawmaking rules prohibit introducing bills that that contain multiple subjects under consideration...
Some days I wonder if it a rule like that would be beneficial...
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