How LePage has hurt Maine' economy

Beacon


Conservative fiscal policies at the state and national level have been a key cause of the lackluster economic recovery following the Great Recession, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute. EPI’s findings are especially relevant for Maine; while EPI cites the post-2009 recovery as one of the longest on record, Maine’s recovery has been even slower. The U.S. economy recovered its pre-Recession employment levels 51 months after the trough of the recession. Maine is still waiting after 84 months for its employment levels to recover. EPI identifies short-sighted policies like cutting public spending, failing to invest in infrastructure, and refusing to accept federal monies as causes of this slow growth recovery. While Maine has suffered under these poor policy choices, there’s still opportunity to reverse them, and get our economy back on track.