CommonCents of Brunswick, ME Once again, trickle down economics has enabled fancy art galleries like Kany's to exist.

Trickle down has enabled Maine to support many industries which product goods and services primarily and even exclusively upper income groups...MOSHER furniture and HINCKLEY YACHTs are just two of the many which have enriched and sustained the Maine economy and in turn enabled many mainers to become skilled high paid crafts people.

When Kany's fancy gallery goes out of business, I will paste up his left wing screed on the front window.

Under Bush; or In Spite of Bush National Debt tripled; while personal debt more than quadrupled. The average American household’s credit card debt in 1990 was $2,966. In 2007 it was $9,840.

In 1968, consumers’ total credit debt was $8 billion (in current dollars). Now the total exceeds $880 billion.
(SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank
n October 2007, credit card debt that was at least 30 days late totaled $17.6 billion, up 26% from October 2006. Some credit card companies, including Advanta, GE Money Bank and HSBC, are reporting a 50% increase in accounts that are at least 90 days late compared to the same time last year.

According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics (www.nabe.com) the combined threat of subprime loan defaults and excessive indebtedness has overtaken terrorism and the Middle East as the biggest short-term threat to the U.S. economy. 32% of the survey participants cited loan defaults and excessive debt as the biggest threat, compared to only 20% citing terrorism as the biggest threat.

Personal savings are now less than 2% of income...explain how Bush was responsible for this?

Kany...how long have you been a financial professional? cite your sources or scrub your posts.report abuse

Red Tide of Mudflat, ME Biddy, Please give it a rest. You're a broken "gimme" record.report abuse

Player of Gray, ME It's quite simple folks. Blame Bush. Blame Reagan.

This tax should be repealed as it was a sneaky, unethical move by the Legislature and a complete abdication of its responsibility to deal head-on with the abject failure of Dirigo. Sorry, DK, your anti Bush/Republican tirade is irrelevant.

Scrap this program, admit defeat and stop throwing good money after bad. Eliminate all the Bureau of Insurance and Maine Legislature mandates and open up the competition nationwide so that health insurance is affordable, as in New Hampshire where it is 50% of the cost here.

It is beyond dispute that the reason for the high cost of both Anthem and Dirigo is Maine Democrats who have so heavily regulated health insurance that to comply, the cost is overwhelming. It is no coincidence that there are basically only 2 health insurers will to write here in Maine.

As for MaineCare, the State owes at least $ 300 million in back payments to hospitals, which it is reneging on. Since the state cannot even run Medicaid, it has no business in Dirigo.report abuse

Daniel Kany of Cumberland, ME "The Republicans under Bush, borrowed about 60% LESS than Americans did overall during the past 8 years----it's a fact, I believe pointed out by the former head of the FEDERAL RESERVE."

At least we know CommonCents is not a financial professional.

Under Reagan and Bush, America borrowed more money than under ANY Democratic president. Under Clinton, the national debt shrank and Clinton devloped a surplus.

Under Reagan, national debt grew more than under all other post WWII presidents combined.

Under Bush, the national debt has TRIPLED.

It's simple: Republican fiscal strategies don't work. Trickle Down doesn't work. Supply Side doesn't work. The Republican "credit card" approach doesn't work: if you did your family's finances the way the Republican administration has handled the nation's, you would be broke and bankrupt and only thankful that we no longer have debtor's prisons.

Be real here, everyone: the high cost of medical coverage in Maine goes back well before Baldacci. Sure, it's frustrating, but we have to deal with reality - not what we merely want it to be. Fortunately, Maine is about 50% ahead of the national average with only about 10% uninsured (Dirigo's stated "goal" of covering 137,000 is the total number of uninsured in Maine).

The bad news is that Maine will still continue to be burdened with paying hospital bills for those who can't afford them and we're still going to have to pay for issues like bankruptcy and foreclosure for the people whose unaffordable medical bills break the bank and leave them with nothing.

Funding Dirigo is not only the compassionate thing to do, but it is important for our economic and business climate as well.report abuse

just4fun of undecided, ME Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There are no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains and no spine, and the head and the a$$ are interchangeable.report abuse

Fred of South Portland, ME Free colonoscopys, completely funded by Dirigo, for all politicans to help get thier heads out and see daylight again.report abuse

M K of Wilton, ME Question 1 + Question 2 = The Dysfunctional State of Mainereport abuse

Thomas Carter of Montville, ME Blah blah blah, Bush is evil...okay we get it.

The Hannah Pingree Midnight Tax is going to be repealed. Gov. 38% is going to get it rubbed in his face...Baldacci is a Failure as Governor.

YES on 1report abuse

heyrube of canaan, ME better talk to all the ones that have gotten laid off around the country , and have seen thier retirment tank and their homes lose 25% of their value, and fuel costs while the oil company makes record profits every quarter

thanks to bush /mcsame policies there are a load of people bankrupt and on welfare, thanks to themreport abuse

Dickie1 of Raymond, ME Maine is the cornerstone for our new socialist form of government in the good old USA. Our chose will be either bankruptcy or welfare. Or maybe both.report abuse