The “stop the scam” movement to get people to vote “no” on Question 1 in November is both hyperbolic and misleading. For years, the elderly and disabled citizens in Maine have waited for gridlocked legislators and the inept governor to come up with a mechanism to provide better access to in-home care. They continue to […]
Question 1
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Support for universal home care
My family has worked for a long time caring for each other at home. My husband and our children carry a serious genetic disorder, Marfans Syndrome, which means that our lives have been filled with surgeries to help us function; pain is a daily reality. We have dealt with other disabling conditions as well. Despite […]
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Posted inLetters, sj-web
Question 1 is not the answer
Question 1 on the November ballot proposes a 3.8 percent tax on certain employers, individuals and households in Maine. The money from this new tax is for home care for seniors and disabled adults. But as much as $6.5 million could be used for a separate, new bureaucracy to run the program. The new program […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Support for Question 1
People have an incredible opportunity before them in November. Voters will decide if Maine will be the first in the nation to establish a universal home care system for all Maine seniors, including the elder and disabled veterans. As an 81-year-old veteran and a retired auditor and fraud analyst, I can see the common sense […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Support for Question One
I am 79-year-old veteran and I hope that Question 1, the Universal Homecare Initiative, passes in November. I want to age at home, like any Maine veteran, or senior. I don’t want to end up in a nursing home; they are lonely, dismal places to live. I know that everyone in Maine would rather age […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Vote 'yes' on Question 1
It breaks my heart that I even must write this letter for the sake of those who are fighting for their lives every day. These are the people who are ill and debilitated and need long-term care. It seems to me that everyone deserves medical care when they need it. I have a cousin who […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Referendum on home care could result in ‘marriage penalty’ tax
A change in the wording of Question 1 on the upcoming November ballot has touched off a raging debate over how the measure’s proposed income tax surcharge would apply to married couples. If passed, Question 1 would create a law that directs money to home care workers through a new income tax surcharge of 3.8 […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine voters soon to decide fate of ranked-choice voting
Maine voters will finally get their chance to try out the hotly debated ranked-choice voting system when they head to the polls to select party nominees for governor, Congress and the Legislature on June 12. While they’re in the voting booth, Mainers will also face Question 1 on their ballots, asking them if they want […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
History of success provides support for Question 1
In 2003, Maine voters faced a choice: allow a hotel and casino in Bangor, and bet that the resultant economic activity would provide a much-needed boost in jobs and tax revenue throughout the region, or vote against the project based on groundless fear-mongering against the project and its backer, gaming and commercial real estate entrepreneur […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Vote 'no' on Maine Question 1
After seeing an advertisement by the Micmac Indians that gave their approval to the state referendum Question 1, I had concerns about the content of the question. I then researched the proposal and was surprised by the way the profits from the slot machines were to be distributed. The Indian nation will receive one percent […]