Taxes and Budget Making the Most of Maine's Next Budget Maine Needs a Plan to Revive the Economy The state budget lays the foundation of a strong economy and thriving communities. For Maine to prosper, the budget […] Jody Harris Posted January 5, 2017 Tags Budget
Maine’s Economy An Outcry for Payday Lending Reform When MECEP joined a dozen nonprofit labor, business, senior, economic justice, and community organizations from Maine to call for stronger federal consumer protections against predatory payday lenders, […] Jody Harris Posted October 18, 2016 Tags Consumer Protection, Federal
Maine’s Economy Responsible Lending; Responsible Borrowing What do people do when they need money quickly? Their car needs costly repairs so they can get to work. A medical emergency has resulted in a […] Jody Harris Posted September 1, 2016 Tags Consumer Protection
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget Failure to invest in Maine’s future is the real fiscal negligence We all want a financially sound state government, but Governor LePage seems bent on undermining our public services in the name of fiscal integrity. His most recent […] Jody Harris Posted August 8, 2016 Tags Budget, Economy, Taxes
Maine’s Economy How payday lenders skirt the law The facts about how payday lenders trap working families in debt are shocking: 19 million families use payday loans each year. One in four of those borrowers […] Jody Harris Posted July 20, 2016 Tags Consumer Protection, Federal
Maine’s Economy Predatory lenders disproportionately target women, new study shows It’s Shark Week. No, not the Discovery Channel’s homage to the denizens of the deep, but rather the annual media storm from consumer advocates who oppose the […] Jody Harris Posted June 29, 2016 Tags Consumer Protection, Federal, Inequality
Education, Health Care, Maine’s Economy Will Congress leave poor Maine kids hungrier and less ready to learn? Just when you thought Congress has finally gotten something right, they disappoint once again. I am talking about the national school meal programs. Congress assumed correctly that […] Jody Harris Posted April 28, 2016 Tags Children, Education, Food Insecurity
Maine’s Economy Payday loans continue to injure consumers This week MECEP urged federal regulators to establish strong protections against abuses by payday lenders. Their loosely regulated, short-term, unsecured loans trap people in a cycle of […] Jody Harris Posted April 22, 2016 Tags Consumer Protection, Federal
Jobs and Income, Maine’s Economy Child care in Maine is getting more expensive; while the governor jeopardizes its safety and federal funds that help parents pay for it A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute concluded that child care is staggeringly unaffordable for Maine families. Yet Governor LePage’s recent action jeopardizes federal funds […] Jody Harris Posted April 14, 2016 Tags Children
Health Care Annual Cost of Maine's Substance Abuse Epidemic, 2015 Maine’s cost to expand access to insurance under the Affordable Care Act is a tiny fraction of the total cost of substance abuse on Maine’s economy. MECEP […] Jody Harris Posted April 5, 2016 Tags Health Care
