“For frontline retail workers struggling to make their next rent payment, young families unable to keep their jobs due to constant daycare and school interruptions, and older Mainers facing increasing costs, we can do better than a blind payment that goes to everyone regardless of their ability to weather the storm we’re in,” he said, pointing to several alternatives, including increasing Maine’s sales tax fairness credit and bolstering the state’s paid family medical leave program. “At half the cost, we can lift up people who are falling behind while also making important investments in our communities.”