Education Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is praised, panned by Maine's federal lawmakers According to an estimate from the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, Biden’s proposal would benefit roughly 177,000 student loan borrowers in Maine, or […] Maine Public Posted August 24, 2022 Tags Economic Security, Education, Federal, Higher Education, Student Debt
Education Students, advocates applaud new law that bans withholding transcripts over debt The Maine Center for Economic Policy, which advocated for the law, said that nearly 10,000 students in the University of Maine system and attending Maine’s community colleges […] Beacon Posted April 5, 2022 Tags Education, Higher Education
Taxes and Budget How to create more bang for Maine’s budget bucks This year’s historic budget surplus offers a rare opportunity to invest in Mainers in ways that will have a lasting and tangible impact. While many of the […] MECEP Posted March 23, 2022 Tags Budget, Children, Economy, Education, Health Care, Higher Education, Immigration, Inequality, Racial Equity
Education To help students finish their degrees and ease workforce challenges, Maine should reform transcript withholding College education is a critical tool for Mainers to boost their income and for a stronger economy. We should be seeking opportunities to support students, especially individuals from households with […] Arthur Phillips Posted February 15, 2022 Tags Consumer Protection, Economic Security, Education, Higher Education
Taxes and Budget State lawmakers make unprecedented investments in Maine communities and families this session Lawmakers delivered unprecedented resources to Maine people and communities this year as federal dollars and strong state tax revenues supported historic levels of investment in response to […] Sarah Austin Posted September 10, 2021 Tags Budget, Caregiving, Children, Education, Higher Education
Education The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is broken — let’s fix it Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program in 2007 to provide public service workers with student debt relief in exchange for a decade of service […] MECEP Posted September 1, 2021 Tags Education, Federal, Higher Education, Student Debt
Education Protections for private student loan borrowers protect seniors and people with disabilities In 2019, Maine led the nation by passing the Student Loan Bill of Rights (SLBOR) to address the predatory loan servicing practices that are exacerbating Maine’s student […] MECEP Posted May 18, 2021 Tags Consumer Protection, Education, Higher Education, Student Debt
Education COVID compounds Maine’s education debt crisis. The time to act is now. MECEP economic policy analyst James Myall contributed to this blog post. There was a student loan crisis before the pandemic, now it is even worse. Despite gains in recent […] Jody Harris Posted April 9, 2021 Tags Coronavirus, Education, Higher Education, Student Debt
Education One easy way for Maine to increase grants for college students with low incomes this year Thanks to federal forbearance on student loan payments during the pandemic, Maine has an opportunity to make college more affordable this year for students with low incomes by […] Jody Harris Posted March 17, 2021 Tags Education, Federal, Higher Education, Student Debt
Education A Third Of Maine Student Loan Borrowers Could Have Their Debt Eliminated Under Plan Floated By Biden Jody Harris, the associate director of the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy, said that cancelling debt could be particularly important for borrowers facing financial distress, who may be at […] Maine Public Posted January 20, 2021 Tags Federal, Higher Education, Student Debt