We’ve been hearing a lot lately about Maine’s budget surplus — whether that’s Gov. Janet Mills underscoring the state’s robust rainy day fund, or legislative Republicans arguing for more tax cuts.  

But as the legislature works on the biennial budget — which will determine how our state spends its money over the next two years — I’m here to tell you that, despite what the numbers say, Maine does not have a budget surplus. I’ll say that again: We don’t have a budget surplus, because for years we’ve been running at a deficit when it comes to meeting the needs of ordinary Mainers.  

How did we get here? Former Gov. LePage spent years deliberately dismantling Maine’s social safety net while passing tax cuts for the wealthy that slowed our economic recovery and to this day still cost our state nearly a billion dollars every year. Now, Republicans in the Legislature want to double down on that failed strategy, which would bring further cuts to crucial programs.  

The Legislature and Gov. Mills have started to repair that safety net, but doing so without reversing those harmful tax cuts is like repairing a net with one hand tied behind your back. This legislative session they have the opportunity to invest in our Maine people, and use both hands to tackle our crises in affordable housing, paid leave, and access to health care. 

Here’s how we can begin to do that.

We can make sure all Mainers have a safe and affordable place to live by building more housing and protecting renters. Statewide, we are facing a housing crisis that is growing far faster than our attempts to address it. Our state’s housing authority estimates that we have a shortage of up to 25,000 affordable housing units, but most years we build just 250 units.

That means that even in the unlikely event that the need does not continue to grow, at our current pace it will take us a century to build enough affordable housing. At the same time, we need to protect renters and others who face precarious housing situations by fully funding rental assistance and strengthening tenant protections. Housing instability puts people’s health, education, livelihoods and wellbeing at risk. This is not just a Portland issue. There is just one county in our state where the median income renter can afford the median rent. 

We can create and fund a comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave Program. Most Mainers do not have access to paid family and medical leave — and that hurts both individual workers and our state’s economic security. Everyone, no matter how much they make or what they do for a living, should be able to take care of themselves or a loved one in times of illness or other crisis without going into debt, risking their job or housing, or making other terrible tradeoffs. Recently Maine’s bipartisan Paid Family and Medical Leave commission released a set of recommendations to establish a comprehensive PFML program for Maine. If the Legislature invests $65 million in start-up costs, it can make paid leave a reality for all Maine workers and their families.  

We can make sure health care coverage is available for all Mainers who need it — no matter where they come from. In a move that allowed him to give more tax breaks to the wealthy, former Gov. Paul LePage excluded many New Mainers with low income from access to MaineCare and other supports. That has led to countless New Mainers, many of the same people who put their lives on the line as essential workers at the height of the pandemic, not having access to health care themselves. That means that instead of getting preventive care, New Mainers with low income are forced to go to the emergency room, overwhelming our hospital system and worsening their health. That’s not right. 

With this budget Gov. Mills and the Legislature have the opportunity to right those wrongs. By ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share, they can make Maine a safer, healthier, and more equitable place to live. I urge them to take it.