Here at the ‘Grok, we’ve had the good misfortune of watching how Democrats create the need for new taxes in real time. This is important. Dems will run on a platform with no tax hikes or new taxes if they must, but these promises are empty.
Once in charge, the first order of business is to increase spending. The legislature, alongside some budgetary apparatus, overestimates revenues for the coming fiscal period as much as they can get away with. They will include one-time money or any other transitory income as fixed and then spend it all. When they come up short, as they will, there will be a writing of hands and gnashing of teeth.
We can’t possibly cut these (critical, essential, necessary, crucial, indispensable) programs we never needed until Democrats created them. Sell it as a moral and social obligation of the people. Raise taxes.
Maine has gotten into the habit of elected Democrats (big ugly heat islands packed with liberals vs sparsely populated rural areas), and the piper has come to collect. The state has a 942 million dollar deficit.
The State of Maine is projected to face a massive shortfall of nearly $1 billion for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the first two years after Gov. Janet Mills (D) will leave office, according to Maine’s budget officer.
The $949.2 million shortfall includes a $636.7 million projected deficit in the General Fund and a Highway Fund gap of $312.5 million for the 2026-2027 biennium, according to a recent four-year budget forecast report released by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS).
According to DAFS, these projections are based on current laws and economic trends. Based on those conditions, DAFS’ analysts are projecting a massive budget deficit looming on the horizon.
I’m here to tell Mainers there is hope.
In 2009, after several successive years of a Demcorat governor and Demcorat majority legislature, the state had built—as explained above—an 800 million dollar shortfall. If the Dems had hung on to power after the 2010 elections, they would have suggested raising taxes. What could any decent, caring body do?
In the 2010 Republican wave, Granite Staters elected a veto-proof majority of Republicans to both chambers of the state House. That legislature did something rare and almost unheard of—it cut the state budget to erase the shortfall and avoid tax hikes.
Related: Democrat NH House Rep Cindy Rosenwald – About That 800 Million Dollar Deficit
Democrats reach for the sky when projecting revenue and then spend it. When the money fails to show up because it never could, they raise taxes. Maine has arrived at this point with the help of the Biden Admininstrations systemic mismanagement of everything.
The cure for every spending problem, at least at the state and local level, is fewer Democrats. I’m not certain there are enough Mainers to turn this around, but they should try. If not, the sort of fiscal abuse Vermonters have come to know well will plague Maine, and no offense, but unless you are a liberty and freedom sort, we’d rather you not move to New Hampshire.
