Faced with the combination of a $900 million shortfall, a far-right governor, and a newly elected Democratically-controlled Legislature, Maine remarkably avoided both a state shut down and harmful cuts to the elderly, disabled, and poor in the budget.
Nearly 50 MPA members traveled over twelve hours on a bus to attend the National People’s Action (NPA) conference in Washington, D.C. this April. The conference included a packed schedule of trainings, direct actions, and Capitol Hill visits with Congressional staff and members of Congress.
Maine’s state motto is Dirigo, meaning “I Lead.” For many years, Maine had lived up to our motto in the arena of health care reform. We have one of the nation’s lowest percentages of uninsured residents and we have traditionally had stronger consumer protections than most other states.
Recently, the CEO of Apple testified before Congress about his company’s tax dodging. From 2009-2012, Apple stored almost $74 billion offshore, money virtually untaxed thanks to the use of Irish subsidiaries. 
Quick quiz: how much money does Social Security have in the trust fund? And how much money is diverted each year from the federal budget to fund Social Security? And one more, for good measure: how many times has Social Security missed a payment?
This session, Governor Paul LePage and Republicans in the Legislature voted against accepting federal health care funds, effectively denying care to 70,000 Maine people.
As the 2014 campaign for Maine governor approaches, one question looms large in the minds of many members of the Maine People’s Alliance: How can we stop Governor Paul LePage?