If you were the BOM...... (sales, health insurance, sex offenders)

[mollysmiles]

MaineBrokerMan gave me a great idea.....

If YOU were the Boss of Maine (BOM), what would you do differently?

The idea is not to take this into a discussion concerning political parties, you know dems vs. reps vs. indep vs. green, and if you don't want it to be terribly in depth and serious, you don't have to be. But, what changes would you make if you were the BOM?

[msina]

Department of children and families. Maine has privitized care for children in crisis. Foster care and children in bad home situations are passed from one agency to the next often slipping through the cracks. A lot of these agencies report to noone and it's difficult to impossible to obtain records. Frequently as the cases are passed off, the kids fall out of the system and fail to recieve the services they need. I'm a foster parent in the state of Massachusetts. The child I had was my niece, she ran away to Mass. (that's the reason we left, to care for her). The Mass. Dept. of child welfare found it took over a year to get any records because of the way the case was shuffled. This kid was abused in every way. Because she didn't get services when needed in Maine, she is now in a "facility". Help came too late. Now on the lighter side,...sales tax on clothing.

[flycessna]

I would change the constitution so that privately owned land cannot be taxed. Any property taxes raised would have to be levied on the structure(s) on the land. I would remove the income tax. I would broaden the sales tax and raise it if necessary. But ultimately there needs to be severe cuts to the state budget. I basically do not like any direct taxes like an income tax. Imo taxes on land interfer with my right to own property. i would go far as saying no property taxes at all but with a home you can technically pick it up and move it. i do not like having to compete with NH having a sales tax but to me its the most fair way to raise revinues along with fees.

[mollysmiles]

ok, here's ONE of mine....

I wouldn't allow Canadian truckers to drive their rigs on Maine roads unless they held a valid Maine license. I would force the companies that ship into the US to have a warehouse facility, and after that truck has cleared customs they would proceed directly to the warehouse. From that point on a US citizen, holding a valid US license, would have to continue to move the goods.

We have a HUGE problem here with Canadian truckers and their behavior on the road. It's not every single trucker, but it's enough of them to put a stop to this entire business. I'm not a NAFTA supporter....can you tell?!

[Submariner]

Property taxes? Everywhere that I have owned land has had property taxes, this is not unique to Maine.

Sales taxes? ehh

I do think that our government [all of our government] needs to be cut to the bone.

Vehicle taxes and fuel taxes can go to maintaining the roads.
Court fines can go to supporting emergency services.
School district budgets need to be cut by about 95%.
Way too many people get a paycheck from the government.

Anytime that you increase how many are getting public funds, it follows that the few folk who do not receive public funds must pay more.

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Property taxes? Everywhere that I have owned land has had property taxes, this is not unique to Maine.

Sales taxes? ehh

I do think that our government [all of our government] needs to be cut to the bone.

Vehicle taxes and fuel taxes can go to maintaining the roads.
Court fines can go to supporting emergency services.
School district budgets need to be cut by about 95%.
Way too many people get a paycheck from the government.

Anytime that you increase how many are getting public funds, it follows that the few folk who do not receive public funds must pay more.

Oh ya, I know there is property tax everywhere. I also know that most states have income taxes. But remember....I’m the BOM

Sales tax. I like it because everyone pays it. I agree it wouldn’t help me but I honestly think its fair. There is no way around it.

You bring up another good point. Spend the money where its suppose to be spent. Use the gas tax for our roads! And maybe we wouldn’t need a bond. I have brought up my law enforcement exp. but here's something else a lot states do that Maine doesn't. Money raised through law enforcement is spent on law enforcement. In Maine it goes to where....the gen. fund.

As much as I do not like toll roads the Maine turnpike is always well taken care of during summer and winter. And...the state police assigned to the turnpike are supported by the turnpike. A trooper who needs boots assigned somewhere else will have to wait. On the turnpike he/she gets them right away.

And no, I would not cut gov to bare bones. But some tough love and a little less dependency would be nice.

[mainebrokerman]

if i were boss of maine, id have to go under an assumed name,,id be very unpopular,
id cut capital gain taxes by 90%, to inspire more business re-investment, id give even more tax incentives for businesses to offer medical/dental insurance for employees.
id cut all the school super intendents and pay teachers more (this wouldnt be voluntary) school principals make good money, and most have higher educational degrees.
they'd be welfare fraud oversight, so the ones that "need" it, would have more. (i read that only 17 cents from every welfare dollar actually hits the recipient, the rest is beauracracy)
id have tort reform, to eliminate silly lawsuits, and exhorbitant payouts (this drives up health insurance,,so many cant afford it.
for families with kids that make under 30k, id eliminate state taxes.
id make it law,,that only maine companies would do most or all of state contracts, i wouldnt hire a massachusettes construction company tobuild a project that a maine company can do for similar price.

id set up a program, for high school grads between the ages of 18-20, if they didnt go to college they could enter a military type program for two years, start with a boot camp,,for character, discipline, self-respect, and physical fitness, then choose the area they are interested in going in,, if it was construction, or engineering, then they would be "apprentices on working on state roads, bridges, any state contruction,, (an apprenticeship, and mentoring program)
they'd also be job or further educational job placement at the end of two years, based on merit, character and performance.

id lock up or nueter the perverts of society,,id also have the "domestic abusers" (guys that habitually hit woman or kids) id treat them like we do the sex offenders now,,pictures on the web
id have surprise inspections at high schools,,with pot\drug-sniffing dogs, id not only alert the parents,,but make it mandatory to post thier pictures of offending kids

maine is mostly trees and very sparse,(mid/northern maine) much of maine most folks dont see or visit, id take large tracts of some areas and encourage recreational resorts and retreats to be built, id encourage aroostook county to be the recreational point in maine,,and have much more "events" up there,,
every winter ten of thousands haul snowmobiles up north for recreation,,we can do that for atv-four wheelers, dirt-bikes, etc
maine has an abundance of land, we can do ALOT without disturbing our way of life or wildlife. for anyone that thinks differently take a ride on 95 north of bangor,, we have land galore,,
we need jobs and opportunities to retain/keep our kids here,,id meet with high tec companies all over the world to attract them here for better jobs,,
id up the speed limit on 95/turnpike to 80, since most are doing that already,
id give more tax relief for businesses that source alternative energies, in fact thats one of the few panels/commisions id have ,,,alternative energy panel, and pioneer alternatives,
id also have tax breaks for local business owner that set up mentoring programs, for the "bad seed" kids in the community thru the schools, a business owner would "adopt" or mentor the trouble kids to give them not only work, but positive influence,
teachers know who these high risk students are,,and yes, much of the "risk" may be influenced by thier parents,,but hey,,gotta give them more possibility of self-esteem,,showing them decent role models.

id also make it mandatory that high schools thru the phys ed department, that phys. ed teachers are also dieticians,,,play less wiffle ball,,emphasize more health ,,and physical fitness,,,obesity is a plague in our younger generation,,,the high risk students,,should be given more incentives,,,or access to personal trainers.

[msina]

MaineBrokerman for B.O.M. Excellant post, some great well thought out ideas. I enjoyed reading it so much.

[mollysmiles]

I second the nomination! all in favor?

[moughie]

Count me in too!!


Any ideas on a new assumed name for you? Maybe the other members have some suggestions.....