Good morning from Augusta, where the four candidates running for governor in 2018 — including Democrat Janet Mills — agree on at least one thing: They oppose a November referendum to create a universal home care program with a new tax on high-earning families.
Question 1 is being assailed by Gov. Paul LePage and business groups, though Mills’ opposition signifies some reticence in the Democratic Party as well. A spokesman for proponents dismissed the opposition by saying “politicians often don’t like when people take legislation into their own hands.”
Mills said she won’t do ‘merely what is politically correct or expedient’ as governor. The proposal would place a combined 3.8 percent tax on income over $128,400 and non-wage income over that threshold to fund a universal home care system for Mainers older than 65 and people with disabilities. That funding scheme is the subject of most of the Question 1 debate.
Opposition from the other three candidates wasn’t surprising. A spokeswoman for Republican nominee Shawn Moody said while services for seniors and people with disabilities must be supported, “we cannot continue to punish people with higher taxes.”
To read the rest of “All four Maine candidates for governor say Question 1 is a bad idea,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.
