By Gov. Paul LePage
During my first two years, we made good progress in moving Maine forward. In the past two years, we made very modest gains. But we could have — and should have — done much, much more.
The people of Maine had a clear choice of which direction they want the state to go. They told us in November they want to keep reforming state government and to continue creating jobs.
They want to see more action and less rhetoric from their elected officials. They don’t want legislators playing backroom politics. They want us to get the job done.
That’s why we will continue to focus on four main priorities: welfare reform; spending reform; lowering energy costs; and reducing the size of government.
We are making significant progress in welfare reform, even though liberals from Washington, D.C. to Augusta, Maine are trying to derail our efforts.
We won’t stop implementing common-sense welfare reforms. The people of Maine told us they want welfare reform, and we will do what is right for them.
We will also do what is right for job creation. We need an economy that offers career jobs with higher pay and good benefits to Mainers.
Tax reforms, such as lowering the state income taxes, will attract companies and put money back in your pockets.
Lower energy costs are vital to attracting major employers, such as manufacturers and high-tech industries. It’s not a coincidence that states with the biggest growth are those with the lowest tax burdens and lowest energy costs.
When it comes to jobs, it’s the bottom line that keeps businesses in business. The costs of doing business in Maine must be competitive with other states if we are to attract the kind of good-paying jobs that will encourage young people and families to stay in Maine.
The size and cost of government should not burden hard-working families. We have been working to right-size government, but there is still more to do.
We must have an affordable and efficient government that is responsive to the needs of our citizens and our businesses. A government that is too big and too expensive takes money away from Mainers and discourages job creation.
Mainers and business owners want a government that spends their money as carefully as they do.
We have listened to you, and we hear you. We hope the legislature is listening too. We are not here to play political games. We are here to work for you, the people of Maine.
So rest assured, during the next four years I will continue do the right thing for Mainers.
