Bureau/Division/Agency
Governor
Document Type
Sound
Exact Creation Date
4-15-2014
Duration
00:04:26
Language
English
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No Copyright - United States. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
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Description
You’ve often heard me say that some liberal politicians would rather hurt Mainers than do what’s best for hard-working families and the taxpayers. A quick look at some of the bills they killed demonstrates what I mean.
Hello, this is Governor Paul LePage.
Our administration submitted bills that would have attracted businesses to our state. These bills would have created good-paying jobs for Mainers, and they would have reformed welfare to make the system fair and efficient.
Liberal poli ticians rejected these bills. They chose to encourage waste and abuse in our welfare system. They chased job opportunities and careers from our state. They even prevented teenagers from getting jobs in movie theaters and bowling alleys.
We proposed Open for Business Zones that would have provided incentives to attract major employers and the high-paying careers they offer. Not only did liberals reject these zones, the Senate President said no jobs were better than non-union jobs.
This was just the latest attack by job-killing liberal politicians on our efforts to improve the state’s business climate and create careers for Mainers.
We have been making progress. Since we took office, more than 17,000 private-sector jobs have been created. The unemployment rate is the lowest since 2008. There are almost 8,000 jobs available on the Maine Job Bank.
But the liberals are determined to block our progress, even if it hurts Mainers. They have pursued their anti-business agenda with a vengeance this session. They tried to penalize call centers, which provide good-paying jobs to Mainers across the state. They blocked efforts to help Mainers lower their heating costs.
We just went through a bitter cold winter. Mainers need affordable heating options so they can stay warm in their homes. But liberals preferred to offer solar rebates to a few wealthy Mainers.
Our welfare system has major problems with waste, fraud and abuse. We proposed common-sense welfare reforms, but liberals fought to keep the status quo. Maine taxpayers work hard every day to provide welfare benefits. They expect accountability.
They don’t expect to see welfare recipients using their benefits to take trips to Florida or Las Vegas. They don’t expect to see EBT cash being used to buy alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets.
Wasting taxpayer money on welfare fraud and abuse takes money away from needy children, elderly and disabled Mainers and those who need a helping hand. It hurts the Mainers who truly need our help.
You might ask why liberals would want to hurt Mainers. The answer is simple: politics. They would rather defeat our proposals than do what is right for Mainers. It’s shameful.
But I don’t work for them. I ran for Governor because I want to help the people of Maine to prosper and succeed. So let the politicians play their games. I will focus on what’s really important – prosperous jobs, welfare reform and honesty to Maine people.
Thank you for listening.