Bureau/Division/Agency
Governor
Document Type
Sound
Exact Creation Date
11-27-2013
Duration
00:01:50
Language
English
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Rights Statement
No Copyright - United States. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
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Description
Our administration has been working non-stop since we took office to reform government and improve the lives of Mainers. We often get bogged down in the daily battles over politics or the intensity of getting our work done. So it’s nice to stop, step back and take stock of what we’ve done.
Hello, this is Governor Paul LePage.
I’m the first to admit that I am a hard-charging person who likes to tackle tough problems head-on. But once I’ve fixed the problem, I’m on to the next.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how much our administration has accomplished in such a short time. When I saw that one governor passes out a card with his major accomplishments on it, I suggested we do the same.
That four-by-six card has since turned into a 28-page book. Entitled “Moving Maine Forward,” the book lists our administration’s accomplishments since we took office.
Some of these accomplishments are well known. We paid the hospitals 750 million dollars of welfare debt owed to them. We passed the largest tax cut in Maine’s history, and we reduced welfare cases by 41 percent.
In most administrations, that would be enough. But we have done so much more.
We have improved the state’s fiscal standing, eliminating almost two-billion-dollars of pension liability, right-sizing state government and bringing accountability to the Maine Turnpike Authority and Maine State Housing Authority.
Most importantly, we are changing the culture of state government to make it more business friendly. We have cut red tape and streamlined regulations, which have allowed companies to do what they do best: create jobs. We believe government should work with job creators, not against them.
Our efforts are paying off. At least 8,000 jobs have been created since we took office. Because of this job growth, fewer Mainers are unemployed. The unemployment rate in Maine has been lower than the national average since I have been in office.
Because more Mainers are working, the Unemployment Insurance Tax rate will drop in 2014 to its lowest rate since 2009. That will save businesses 30-million-dollars in 2014 – that is 30-million that can be reinvested in Maine’s economy.
Our book lists major achievements by all state agencies. These range from protecting our environment to improving our schools to repairing roads and bridges. We have helped our veterans, we have improved public safety, and we have brought awareness to domestic violence.
We cannot list all of our accomplishments in this short time. Please look for our book, “Moving Maine Forward,” which is available on Maine.Gov/Governor (www.Maine.gov/governor)
Thank you.