Beyond Labels

We’ll discuss the results of last Tuesday’s elections:

• Maine Question 1 (CMP Corridor)
• Maine Question 3 (Right to Food)
• Virginia Gubernatorial
• New Jersey Gubernatorial
• and more

Maine’s is the “oldest state in the Union” with a median age of 45.0 years, almost two years older than the next two states, New Hampshire and Vermont. Hancock County’s median age is 48.8 years. Blue Hill is 50.3 years; Brooksville is 53.0 years.

There has been a lot of discussion on the Peninsula about how to attract younger, working-age residents to fill the many open jobs and opportunities—from discussions centered on affordable housing, to improved community events for younger adults, to higher wages across the board.

To some degree, higher pay and greater “perks” can attract younger workers. But the Peninsula’s fire departments and EMS organizations are typically run, if not staffed, entirely by volunteers.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll discuss the current state and future of the Peninsula’s emergency services in this context.

• Will the Peninsula have to wean itself from relying on volunteers for these essential services?
• Is there a reasonable strategy for addressing the increasing lack of volunteers willing to, or capable of, staffing these activities?
• If not, can a “regionalization” strategy work?
• Or are we destined to abandon the volunteer model and adopt the “big-city” paradigm of full-time, paid staff in these key roles?

Means Testing Government Benefits

Joe Manchin has said he thinks at least some of the benefits called for in the Biden reconciliation package should be needs-based (NY Times: Benefits for All or Just the Needy?), so…

Should Federal government benefits programs (e.g., subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles, housing, child care, health care, paid parental leave, social security etc.) be needs-based? If so, why and how? If not, why not?

Here’s a link to a brief description of the subsidies and benefits in the current House variation of the Biden American Families Plan, the social welfare component of the Build Back Better Plan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Families_Plan.

“Sunset Provisions: Budget Gimmickry?”

If means testing doesn’t take up all of our time, another, related, subject I think would be fruitful is how we feel about Congress’ budget “rules,” and their ten-year horizon. Is such a horizon relevant? If so, is it equally relevant for “one-shot” programs as distinct from those that are expected (hoped) to continue forever?

Steve Rattner and I often disagree on policies, but this is an area in which we have very similar views–hence the suggestion that we discuss budget gimmicks and whether they’re a sensible way to run the government. Here’s a recent op-ed he wrote for the New York Times on the subject.

I hope to see you Monday!