WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama used his State of the Union speech to roll out a plan to coax low- and middle-income Americans into saving more for retirement. New retirement accounts being set up by the Treasury Department would target workers whose employers don’t offer retirement benefits or who haven’t started saving yet for old […]
politics
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
U.S. economy grew at 3.2 percent rate in last quarter of 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter on the strength of the strongest consumer spending in three years, an encouraging sign for 2014. The fourth-quarter increase followed a 4.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter, when the economy benefited from a buildup in business […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Obama’s call for higher wages gets mixed reaction in Maine
AUBURN — President Barack Obama’s call in Tuesday’s State of the Union address for employers to pay workers a minimum of $10.10 per hour got a mixed reaction in Maine on Wednesday. Obama did not say he would propose legislation to boost the federal minimum wage. He did that last year and it was not […]
Posted inFranklin, The Franklin Journal
Gilbert seeks fourth term in Maine House
JAY — Rep. Paul Gilbert, D-Jay, has announced his candidacy for a fourth term to the Maine House of Representatives. Gilbert is running for the new House District No. 74, which includes Jay, Livermore Falls and the northern part of Livermore. He serves on the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lawmakers still negotiating on state revenue share for cities
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee said Wednesday they were still trying to reach a compromise on about $40 million in state funding for cities and towns. A cut to local revenue-sharing, the money the state sends to municipalities to help ease the burden of property taxes, was built into the current […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Fact Check: Do President Obama’s claims add up?
WASHINGTON — It seems to be something of an occupational hazard for President Barack Obama: When he talks about his health care law, he’s bound to hit a fact bump sooner or later. So it went Tuesday night, when he declared Medicare premiums have stayed flat thanks to the law, when they’ve gone up. As […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lawmakers consider bill that would allow college students to defer tuition
AUGUSTA — Bills aimed at making college more affordable for Maine students will boost degree completion and yield significant benefits for the state, supporters said Wednesday. Lawmakers are beginning to examine two bills that have backing from higher education officials and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce to have the state study methods for lowering the […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Analysis: Obama’s agenda more bite-sized than bold
The president’s State of the Union address Tuesday was an amalgam of modest proposals designed to chip away at some of the same problems he’s been working on all along: persistent unemployment, middle-class insecurity, lagging schools and more. “Let’s make this a year of action,” Obama exhorted members of Congress arrayed before him. “That’s what […]
Posted inOur View
Our View: George Mitchell’s advice: Accentuate the positive
Wow. Wasn’t that a great speech? No, not Tuesday evening’s State of the Union, which was competent and polished but, as a famous president once said, “The world will little note, nor long remember …” The better speech Tuesday was delivered in Augusta by former Sen. George J. Mitchell, which he then elaborated upon in […]
Posted inMaine
Bills look to expand access to, affordability of college education in Maine
AUGUSTA — A pair of bills before the Legislature’s Education Committee Wednesday both aim to put a college education more within reach for Maine students. One of the bills LD 1702, sponsored by Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta, directs the University of Maine System and the state’s community college system to study a program in Oregon […]