{"id":1507956,"date":"2022-06-08T14:35:24","date_gmt":"2022-06-08T18:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1507956"},"modified":"2022-06-08T14:35:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T18:35:30","slug":"maine-sending-out-730-million-worth-of-relief-checks-to-fight-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maine-sending-out-730-million-worth-of-relief-checks-to-fight-inflation\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine Sending Out $730 Million Worth Of \u2018Relief Checks\u2019 To Fight Inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmaine-sending-out-730-million-worth-of-relief-checks-to-fight-inflation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1507956&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Maine has begun sending eligible residents a one-time, $850 relief check to combat inflation, but critics of the effort say it is a \u201cshort-term trick\u201d that will not help the Pine Tree State\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<p>CBS 13 <a href=\"https:\/\/wgme.com\/news\/local\/mainers-can-now-check-when-youll-get-your-850-relief-payment-maine-revenue-services-inflation-maine-department-of-administrative-and-financial-services-taxes\">reported<\/a> on Wednesday that the state would spend nearly $730 million from its surplus budget to send approximately 858,000 checks to residents across the state. The checks will be mailed beginning this month on a rolling basis, with the last round expected to be delivered in October 2022.<\/p>\n<p>A statement from Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills\u2019 office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/governor\/mills\/relief-checks\">noted<\/a> that \u201cMaine people are grappling with the increased costs as a result of pandemic-driven inflation, ranging from higher energy costs to increased prices of everyday goods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the Governor cannot control the impact of COVID-19 on global markets, she can make sure that we deliver to Maine people the resources they need to deal with these higher costs,\u201d her office continues.<\/p>\n<p>While Mills may blame what she decries as \u201cpandemic-driven inflation,\u201d experts have noted that federal government relief checks were a significant cause of the rising prices that Americans across the country are currently facing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe current bout of inflation stems from massive spending: in 2020 and 2021, the government spent the equivalent of 27% of GDP on \u2018Covid relief\u2019 and \u2018stimulus,\u2019 the <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfoundation.org\/us-covid19-fiscal-response\/?utm_source=Tax+Foundation+Newsletters&#038;utm_campaign=74fbe498cb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_17_07_28_COPY_01&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_term=0_8387957ec9-74fbe498cb-429700478&#038;mc_cid=74fbe498cb&#038;mc_eid=aa69ab4bd2\">second-largest fiscal response<\/a> as a percentage of GDP of any industrialized nation,\u201d Paige Terryberry Senior Analyst for Fiscal Policy with the John Locke Foundation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.johnlocke.org\/government-spending-is-the-cause-of-not-the-antidote-for-record-inflation\/\">wrote<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, The Daily Wire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/americans-changing-the-way-they-buy-groceries-as-inflation-soars-study-finds\">reported<\/a>, \u201cPrices for food at home increased 10.8%, the largest 12-month percentage increase since the period ending November 1980,\u201d according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics\u2019 Consumer Price Index report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 14.3%, the largest 12-month percentage increase since a 19.5%increase in May 1979,\u201d BLS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/americans-changing-the-way-they-buy-groceries-as-inflation-soars-study-finds\">added<\/a>. \u201cPrices for other major grocery store food groups also rose over the past year, with increases ranging from 7.8 percent for fruits and vegetables to 11.0 percent for other food at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an email sent to The Daily Wire, Maine Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, remarked that it has offered several alternative solutions to combat inflation that would not increase government spending.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetween last June, when the updated revenue projections came in, and this spring, when lawmakers were working out the supplemental budget, we advocated strongly for using the projected surplus for structural tax reform, including helping to draft a bill which would have reworked what\u2019s known as the \u2018revenue cascade\u2019 to pare down income, sales, and fuel tax rates as greater revenues come in,\u201d said Nick Murray, director of policy with Maine Policy. \u201cWe also proposed consolidating income tax brackets and cutting rates for all taxpayers, using about as much projected revenue as the \u201crelief\u201d checks will ultimately cost.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2021, the organization spoke out against sending checks to Mainers, <a href=\"https:\/\/mainepolicy.org\/new-revenue-surplus-should-prompt-real-tax-reform\/\">saying<\/a> that the state \u201cneeds radical tax reform to drive long-term, structural economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, the Maine Policy Institute has warned that the one-time payments would only provide temporary relief that might be used toward a bill but would not do anything to keep up with inflation in the long term.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany Mainers might see the direct payments as covering some of their yearly heating bills or some of the recent\u00a0spikes in their power bills, but inflation is still accelerating in all parts of the economy, although some more than others,\u201d the group <a href=\"https:\/\/mainepolicy.org\/lawmakers-miss-opportunity-for-meaningful-tax-reform-in-pursuing-one-time-relief-checks\/\">wrote<\/a> in March 2022. \u201cThe annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is up 8%, but energy prices are up over 25%. Gasoline prices remain at historic highs, though below the 2008 spike in real terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecisely because the inflation we are experiencing is ongoing, and still accelerating, more cash in everyone\u2019s pockets will not slow the growth of prices,\u201d the group predicted.<\/p>\n<p>Maine Policy has also <a href=\"https:\/\/mainepolicy.org\/systemic-tax-relief-is-better-than-one-time-gimmicks\/\">said<\/a> that \u201clawmakers should be wary of policy that uses short-term tricks versus\u00a0spurring long-term growth. There is no substitute for a healthy economy, and no measure of giveaways can stimulate the real growth that requires saving, investment, and time to create significant value.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCitizens who want a growing economy instead of a stagnant one must constantly keep up the pressure on politicians who would rather look to easy gimmicks than transformational reform,\u201d Maine Policy noted in June 2021 in reference to relief checks.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, Governor Mills\u2019 office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/governor\/mills\/relief-checks\">insists,<\/a>\u00a0\u201cThese payments are meant to help in navigating rising costs due to global inflation and supply-chain impacts, and other global economic disruptions driven by the pandemic. The payments are a one-time infusion into Maine families and will position Maine\u2019s economy for continued post-pandemic prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mainers must have filled out a 2021 tax return and meet specific salary requirements to be eligible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maine has begun sending eligible residents a one-time, $850 relief check to combat inflation, but critics of the effort say it is a \u201cshort-term trick\u201d that will not help the Pine Tree State\u2019s economy. CBS 13 reported on Wednesday that the state would spend nearly $730 million from its surplus budget to send approximately 858,000 &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":1508933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1507956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1507956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1508933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1507956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1507956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1507956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}