February 20, 2012 -- Jason Savage joined me for coffee at Gilmor's in Lincoln, and he discussed the things Maine People Before Politics has been working on, including the DHHS budget, safety net programs, looking at the expansion of those programs, and what the state can actually afford to provide.
He talked about some of the communication that people in the community have sent him regarding the budget, the PNMI system, and the press's negligence in explaining to the public when they wrote about it.
Various quotes from the interview:
"We, as a state, can't afford to be paying way above average benefits when our people make below average wages. We really need to realign…and recognize what we actually have the ability to pay for so that we're not asking too much of our citizens who are working and paying for those programs."
"We really need to get back to what our safety net programs were designed to be, which is a place to help people, short term, when they get to a point where they need the help."
"The state is finally beginning to realize that there are people who truly cannot get by without our help. And there are other people that there are times when it's appropriate to ask them to do more."
Listen to the interview here:
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Jason's website, "Maine People Before Politics," is at MainePeopleBeforePolitics.com.