Hannah Pingree on Budget & Economy

Budget should invest in health care, housing, education

CHARLES: We are talking about a state that is spendthrift and the reason is we have no accountability whatsoever in the state. When you begin to do real oversight, you will find literally billions of dollars.

PINGREE: What we are spending money on is health care, education, revenue sharing a lot of these things go out to the community. I would work hard to ensure we have a balanced budget that invested in our health care system, that invests in housing, and ensures a quality education for our kids. It's not going to be easy. and honestly, the requirement is a balanced budget, and I will work to make government more efficient so we can meet that goal.

BENNETT: We have not had any transparency--in fact, no public hearings on the state budget. That is the reason the state budget has grown 77% in 10 years, twice the rate of inflation.

$100 million a year to finance new housing construction

Maine needs to build more homes, faster, and ensure they remain affordable. Hannah will:
• Commit $100 million a year to finance new construction and preservation of much-need housing across Maine.
• Use smart and innovative incentives to leverage greater private sector investment in Maine's housing market, while ensuring long-term affordability.
• Utilize targeted incentive funds to ensure aging public housing & other types of available affordable housing isn't lost from the state's stock.