Maine Republicans Blast Democrat Governor’s ‘Federally-Funded Fantasyland Speech’ amid Surging Inflation

Spending promises Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) made during her State of the State address Thursday night were met with swift backlash from state Republicans, who said Mills’ “federally-funded fantasyland” was not the answer to high inflation and unemployment rates.

In her speech, Mills touted an $822 million state budget surplus and a key promise to give half of that back to Mainers by making roughly $500 one-time direct payments to 800,000 Maine taxpayers.

“While I cannot control the impact of COVID-19 on global markets, I can make sure that we deliver to Maine people the resources they need to grapple with these rising costs as we rebuild a stronger sustainable economy that is more resilient to the whims of the rest of the world,” Mills said as she spoke — fully masked for the duration of the speech — about the direct payments, noting the proposal had bipartisan support.

Mills’ critics were not satisfied with the promise, however, and also said the governor should receive little credit for a budget surplus that they said is due largely to the Biden administration’s federal spending packages, including more than $1 billion sent to Maine as part of a federal coronavirus response last April.

“It’s going to be some help, but it’s not going to be enough. … I think the speech from the governor was nothing more than a campaign speech,” Rep. Joshua Morris (R-Turner) said, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Many state Republicans have cited inflation, which hit a 40-year high this month, and a state unemployment rate that is higher than the national average as indicators Mills should be committing to structural tax reductions rather than one-time payments made possible, at least in part, through federal relief money.

They say state struggles such as its relatively high state income tax and unemployment rate, which is at 4.7 percent, is self-induced after Mills placed coronavirus restrictions on businesses through the middle of last year.

Mills is up for reelection this year, and challenging her is former Gov. Paul LePage (R), who has called for an elimination of the state income tax. The Maine Republican Party chided Mills for delivering a “federally-funded fantasyland speech” and shared LePage’s response to Mills’ speech.

Read this if you want to return to reality after Mills’ federally-funded fantasyland speech. #mepolitics https://t.co/eLImJJM1pP

— Maine GOP (@mainegop) February 11, 2022

“Instead of working to fully eliminate Maine’s income tax like I have proposed, Janet Mills is promising more and more spending, propped up with funny money from deficit spending out of Washington, DC,” LePage stated.

Former Gov. Paul LePage marches in the State of Maine Bicentennial Parade in this August 21, 2021, file photo, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

LePage, Mills’ predecessor who had served as governor for two terms before being term-limited out of office, recalled that the unemployment rate in the Pine Tree State was “never higher than the national average” under his tenure:

No debt-fueled, funny money from Washington, DC can paper over Janet Mills failure to manage Maine’s economy. As Governor, I was proud that Maine’s unemployment rate was never higher than the national average, but today under Janet Mills, our unemployment rate is not only above the national average it is 80% worse than New Hampshire’s. That is the difference between having a Governor who has a real background in job creation or a Governor whose lifetime has been politics like Janet Mills.

Mills’ office did not respond to a request for comment on Republicans’ criticisms about her address. Her full speech can be read here.

Write to Ashley Oliver at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.

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