New Report Shows That If the Extreme Right Had Its Way, Mainers Would Suffer
PORTLAND, ME - The Maine Change That Works campaign, along with small businesses owners, senior citizens and other healthcare reform advocates joined together in Portland today to stand up to extreme, out-of-state front groups that advocate for the status quo. The group also asked Congress to stand up for working families by passing comprehensive healthcare reform that focuses on affordability.
A new report released at the event illustrates the danger of the extreme right's agenda to workers, women and senior citizens in Maine. John Carr, President of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens stated that Social Security has helped hundreds of thousands of Mainers "from falling into abject poverty." But if extremists had their way and Social Security funds were allowed into the stock market, it would have forced "at least 33,000 Maine seniors into poverty, an astounding number considering Maine only has 1.2 million residents," Carr said.
Today, the same types of extreme right-wing groups that have stood in the way of progress are fighting efforts to reform healthcare and protect workers. These opponents include the Club for Growth, a right-wing organization that has spent millions of dollars to defeat moderate Republican members of Congress who don't agree with their extreme policies; the so-called Americans for Job Security, a front group for corporate interests that has run ads against the Employee Free Choice Act; the Heritage Foundation, a think tank that promotes ultra-conservative policies and commentators like Rush Limbaugh, who has not only opposed most efforts to assist Maine residents, but has made denigrating statements about Maine's Senate delegation.
The Club for Growth and Heritage Foundation opposed raising the minimum wage that not only benefited thousands of Mainers but also pump more than $8 million into the state economy. Some of the extremist voices have even opposed a children's health care bill that will not only cover 11,600 more children in Maine, but also will create nearly 2,000 jobs in the state.
