Preserving the American Dream in Maine

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

You know, the prospect of homeownership has always been the cornerstone of the American Dream. It's been a pathway to financial stability. But today, that dream is simply out of reach for so many people.

The median price for a home in Maine is $395,000, and that's only slightly lower than the national price of $401,800. The national news is filled with stories about the tough times renting or buying a house everywhere from California to Connecticut. Almost 30 percent of all Americans are "house poor" -- that is, they spend 30 percent or more of their incomes on housing. That's not right.

The entire nation is short millions of housing units for rent or for sale. High interest rates, and supply chain problems, and labor shortages have made the situation even worse, and the president's tariffs on aluminum, steel, and other building materials have just driven up costs and slowed new construction at a time when we need it most.

We can't give up on the American Dream, not when young families can't find a house that fits their budget. Not when retirees want to downsize but can't find a smaller place at reasonable cost. Not when businesses are losing workers because they can't find housing close by their employment.

My Administration is building and preserving affordable housing for Maine people in a number of ways. We're doing what we can at the state level.

First, we're helping towns provide emergency housing shelters with wraparound services for people who are chronically homeless. We established the Home for Good program, a cost-effective approach to address homelessness. Many of those people are suffering from mental illness or addiction and need services. And recently, I announced that three communities -- Bangor, Portland and South Portland -- will be receiving a grant through this program to create 92 new affordable apartments with help to get people off the streets and into stable housing, providing the help they need to turn their lives around. Stable housing is the most effective way to help those people who are struggling with chronic homelessness and reduce costs for communities and for taxpayers.

Secondly, we're building out our housing inventory so we can increase the availability of good homes for all Maine people. Since I took office, my administration has authorized almost $315 million to build more homes, nearly five times more than the State of Maine spent on housing production from 2000 to 2018. In the past year alone, my administration and MaineHousing have financed more than 1,000 affordable homes, mostly new construction.

Thirdly, we have worked closely with the legislature to enact zoning, land use, regulatory, and permitting reforms to allow the private sector to build more of the market rate homes that Maine people need.

And fourth, we have enacted historic legislation to preserve the affordable homes we have already in Maine. We expanded tax relief programs like the Property Tax Fairness Credit, the Homestead Exemption, and the State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. We also created the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund, so mobile home residents can purchase their own parks before wealthy out-of-state corporations swoop in and buy them out from under them and then evict them.

I've also announced an "American Dream" proposal that will result in 825 new homes across Maine, mostly for middle class families, and that's pending in the legislature right now.

It has been said that "a life is measured not by what you build, but by who you lift." Well, here in Maine, we're both building and lifting lives up so that people can be in charge of their destinies and achieve that cornerstone of the American Dream: owning a home of their own. It's not easy, but we're doing everything we can in a creative, innovative way to make sure people have a place to call home that they can afford here in Maine.

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.