OPINION | ‘Don’t cut off your nose’

The question of how big or small our government should be is the wrong one. The right question is: how do we make our government work better for the people we serve?

By MARC MALON | State Rep., Dist. 133

“Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.” We’ve all heard variations of this saying, which dates back to the 12th Century, advising people not to do something destructive in service to a passionate, short-term goal. I think of this phrase often when it comes to government budgets.

Looking back on the work we’ve done in this legislative term, this phrase would aptly describe many of the debates we’ve had. Unlike the federal budget, the state budget is required by law to be balanced. If shortfalls emerge, we have to pass supplemental budgets to correct the imbalance. How we go about achieving this balanced budget is where the debates lie.

My broad view on budgets is as follows:

First, the question of how big or small our government should be is the wrong one. The right question is: how do we make our government work better for the people we serve?

Second, as much as we are able, we should think long-term. A particular proposed cut may look good on the balance sheet for one fiscal year, but it could have negative consequences down the road. Cuts to health care often lead to people getting sicker due to deferred treatment, leading to increased hospital visits (far more expensive than primary care) and negative effects on our workforce (sick people work less). Cuts to affordable housing, homelessness services, mental health and substance use treatment lead to greater homelessness and increased public safety costs (and a negative effect on public safety itself).

Sometimes, fiscal situations leave governments with little choice but to make painful decisions. I was a legislative staffer in 2009 at the peak of the financial crisis – the recession killed government revenues, and lawmakers only had cuts on the table. It was a very difficult time.

“Sometimes fiscal situations leave
governments with little choice
but to make painful decisions.”
— Rep. Marc Malon

But sometimes we see politicians oppose making smart investments in our communities because they think they can score points in the short term. This is an approach I try to avoid.

I am proud of the work I have done this term for the long-term benefit of Biddeford and folks across our state. We continued to invest in housing production – which is desperately needed, and more still needs to be done – and worked to revise regulations that were unnecessarily slowing down building. We strengthened workforce development by supporting career and technical education – we are already seeing success from the Biddeford Region Center of Technology – and by helping more Mainers access good-paying jobs by making the free community college program permanent.

” Renewable energy is already growing in Maine and can be a long-term job-sustaining industry.”

We’re protecting approximately 45,000 Maine residents of mobile home parks and manufactured housing communities from large private equity firms – though Biddeford needs to take action to protect residents of a park that is already being exploited by a private equity firm.

We’re funding grants to provide permanent housing opportunities for Maine veterans, and we’re expanding the property tax fairness credit to help provide a measure of relief from taxes which are rising due to our overheated real estate market.

Politicians talk a big game about the importance of family. We’re supporting families through paid family and medical leave, which allows folks to apply for up to 12 weeks of paid time to step away for medical, parental, family care, military, family or safe leave. This still falls short of most other developed economies, but it’s a start. This program also helps small businesses that cannot afford to implement their own leave program to attract more of the workers they need. We have also invested in childcare.

Beyond the budget, I am thinking long-term about energy. Obviously, the cost of it is way too high. Some of this is out of our hands. We had no control over President Trump’s disastrous decision to go to war with Iran, leading to the astronomical spike in gas prices. We also cannot control the fluctuations of international fossil fuel markets. The primary cause of our high electricity rates in Maine is the price of natural gas.

This means we need to generate more electricity here in Maine. This requires investing in renewable energy – which our federal government keeps cutting support for in its own act of nose-cutting. Renewable energy is already growing in Maine, and can be a long-term job-sustaining industry. It also requires investing in reducing carbon emissions and in efforts to make us more resistant to the negative impacts of climate change.

These issues make up only a fraction of what legislators must consider when in session. But it is important that we consider them with long-term goals in mind, and with a goal of making government work for people.

So, no matter how frustrated we may get – and we all get frustrated – let’s remember to keep our noses attached to our faces and act with our communities’ future in mind.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | State Rep. Marc Malon (D) is serving his second term in the Maine House representing a portion of Biddeford. He serves as a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and the Housing and Economic Development Committee. He can be reached via email at marc.malon@legislature.maine.gov.

NOTE | The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Biddeford Gazette, its staff, affiliates or sponsors. We encourage robust and diverse community conversations on topics related to the city of Biddeford. For information about how to submit your own column, please CONTACT US

NOTE | In the interest of fairness to all candidates, this column is being suspended until after the November 2026 legislative elections.

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