AARP OUTREACH: Three out of four Mainers vote for high speed internet access for all

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by Japhet Els

“We cannot compete if we are not connected.” Jim Fisher was right: how can Maine expect to compete, to grow and expand, without being better connected to more customers, clients, consumers, and the rest of the world?

The simple answer is, we can’t. And Mr. Fisher’s experience as Town Manager of Deer Isle showed him this.

We’ve been through this before. The onset of the telephone at the turn of the century was a debate about being connected. Landlines were being laid and everybody, no matter where you lived, had the opportunity to get connected. Today’s internet access is similar to telephone access one hundred years ago. The only difference is there are far more underserved, unserved, communities when it comes to affordable high-speed internet access.

The good news is on July 14 more than 75 percent of Maine voters voted for a better internet where we need it most. They are the Deer Isles, Abbots, Pattens, and Port Clydes, where affordable high-speed internet is rare and usually impossible. They are the communities where an affordable high-speed internet connection is far from guaranteed and more than likely costs an arm and leg. They are communities where everyone works two jobs to make ends meet, maybe three or four. They are communities that will capitalize on an affordable, accessible high-speed internet connection to create jobs, connect to more customers, and support families. All we have to do is get it to them.

Question 1 on the ballot jumpstarted this effort.

More than 75 percent of Maine voters demanded that high-speed internet be affordable and accessible no matter where you may live in Maine. Supporting question one set Maine up to connect our most rural, underserved communities to a high-speed connection. And when was the last time more 75 percent of us supported one idea? It’s rare in today’s partisan world, yet Mainers chose not to be divided, instead finding common ground around investing in our collective and connected future.

When you’re talking about high-speed internet, you’re talking about small businesses plugging into a competitive market. You’re talking about Mainers connecting with their doctors via video conference from their kitchen tables instead of driving many miles for a simple check-up. You’re talking about our kids connecting to their assignments and class resources right from their bedrooms, not from a Wal-Mart parking lot. You’re talking about connecting families and making sure, even during a pandemic, we can reach the ones we love through a modern high-speed internet connection.

Mr. Fisher reminds us that information is important to everyone these days, even fisherman. “Over 15 percent of the workforce is in lobstering, fishing – that’s a tremendously important export industry for us and they rely on the internet for pricing information, communication, particularly now,” Fisher says. “It’s been said that when a business wants to expand in Deer Isle it usually means they’re leaving…and those that stay end up going to extraordinary lengths to acquire a high-speed connection.”

There are many Jim Fishers in Maine and lobstering isn’t the only business impacted by a modern internet connection. Our rural communities require high-speed internet today and passing question one on July 14 allowed Maine to take the first step to a more connected future.

This is only the first-step. We’re on the right road, no doubt. But we have more steps to take to get more of Maine connected. To all of those who support Question One on the ballot, thank you. We have more work to do we look forward to getting to it with your help.

Born in Waterville, camp in Kents Hill, and family in Bath, Japhet Els is Outreach Director for AARP Maine working on the issues impacting the 50+ community and their families including access to affordable high-speed internet.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide suspends service through 2020

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AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, the nation’s largest free, volunteer-based tax preparation and assistance service, has announced that State of Maine AARP Foundation Tax-Aide sites will not re-open in 2020.

In mid-March, due to COVID-19, the national AARP Foundation Tax-Aide office suspended tax preparation at all tax preparation locations throughout the country. Shortly thereafter, also because of COVID-19, the IRS extended the tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15.

With the extended deadline, Tax-Aide volunteers in Maine worked together to try to find a way to safely reopen at least some of its tax preparation sites. However, with COVID-19 complications posing a risk to both older taxpayer clients and Tax-Aide volunteers, it has been decided that AARP Tax-Aide sites in Maine will not reopen in 2020.

The program will return in 2021, having had time to make all the modifications deemed necessary to ensure as much as possible the health and safety of both taxpayers and volunteers.

In the meantime, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide offers online options to assist taxpayers affected by the suspension of in-person services:

  • A self-prep option, providing taxpayers with free access to software so they can prepare taxes on they own, is available at aarpfoundation.org/preparing-your-taxes-online/
  • If taxpayers have a computer and printer and would like help completing their own taxes, they can request the assistance of a volunteer to coach them through the process via phone or computer screen-sharing. Taxpayers should visit org/forms/tax-prep-assistance-request.html to submit a request.

Although the ‘deadline’ for filing tax returns is usually April 15, taxpayers actually have up to three years to file their federal and state tax returns. As long as there is a refund or no tax due, there are no penalties for filing anytime within the three year period. The failure to file and failure to pay penalties are applied only when a return is filed late and money is owed.

AARP OUTREACH: Primary balloting – Be safe, vote from home

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by Japhet Els

I followed my mother up the town hall steps, into the large meeting room wondering why this didn’t feel like “just another errand.” I was at the age where everything was “up” – everyone was taller, countertops might as well have been rooflines, ceilings were skies of sorts, and the floor was comfortably close at all times. As we entered the hall, I recall organizing the world by all the different lower body apparel jostling about – jeans, khakis, skirts, leggings, and a few brave souls in shorts. Perhaps we all have that distant memory of grabbing the wrong pair of legs in a crowd and looking up in terror at an unfamiliar face. Being four years old has many benefits but height is not one of them.

We waited in line among our fellow neighbors until a woman who wore her gray hair in a tight bun, whose glasses dangled dangerously close to the end of her nose, ushered us to an open booth. My mother led me inside. I suddenly felt like something special was about to unfold. It was as though we were entering confession only there was no priest on the other side. She pulled a large lever from left to right in front of her and suddenly a curtain pulled shut directly behind us. Ta-dah! We were ready to punch our ballot for the 1984 general election. To my four-year old brain it wasn’t just special, it was magic.

I vote on my own now but it still feels like magic even at the worst of times. I’ve learned how important this duty is within a strong, engaged, community. But it’s not easy to feel inspired these days. Often elections have boring issues, terrible candidates, and zero motivating factors. But, as my grandfather reminded me once, “the boring ones are the most important ones,” so we can’t afford to ignore them. Indeed, the act of voting is not about how inspired you may feel. Instead, it’s about how much inspiration you can bring to Election Day.

Going to the polls isn’t in the cards for me on July 14. That’s our next primary election here in Maine where we’ll decide on congressional candidates, important local issues, and ballot measures that I hope Mainers won’t ignore. Even if you’re not affiliated with either party, you have a ballot, and community, that needs your voice. Instead of going to the polls on July 14 I’ll be casting my ballot from home, absentee. Why? Well, I guess I’d rather be cautious and wise today than risk being a fool tomorrow. We aren’t any less free filling our ballots out at home. We aren’t any less patriotic mailing them into our town clerks. Indeed, I’d argue we’re even freer, more patriotic, by carrying out our duty safely and securely from home during a questionable public health moment.

There are many unknowns in this strange new world we’re all adjusting to. I don’t feel I can address all of them and perhaps you feel the same. So, I end up taking it one day at a time. When it comes to July 14 and carrying out our duty as Maine citizens, it’s not a hard choice: Vote safe. Vote from home. Getting your absentee ballot is simple. Call your town clerk or the Secretary of State’s office and request your absentee ballot today so you’ll have it securely in your mailbox around June 15 with plenty of time to fill it out and mail it back in. We’re asking more and more Mainers who don’t feel the need to take the risk of voting in person to “Vote safe, vote from home.”

Will I miss piling into my local elementary school gym to vote alongside my friends and neighbors? Sure. But do I want to put others, myself, or the volunteers handing out ballots, at risk? Not really. Especially if voting absentee is an easy and established option.

I hope you’ll join me, and thousands of other Mainers on July 14 in voting absentee. We can carry out our duty wisely from home. It won’t take away from the magic built into an American tradition but it will help stamp out this pandemic, and that’s something we all can get behind no matter your age (or height).

If you’d like to request your absentee ballot you can go to https://bit.ly/ME_AbsenteeRequest and fill out the request form on the Secretary of State’s website. Or, simply call your Town Clerk’s office and request an absentee ballot directly.

Japhet Els is Outreach Director for AARP Maine.

AARP OUTREACH: Financial planning for the future

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by Japhet Els

Three glass Ball jars were arranged on the kitchen table. From my perspective as a nine-year old, they seemed large. One jar was labeled, “College Fund.” Another, “Short-Term Savings.” And the last jar, “Long-Term Savings.” My mother was pretty straight-forward and the labels reflected her simplicity in teaching the basics of money.

“With each dollar you earn, you’ll have to put at least 25 cents into the college jar. And another 25 cents into the long-term saving jar. After that, it’s up to you.” I didn’t realize it then, but my mother was teaching me the habit of how to save money. Three jars. Three goals. Three ways to build some security for the future.

I was lucky. Not everyone is taught these lessons early on, but it’s never too late to learn.

Maine is facing a retirement savings crisis that could put us on the financial mat in the near future. One-third of Mainers 65-plus rely entirely on their Social Security check which averages just $1,100 a month. The average working Maine household has just $2,500 in retirement savings. That’s not a nest egg. It’s barely an emergency fund. Shockingly, 46 percent of all private sector workers in our state don’t have access to a retirement savings program through their workplace, often because they work for a small business that doesn’t have the time or money to shoulder that burden.

The coming wave of financial insecurity will not only stress Maine families, but important programs like Social Security and Medicare, too.

Retirement savings participation hasn’t changed much in more than 40 years. Despite education campaigns and awareness efforts, there’s been only a slight increase in the number of workers putting money away in a retirement account since the 1970s.

So what can be done? It’s not just about educating younger workers, or giving them a “kick in the pants” to do the right thing. We know what works when it comes to saving for the future. U.S. workers are 15 times more likely to save for retirement when we can do so through our own paycheck. We’re 20 times more likely to do so if that savings is automatic.

The good news is there’s a solution and it is building momentum. LD 594 is a bill currently working its way through the Maine State House. It would establish a public-private partnership allowing any Mainer not currently offered a retirement program through their workplace to start saving for their future. Here are the key parts of the bill that we think make it a “no brainer:”

  • No requirements or burdens on the small business owner including no liability and no matching requirement.
  • Smart government opens up new markets, enabling businesses to connect with underserved consumers. LD 594 would finally allow small business employees the chance to save with approved financial institutions who are currently out of reach for the typical Maine worker.
  • Portable: The employee retirement account follows the employee from job to job making it easier to save for seasonal workers and part-time workers.
  • Education: Each employee who participates will learn the value of saving for the future, even if at first the savings are small.

Helping more Mainers save for retirement is a rising tide that lifts all boats. This isn’t just a personal finance issue, it’s a state and community finance issue. Maine spent $28 million on vital social services for older Mainers in 2016. This number will only go up as more and more Mainers age with fewer and fewer dollars saved for retirement. If we can make it easier for more working Mainers to save for the future, it will mean more savings for taxpayers in the future.

The bottom line is we can either pay a little today or a lot tomorrow. We can either work on smart policy to modernize retirement savings in the nation’s oldest state, or we can point the finger at educators and parents while doing nothing to address the problem.

We (and you, dear Reader) can do something. Call and email your local state legislator and urge them to support LD 594. It’s common sense legislation for Maine workers, and common sense savings for Maine’s future.

We may be the oldest state, but we’re primed to lead the way on the most important issues facing our multi-generational communities. We owe it to those who’ve helped shape the Maine of today through hard work and grit, to continue to develop and build the Maine of tomorrow.

Japhet Els is Outreach Director for AARP Maine.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide suspends service until further notice

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AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, the nation’s largest free, volunteer-based tax preparation and assistance service, has announced that it will suspend tax preparation services at all sites effective Monday, March 16, until further notice. The action is due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus. The program’s website, www.aarpfoundation.org/taxaide and toll-free number 1-888-227-7669, are the best resources for information and updates regarding changes in service availability.

“Tax-Aide is prioritizing the health of taxpayers, our volunteers, and the communities we serve by suspending service until further notice,” said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President, AARP Foundation.

Tax-Aide will continue to assess whether some or all sites can re-open during this tax season as regularly scheduled, or during a longer tax season if it is extended.

While Tax-Aide provides free tax preparation and filing services to all taxpayers, many of its clients are over 60, a group considered by health experts at higher risk for COVID-19.

AARP Tax-Aide program offered

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Free federal and state income tax preparation offered to qualifying individuals

The AARP Tax-Aide program provides free federal and state income tax preparation and electronic filing to low- and moderate-income individuals. Returns are prepared by IRS-certified volunteers. The program is funded by the AARP Foundation, a tax-exempt charitable organization, and the IRS.

Counselors will help individuals navigate the many changes on the 2018 federal and state income tax returns. You do not need to be an AARP member to use this service. Assistance is available by appointment only at the following sites from February 1st to April 15th.

AUGUSTA: Buker Community Center, 22 Armory St.: 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Mondays and Fridays. Call 582-3053 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ONLY to make an appointment.

HALLOWELL: Cohen Community Center, 22 Town Farm Road: 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. Call 626-7777 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to make an appointment.

FAIRFIELD: Fairfield Community Center, 61 Water St.: 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Call 643-2559 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ONLY to make an appointment.

MADISON: Crossroads Bible Church, 705 White Schoolhouse Road: 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mondays and Saturdays. Call 643-2559 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ONLY to make an appointment.

November is national caregivers month

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by Dr. Erica Magnus
AARP Maine Communications Volunteer

While November 11 is widely recognized as Veterans Day, many people may not know that the entire month of November is both National Veterans and National Family Caregivers Month. Both of my parents were veterans. My father served in the Army in World War II and my mother later on served in the US Coast Guard. I encourage everyone to honor and pay respect to those who served our country in uniform and the caregivers supporting our valiant veterans.

There are 5.5 million military and veteran caregivers in the U.S. providing care to approximately 15 million veterans. These hidden heroes support their veteran loved ones with their daily needs—ranging from bathing and dressing to paying bills and transportation and assisting with medical tasks, providing an estimated $14 billion annually in unpaid care.

Numerous organizations have dedicated time and resources to address the challenges veterans face today, including their care needs.

AARP supports our veterans and their family caregivers through both the RAISE Family Caregivers Act and a partnership with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to create a Military Caregiving Guide. I encourage everyone to visit AARP.org/Veterans to learn more about how AARP is working for veterans. Here in Maine, AARP pushed for November to be designated as Maine Family Caregivers Month – a perfect opportunity to celebrate our veterans and the unsung heroes who care for them right here at home.

AARP OUTREACH: We may be the oldest state but we’re primed to lead the way

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by Japhet Els

There’s opportunity in Maine, though it’s not often in plain sight. We believe that communities often have the best solutions baked into them already so what’s needed isn’t big investments from shiny-shoed bankers but instead the bootstraps many of us were born with here in Central Maine.

Nearly every day it seems we Mainers are reminded we are the oldest state. But what follows this statement? In fact, what follows this constant reminder is silence. Or perhaps acceptance. What should follow this reminder, if we were truly “leading the way,” are examples of how Maine is the best place in the nation to age-in-place, or how Maine is tops in how it makes healthcare and prescription drugs more affordable for older Mainers. Or, perhaps how Maine prioritizes more ways for today’s workers to save for retirement through their employer, whether they work for themselves or one of the thousands of local, small businesses. We should be leading the way, nationally, on issues impacting older Mainers.

But we’re not.

Maine isn’t leading the way when it comes to helping its rural citizens age-in-place, in the very communities they helped build. Maine is not leading the way in developing low-cost, affordable, senior housing helping older residents live closer to their doctor, pharmacy, and grocery store. Maine is not leading the way in advancing better options for workers to save for retirement. Currently, more than 30 percent of Mainers 65+ have no source of income other than their Social Security check which, on average, is only $1,100 a month. For many, that barely covers life’s necessities such as food, heating fuel, medications and housing costs.

There’s work to be done. And Mainers have never shied away from hard work.

We’ve created monthly community events around Maine to begin this work. They are part of a first step in a long-term effort to change the way we build communities, and more importantly, change the way we talk to each other. The goal is to give anyone an excuse to come out and talk about some of the issues impacting older Mainers and their families. If we can’t get together to talk about them, how can we possibly begin to solve them?

So far, more than 150 local community members have attended four community coffees at the Miller’s Table in Skowhegan, gatherings covering topics from healthcare to education to supporting small businesses. We may not fix all the challenges our communities face, but we learn more about these issues and each other. That’s the most important part of our engagement work here in Maine: expanding our social networks in person so we can begin to tackle some of the problems we face, in person.

AARP’s Age-Friendly initiative is another way we’re empowering local communities to begin upgrading how they develop, build, and modernize for the future. Each Age-Friendly Community, of which there are more than 60 statewide, is led by their own local citizens. The Age-Friendly effort is truly grassroots and a partnership that is laying the groundwork for stronger communities, neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block, county by county. In fact, right here in Somerset County three communities have banded together to begin developing their own age-friendly campaigns – Skowhegan, Madison and Jackman.

We may be the oldest state but we’re primed to lead the way on the most important issues facing this aging nation. We owe it to those who’ve helped shape the Maine of today through hard work and grit, to continue to develop and build the Maine of tomorrow. I hope you’ll come out for a cup of coffee and start the conversation.

Japhet Els is Outreach Director for AARP Maine and, with the help of volunteers Pamela Patridge, June Hovey, and Deborah Poulin, he leads the monthly Skowhegan Coffee Talk at The Miller’s Table. The next coffee is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome.

AARP OUTREACH: AARP Maine introduces debut column and outreach director Japhet Els

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by Japhet Els

On behalf of AARP Maine, I am thrilled to be highlighting some of the important community and advocacy work AARP is doing here in Greater Skowhegan! Through this column, we hope to address interesting and helpful topics for our neighbors 50+ and their families.

We’re working to build community and get folks organized in Somerset County. Why? Because we believe Somerset is primed for progress at the local, grassroots level. To spur that energy, we began hosting a community coffee event at The Miller’s Table at Maine Grains the last Wednesday of each month. Led by local volunteers, these monthly gatherings are for you – the Greater Skowhegan community – to hear about what’s happening, and not happening, in central Maine. The coffees are a great way to meet new people and find out what we’re doing in your community. We serve free coffee and goodies. Bring a friend – all are welcome!

Secondly, I want to introduce myself. My name is Japhet (or Jay) Els and I am the AARP Maine Community Outreach Director. Part of my job is to organize the 50+ communities throughout mid-Northern Maine. It’s always a pleasure to meet our members, their friends and their families where they are, in their own hometown. If you come to the coffee, you’ll hear more about our work, but I will also be there to hear from you. What issues are of concern to you? What do you enjoy about Skowhegan? How can we collaborate?

You may know some things about AARP, but one thing you may not know is that our organization was founded 60 years ago by a retired school teacher, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. In addition to being a school teacher, Dr. Andrus was the first female high school principal in the state of California. Quite a pioneer! It all started when Dr. Andrus, began a campaign to provide affordable medical insurance for retired educators. Several years later, the first-ever group health insurance coverage was offered to retired teachers nationwide.

Dr. Andrus referred to AARP as “an army of useful citizens” who had the ability, the experience and the desire to promote and enhance the public good. She gave us the motto that still guides us today: “To serve, not to be served.” From this one person deciding to make a difference in the lives of others, we have grown to become a national organization with 38 million members!

Here in Maine, when the state legislature is in session, AARP staff and volunteers are at the State House, in Augusta, almost every day working to represent our 230,000 Maine members. Our goal is to be that “army of useful citizens” right where legislators are writing the laws that impact all of us. We also work with communities around Maine to enhance the lives of Mainers 50+ and their families through age-friendly initiatives, volunteerism and service.

We’re also working at the national level, fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs through our Stop Rx Greed campaign, and to protect our retirement and health security. As a non-partisan organization we don’t get involved in party politics or campaign fundraising. Instead, you’ll see us work with policy makers on both sides of the political aisle to reach common sense consensus on crucial issues like healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, and the rising cost of prescription drugs. Please follow our work on social media (Facebook and Twitter use @aarpmaine) and send any questions you may have to me @aarp.org. We would love to hear from you!

In one of AARP’s earliest publications, Dr. Andrus wrote ‘Our community is the place where we as individuals can be the most effective.’ This is part of her extraordinary legacy and she was right. One person, no matter their age, really can make a difference! Please come to our next free coffee at the Miller’s Table at 42 Court Street. We look forward to seeing you there!

Japhet Els is AARP Maine Community Outreach Director.