Maybe Maine Should Offer ‘Bonuses’ To Essential Workers, Too

Recently, the state announced it is launching a program that would offer a one-time payment to give incentive to some Mainers to get back to work. The pandemic hit a lot of families extremely hard, and while it's easy to blame the politics of the situation, there's three sides to all these stories.

From a political standpoint, I don't really have a problem with these current payment plans. Whatever it takes to get the economy humming back up to full capacity is what's at stake. Not sitting around arguing over the why's and why not's, over decisions that barely affect us, let alone are our business.

But … where I personally take issue, is that no one from the state has stepped up, that I know of, and proposed the idea of doing something to benefit all the essential front line workers. No, I don't mean just literally anybody that stayed working during the pandemic. For instance, I worked the whole time, but I deserve nothing. I'm just a DJ.

However, where's the monetary "thank you" to nurses, CNA's, hospital staff, grocery store workers, convenience store workers, mechanics.... this list could go on, and we all know it. Sure, you have to draw the line somewhere, but most rational folks can see where I'm headed.

There will always be someone who feels they should've gotten something more, or just anything at all, but someone like me doesn't deserve a bump. It's not making more taxes come out of my check, at least at this time, and what the government chooses to do with the money, I have no control over.

But we really should just take a moment to do something a little more for all the folks who kept day-to-day life going so the rest of could stay home like we were supposed to. Again, as hard as it is to believe, to me this is not a political issue. This is a human issue, and about recognizing folks who stepped up to the plate.

Let's go Maine. Let's think about trying to think beyond the people who aren't quite back to work yet. Let's also take a moment to think about all the people who never stopped the whole time. These heroes deserve more than just a pat on the back.