Democracy Forum 5/15/26: Pillars of Democracy: Democracy costs money. Who pays?

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about taxes and democracy. Everyone complains about paying taxes. But what if we need taxation if we want the benefits of democracy? If democracy costs money, who should pay for it? Author Vanessa Williamson argues that some of the most important battles that shape our democracy hinge on one issue—taxes. How has that played out in our history. How is it playing out in this moment? And how is it playing out in Maine? Guest/s: Garrett Martin, President and CEO, Maine Center for Economic Policy. Vanessa Williamson, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, and a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Author of the book, The Price of Democracy. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 5/15/26: Pillars of Democracy: Democracy costs money. Who pays? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.