This week on the Beacon podcast, Taryn, Ben and Mike discuss a new report from the Maine Center for Economic Policy showing how the government of Maine has forfeited or ignored more than $1.9 billion in federal funding since 2011 that could have gone to health care, economic development and other state priorities, at a cost of nearly 5,000 jobs annually.

They also cover a recent Bangor Daily News article that tells a similar story of money that could be going to providing child care for Maine families, the impending vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act in the House, Rep. Larry Lockman’s absolutely insane new bill on climate change and how people who read Harry Potter have lower opinions of Donald Trump.

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Photo via Andi Parkinson.