Augusta - It's getting harder to land a job that pays a livable wage in Maine. That's according to a report released by the left-leaning Maine People's Alliance, which took a look at what a person needs to earn at work to make ends meet.

The report titled "Broken Bootstraps" says more than 90% of jobs in Maine do not provide a living wage for a family of four with two parents working.

MPA members say increasing the minimum wage and accepting federal funds to help supply health insurance to more Mainers are among solutions to the problem. "The problem isn't that people in Maine aren't working hard enough. The problem is they're not getting paid enough," said Ben Chin of the Maine People's Alliance. "We're really hopeful that when people put aside ideologies and decide to put real Mainers ahead of special interest, we'll actually make some progress."

Lawmakers from Maine's Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee were at Tuesday's press conference to hear what the report has to say.

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