Do earnings and poverty levels have anything to do with citizenship? How has welfare affected the role of citizens? Does the power of small town government get lost in the bureaucracy of big government? These questions were addressed by guest speakers at the 2003 annual Maine Town Meeting. Attorney Merton Henry welcomed the group and Facilitator Kathy Hunt from the University of Maine introduced speakers, Dr. Michael Katz, Dr. Ann Acheson, and Christopher Spruce.

Dr. Acheson of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine presented a county-by-county picture of poverty in terms of education, income, housing, employment, benefits and assistance. The profiling statistics of poverty in Maine were drawn from a statewide needs assessment conducted in conjunction with the Maine Community Action Association and funded through a Community Services Block Grant.