Maine's
Future in the Global Economy
John Elias Baldacci
by Ramona du
Houx
Enacting real
property tax relief is at the top of Governor Baldacci’s agenda, along with making
health care more affordable. In the following interview, he candidly discusses other
important issues and how he intends to continue to move Maine forward in the global
economy. (All quotes are attributed to Governor Baldacci.)
"For years
we’ve depended upon our business being next door, people coming from one town to
another, from one street to another, to do business in our hardware stores, restaurants,
and our tool and machine shops. What’s happened is the world has become such a global
economy.
"Everyday
items come from different parts of the world — which is much different than when I
grew up. Maine can be very successful in this global economy. That’s always
reinforced when I go on a trade mission.
"It’s
not just the big companies — and they certainly do participate — it’s also
lobstermen, scallop divers, farmers, everyday people who are realizing that they can sell
their goods on an international stage and be successful.
"I have
recognized, in the last four years, that many businesses that are successful are
businesses where export is a part of their financial picture. When a business has the
ability to do business outside of the US and gains income from that export, the
longer-term viability of the business is strengthened.
"Our trade
missions have been successful with the Maine International Trade Center. We’re
looking at undertaking a trip to Asia."
Funded by the
Department of Community and Economic Development, the Maine International Trade Center
mission is to promote the expansion of Maine’s economy through increased
international trade in goods and services and related activities.
Over the last
four years trade has increased by 39 percent.
The Greater
China Desk of the MITC was launched on September 22, 2005, to better facilitate access for
Maine businesses to markets in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
"China is
important because of the economy that it represents. Someone once told me, if you sold
everyone in China a meatball sandwich you’d make a fortune.
"Our
country hasn’t developed trade policies that create a level playing field. Our trade
polices have tied our hands behind our back — making it hard to compete."
As a US congressman, Baldacci
openly and ardently opposed trade agreements that were not equitable towards American
workers. As governor he has kept to his principles and has voiced his frustrations with
unfair trade policies.
The Chinese UN council
visited the governor last year, extending an invitation for him to come to China. The trip
is scheduled for 2007.
"My
farmers in Aroostook County tell me it’s like the Berlin Wall — nothing goes
into Canada but everything comes out. It hasn’t been fair. But those are the rules
that exist today.
"So how do
I beat the competition? In order to compete, you’ve got to know your competition. We
need to better understand China’s economy and figure out how we can gain from its
growth.
"How can
we build an export business with China? We export thousands of pounds of shrimp to
England, urchins to Japan, brown eggs to Hong-Kong, so there must be something we have
that they want. We need to build up our export business, so we can be shipping products
off to China, rather than just them sending us products.
"We need
to know the strengths of the competition and what they have for assets or resources. This
trip is an opportunity for Maine businesses.
"Creating
a strong foundation for trade continues to make sense. We’re laying the foundation
for businesses to utilize those resources, so they can do business overseas successfully.
I think Mainers are respected for their productivity, equality, craftsmanship, honesty and
integrity. So, the more that we get Mainers exposed to the global economy, they will be
better off."
The governor
announces a DECD project at the Bangor City Council in 2005
Massachusetts
just elected its first African American governor, who is also their first Democratic
governor in sixteen years. Governor Baldacci has been asked by the National Governors
Association to advise Deval Patrick during his transition. At a recent Governors
Association meeting in West Virginia, the two had many opportunities to discuss issues.
During the same meeting there were numerous enquires from different governors concerning
Dirigo Health, which was held up as a successful health-care model.
"Governor
Deval Patrick and I, talked together over the weekend about the need for Massachusetts and
Maine to work together with our region. We need to promote New England-wide as a region,
as a destination place, and an excellent place to do business. We have to do a better job
of integrating with each other and promoting New England around the globe."
Maine is
geographically a large state with natural wonders that people have been traveling for
centuries to see, mostly from the New England area, but it still lacks exposure throughout
America and internationally.
"Maine
becomes much more identifiable if we can promote ourselves as a region. Through the New
England business council we can make better connections between our rail and broadband
Internet. This will enable us to bring New England closer together and at the same time
improve our business potential around the world.
"My plan
is to expand passenger rail, be able to have better broadband Internet service and to be
able to promote our trade missions more as part of a New England and the Eastern Canada
Maritimes initiative, rather than just Maine going it alone."
Mills are here
to stay —
The governor talks about
the improvements that Lincoln Paper Mill recently made with a new state-of-the-art tissue
machine.
Traditional
industries have a role to play in the global economy in Maine. Governor Baldacci fought to
keep mill jobs all across the state. In one case he had state troopers keep the receivers
from raiding the Lincoln mill. Now that mill has been transformed into a tissue
manufacturer with the best technology available. Over four hundred employees are back at
work.
"Maine is
the number-two state in the nation for paper making. So, as much as we have had
consolidations, downsizing, and closings — we’re still number two. Maine is
strong in pulp and paper because we still have a 19-million-acre natural resource in our
forests, and we’re better at managing them. We’re making sure our forests are
harvested in a way that is sustainable."
Over 7.25
million acres of forest have been certified green because of the governor’s efforts.
"We’ve
banned liquidation harvesting, and we’re promoting a value-added component to the
business."
Hancock Lumber
has become a model for adding value to a forest industry business. Hancock owns forests
and sustainably manages them and now is selling green-certified lumber.
"The paper
companies that are here in Maine are profitable, and they are employing tens of thousands
of people, earning hundreds of millions of dollars a year. It’s not as big an
industry as it used to be, but it is still a huge part of Maine’s rural economy. What
we are doing, in those industries, is we’re building them to be cleaner — to
have bio-refineries and renewable energy sources. This helps make them become economic
development foundations in their communities."
Retraining &
education —
Governor
Baldacci created the Community College System in 2003; since then enrollment has increased
by 48 percent. Recently, the governor’s Community College Advisory Council released a
report that said the state needs to invest $20.3 million into the system. The governor
said an, "appropraite increase for the commuity college system will be in the
budget." The long-term goal is for Maine to become aligned with the national average
for a state of its population. The report also identified specific areas where Maine has a
deficiency in skilled workers, like nursing and welders.
"The world
has changed; you’re going to change occupations at least seven or eight times in your
lifetime. My parents started working in a job they had for the rest of their lives. People
in Maine would go into the mill out of high school and be in the mill until they retired,
and that was the norm. Those jobs have changed because the economy has changed. The world
is turning much faster in the global economy.
"As a
result some people are getting laid off, and downsizing is happening. It’s our
responsibility to make sure they don’t stay out of work for long. We need to get
unemployed workers immediately into a training-education program which makes sense for
them."
These programs
will provide opportunities specifically for a worker’s abilities and potential
skills, based on the workplace needs for skilled workers in identified areas.
"Rather
than importing people to fill the jobs, or industry sometimes not being able to expand
because there are no available skilled workers with appropriate skill sets, we are moving
to fill those identified job sectors with Maine workers.
"We are
going to have Career Centers, unemployment offices, education and retraining facilities
virtually [through ATM-linked TV technology] - seemlessly tied together. So when someone
goes for unemployment or when a Department of Labor rapid response team goes to a
worksite, they immediately do an innovatory of the skill sets that the unemployed workers
have and determine what education and training they need for the jobs that we have
identified. So the displaced worker will know what education and training they need for
their best-suited future job.
"Ultimately
it will become much easier to get a job."
The governor talks
with Youth-on-Board participants in Portland. Baldacci has often expressed how he enjoys
working with youth.
The state
invested over $850 million in education last year, because of the governor’s efforts,
working with the Legislature, and state educational funding is to increase to 55 percent
over the next biennium. The governor is continuing his work to transition the educational
system in Maine from a kindergarten-to-twelfth-grade system (K-12) to a system that
incorporates college (K-16).
"Now more
than ever, it is critical for the people of Maine to understand the link between education
and prosperity. To continue to compete in this global economy, we must acquire the skills
necessary to move this state forward.
"We’re
going to be building up the rigors in finance, science, and math for high school
students."
The governor is
proposing to have a four-year requirement of science and math in high school and more
early college programs. Being able to take a college course in high school gives seniors a
better understanding of what to expect from college. For some it has been enough to help
them decide to attend college.
"The
courses are half the cost, and students earn a semester’s worth of credit before they
go on to college. It saves students tuition, gets a semester under their belt, and helps
them transition to a K-16 model."
With college
grant programs being severely cut at the federal level and college tuition increasing, the
average college student graduates $18,000 to $19,000 in debt. The average debt for a
college graduate has soared 50 percent in the past decade, adjusted for inflation,
according to the Project on Student Debt.
"We have
to do more. College students have started a referendum on getting scholarships for
students that live and work in Maine. I support that."
Andrew Bossie,
a USM student, is president of Opportunity Maine, which seeks to collect 60,000 signatures
for a referendum vote next year. He has proposed that higher education students be given
tax credits equal to their student loans, if they agree to live and work in Maine after
graduation.
"I’d
actually like to try and privately raise the money. It would be necessary to work with the
compact for higher education, the business community, and the philanthropic community. If
we can raise $100 million for land conservation, I’d like to undertake an effort
where we can raise $40 million for college scholarships for 10,000 Maine students. If they
live and work in Maine, it becomes a scholarship; if they go out of state, it becomes a
student loan.
"I think
it’s important to accomplish this — either through the referendum process,
working with the students and others that are involved in Opportunity Maine, or through a
private fundraising effort."
Creative economy
—
"If you
have the quality of life, you’re going to draw naturally talented people from all
over. When a cruise ship comes into Bangor, they visit Blue Hill’s art stores. In one
case that I was told about by American Cruise Lines, $4,500 was spent. Some of the
wealthiest people from all over the country travel here; they love Maine.
"More
opportunities are opening up for people that are doing their unique and special things in
a creative way. We are working with the different foundations and agencies that will take
our art community from the workshops to the Main Street.
"The
creative economy is not just the arts and theaters, it’s also technology. We’re
going to focus more on math, science, architecture and engineering capabilities at the
University of Maine."
The future
—
The Brookings
Institution report identified Maine’s strengths and weaknesses and made
recommendations to help smart growth. The report said that Maine’s fortunes are no
longer tied to hard-labor jobs, manufacturers are more productive, and that Maine is
beginning to produce high-wage jobs in biotech, precision manufacturing, information
technology, composite materials, and other innovative sectors.
"We’ve
got researchers at UMO who are extracting ethanol from paper-company discharge. This gives
us an opportunity to generate energy and reduce pollution.
"We have
innovative ideas here, and as long as we can support and protect those ideas, we will be
able to bring in industry that will manufacture and produce them. It’s exciting.
"It’s
not to say that we don’t have challenges — we do. Our incomes are below the
national average, the cost of administration and the delivery of services is above the
national average. But at the same time we have the fifth largest growing in-migration in
the country; we’ve got more people moving in here than moving out of here. We
recognize that we have a quality of life.
"We have
the best workforce and the best natural resources.
"So how do
we change the paradigm so that all our people benefit? We need to be able to expand
broadband Internet connections, so we can do more business here and around the world. We
need to improve mass transit with passenger rail, so the degradation of our natural
resources does not occur. We need to provide support systems, so people find the right
employment and so more people can open up businesses and put out their shingle. And with
more accessible, affordable education and affordable quality health care, the path to
independence and self-sufficiency can become a reality for more Mainers.
"What
you’re going to see in Maine is income growth for more Mainers. The state is going to
catch up to the national average, instead of being below the average. We will go above it.
We owe it to our children and grandchildren.
"We can enjoy the
beautiful things we have in the state and protect them for future generations, while we
draw down good incomes and more opportunities for the people of Maine open up. And
that’s the future for Maine."
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