Maine's
Future in the Global Economy— On the Cusp of Great Change
by Ramona du
Houx
Maine is at the
cusp of great change. People outside looking in see it — more than 10 international
papers and magazines have written about it — but it’s hard for the people of
Maine to grasp.
Why?
We hold on to
security. Dreaming for the end of the rainbow ends up usually being just a dream. We work
hard and expect to be treated fairly for our efforts. We generally don’t have the
time to analyze or look into depth at what our state has been doing. We read headlines
that often over-sensationalize bad news when it comes to town and don’t offer hope.
Most of us
don’t know that dramatic changes are happening within Maine, as Gov. Baldacci has
been implementing his vision — transitioning Maine into a knowledge-based, global
economy.
It’s
impossible to point to just one issue the governor has tackled, for there are so many, all
working in conjunction with each other. He understands how each issue is interrelated,
which has been the key to success.
And it has been
a success story.
People needed
to be invested in. Maine’s natural resources needed to be invested in. That’s
what Baldacci has done.
He started with
creating a statewide community college network and a health-care program that will
eventually ensure all Mainers are covered.
At the same
time he had critical assessments done on our natural resources, stopped clear-cutting,
green certified 7.25 million acres, and preserved 750,000 acres for future generations.
Tax incentives
that his Pine Tree Zones provide have helped create 3,200 jobs in areas in need. Over the
last three and a half years, 28,600 jobs in residential employment have been created
— many of those workers use the Internet — where Baldacci’s efforts have
given companies incentives with his ConnectME program. Another proportion of those jobs
are people involved in the creative economy — which Baldacci is a strong supporter
of, providing resources and incentives for business start-ups.
From day one he
worked to save jobs at mills and other businesses, and did so. More than 7,000 jobs have
been saved because of this governor’s intervention. No other governor in living
memory has worked so hard to make sure the people of this state have good jobs.
He worked day
in and day out to save the shipyard in Portsmouth and the facility in Limestone from
closing. His efforts paid off — beating the odds. Only 11 percent ever stop the
closures.
But it’s
not enough to save jobs; those jobs have to be sustainable. Baldacci knows this and in the
process of saving jobs he has helped companies transition into the 21st century economy.
Mills are now high-tech and specialize in their products, not wasting any portion of the
tree.
His biofuels
and solar-power tax incentives are making Maine more independent from using foreign fuels.
His fiscal
responsibility has given the state a $149 million Rainy Day Fund, which is a needed
security net, in case the federal budget cuts back programs Maine needs. This forward
thinker has positioned Maine for real, sustained growth. Companies are responding. In
Madison we have a new high-tech greenhouse facility that’s more than four football
fields long. It can grow vegetables year round and could revolutionize agriculture in
Maine.
In Richmond we
have a new company that’s adding value to Maine lobsters by using a new technology
that makes it easy to shuck a lobster raw.
In Old Town a
former mill is being transformed into a biofuel producer — where new technologies
coming out of the research and development facility at the University of Maine in Orono
are being used. It will also be a business park.
The governor
invested in R&D from day one, and the results are exciting for Maine business. The
boatbuilding industry now has a consortium, because the governor brought them together.
Their sales are up, and they are using the new composite technologies developed at the
University of Maine.
Trade has
doubled within the last year. More than $20 million in sales, from cows to maple syrup and
wood products, were sold to Cuba last year.
The governor
stated on election night that his first order of business will be to freeze
homeowners’ property values for year-round Maine residents with a constitutional
amendment.
Following on
from LD 1, which increased the circuit-breaker property tax refund, while increasing state
funding for education, the governor wants to pass a law that would require communities to
use 90 percent of any future increase in state school aid to lower property taxes
directly. He also wants to increase state funding for incentives that encourage local
consolidation.
The
governor’s health-care Blue Ribbon Commission will unveil its recommendations for
Dirigo Health in December. The governor would like the state to go with a self-insured
system. Eliminating the middleman will save thousands of dollars, lower costs, and open
the door for more Mainers to obtain affordable health insurance. Nationally, 82 percent of
firms with 5,000 or more workers have plans that were partially or fully self-insured.
In an interview
with the governor, he talks candidly about the future and proposes the next step in
transforming Maine’s educational system, to continue to move the state forward in the
global economy.
The majority
of this piece first appeared in The Bangor Daily News, October 11, 2006. |
