A debate: How to grow Maine's economy? (Bangor, Augusta: real estate, high school)
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Here's another thought pursuant to Ranger's post. NEVER put an ex-Senator in as Governor. I think Ranger is spot-on with the "star stuck" thing. Self-importance in the Baldacci family extends back over 50 years. A little restaurant and BIG political power. Opening cans of spaghetti sauce (after Il Sotto under the bridge closed) Johnny B. was being groomed at Garland St. Junior High School for political office. He was student body president when I was there around 1970. ONLY political expertise, with no real life issues, layoffs or hardships. The other side of the political coin is 'ol Jock. Raised with a silver spoon, with Mom pulling all the strings from Kenduskeag Avenue, our last Republican Governor did nothing but political favors.
Oh, I don't think that Maine is at the core of the issue at all. We have lost our industry in this country to other countries who want to see their people improve their lives.
So we should try to attract industry to this state? Well, why would they come here? Maine is at the end of the line in terms of transportation, and power generated here goes out to the grid, where its value is melded in to the value of power elsewhere. So, power here is relatively expensive, and transportation is relatively expensive. And industry will come to Maine why? Because we have 1.2 million people scattered over a huge area that makes it difficult for a workforce to get to the location of a plant of some sort? Or is it thought that we are going to go back to the dead end of "one company towns"? How's that worked lately?
Maine is a state of small towns. BIG industry won't work here and never really did once cheap power, easier transportation and cheap labor became available. But the US industrial base, and Maine's in particular, has been beaten up by the foreign competition; by foreign governments that have a true stake in seeing their people work and who have recognized that ANY work is better than none.
So, is all lost? By all means, NOT. But Maine especially needs to begin to think differently than it used, to and quite frankly, Maine isn't very good at thinking differently than it did a hundred years ago. It is time to reverse that trend, and it needs to begin in the Blaine House and in the state legislature: those who call for new people and new ideas to be elected to Augusta are right. Unfortunately the so-called "good new candidates" have said relatively little of substance yet. They need to be asked HOW they plan to do things, not WHAT it is that they plan to do. The Ski-bum idiot who is has been running for governor for a year now keeps harping along about being the "job's governor" by "preserving the jobs we have" and bringing new jobs to Maine, hasn't said HOW he intends to do any of this. And by preserving the "jobs we have" presumably means the jobs in woods and in the fisheries, which are jobs that simply have gone for good. It is absolutely impossible to preserve jobs in industries with diminished stocks and unfair International competition; it is absolutely impossible to preserve jobs that are in industries with plant and equipment three generations out of date when they have to compete with cheaper labor, modern equipment and unlimited, unfettered natural resources product supply half a world away.
What Maine in particular and this country especially, is going to have to do it reinvent the wheel of industry to become the leader in those goods and products that will provide value to other industries in the next centuries. We have some very special capacities here in Maine that are underused. We may mourn the woods products industry, but we should only mourne the passing of the OLD woods products industry. Maine should use its tremendous supply of cellulose to become the leader in developing and producing new forms of cellulose for various types of construction and materials productions. We should among other things, become the leader in producing new forms of insulation, because in a time of rising fuel prices and increased costs of heating and cooling buildings in general, Maine is positioned perfectly to develop and ship this sort of product all over the world. Blown cellulose as we know it now, isn't the END product, but merely one product in a development cycle in its infancy.
Maine could well use its vacant plant floor areas to develop new and far more efficient windows and doors, including large doors for various purposes, and those products and technology could be the beginning of an entire new industrial initiative here in Maine, that distance and problems of transportation could easily be resolved if Maine would please better utilize the port areas that it already has. (I think it is certainly time for Maine to think of its rail lines as something to be restored and not something to merely turn into bike and snowmobile paths.
And there is an awful lot of hot air and hogwash devoted to Maine's wind power development. The simple truth is that the wind power industry is in its infancy, and the State of Maine is already a leader and that leadership position needs to be embraced and fertilized so it can grow and develop. It is far larger than merely a few wind turbines stuck up on a hillside or on an island: the ramifications of wind turbine technology (the building of turbines, the development of turbine management and grid systems) is an industry with world wide implications. Maine has terrific amounts of wind both on shore and off shore. Harvesting these winds, whereever they are, is an economic development and initiative on the order of the development of woods products harvesting. The University of Maine is rapidly becoming the "go to" source for wind power technological development, and wind may well provide the basis for the next economic turnaround in Maine.
Whatever industries are to be encouraged in Maine in the future, they should be those that can flourish in a state with population groups that are spread out, and probably not be industries that depend on huge plants located in one town. Industrial eb and flow is a rule of economic development, and if Maine harnesses itself to one employer within thirty miles, that area will always be subject to the chaos of plant closings or business failures. But if we encourage small businesses...those with twenty five employees or less, then we as a state have a fighting chance of providing an improving standard of living to all of its citizens, and perhaps more younger people will come here to work.
And while I am on my soap box, I will offer this as a way to "regulate" the Great North Maine Woods. Maine needs to pass a law that requires forest land, removed from productive forrestry use, to continue to pay taxes at the same rate that it paid them before removal. This is not to suggest that the Tree Growth regulations be altered for small woods lot owners, but that large tracts...such as might be gobbled up by people who have little stake in the general welfare of Maine residents, will not be simply turned into preserves that contribute nothing to the general welfare of Maine.
I agree with Acadianlion that if an environmental group buys land and intends to keep it pristine forever, it comes out from under TGTL treatment. However, you've also go Open Space and Farmlands treatment as a quick dodge to base taxation. So some legislating is probably in order.
Maine needs to better exploit its resources without all of the profits exiting the State. What do you do, then, with the vast northwoods?
And "foreign competition" did not export all the manufacturing business out of the U.S. U.S. companies did, to their U.S. stockholder's glee, and profit admirably for it. It's not a political issue as much as it's a common sense and greed issue.
And its tough enough economically so many can't help but obtain the best bang for their consumptive buck, whether it be a U.S. made product or foreign made.
Oh, I don't think that Maine is at the core of the issue at all. We have lost our industry in this country to other countries who want to see their people improve their lives.
So we should try to attract industry to this state? Well, why would they come here? Maine is at the end of the line in terms of transportation, and power generated here goes out to the grid, where its value is melded in to the value of power elsewhere. So, power here is relatively expensive, and transportation is relatively expensive. And industry will come to Maine why? Because we have 1.2 million people scattered over a huge area that makes it difficult for a workforce to get to the location of a plant of some sort? Or is it thought that we are going to go back to the dead end of "one company towns"? How's that worked lately?
Maine is a state of small towns. BIG industry won't work here and never really did once cheap power, easier transportation and cheap labor became available. But the US industrial base, and Maine's in particular, has been beaten up by the foreign competition; by foreign governments that have a true stake in seeing their people work and who have recognized that ANY work is better than none.
So, is all lost? By all means, NOT. But Maine especially needs to begin to think differently than it used, to and quite frankly, Maine isn't very good at thinking differently than it did a hundred years ago. It is time to reverse that trend, and it needs to begin in the Blaine House and in the state legislature: those who call for new people and new ideas to be elected to Augusta are right. Unfortunately the so-called "good new candidates" have said relatively little of substance yet. They need to be asked HOW they plan to do things, not WHAT it is that they plan to do. The Ski-bum idiot who is has been running for governor for a year now keeps harping along about being the "job's governor" by "preserving the jobs we have" and bringing new jobs to Maine, hasn't said HOW he intends to do any of this. And by preserving the "jobs we have" presumably means the jobs in woods and in the fisheries, which are jobs that simply have gone for good. It is absolutely impossible to preserve jobs in industries with diminished stocks and unfair International competition; it is absolutely impossible to preserve jobs that are in industries with plant and equipment three generations out of date when they have to compete with cheaper labor, modern equipment and unlimited, unfettered natural resources product supply half a world away.
What Maine in particular and this country especially, is going to have to do it reinvent the wheel of industry to become the leader in those goods and products that will provide value to other industries in the next centuries. We have some very special capacities here in Maine that are underused. We may mourn the woods products industry, but we should only mourne the passing of the OLD woods products industry. Maine should use its tremendous supply of cellulose to become the leader in developing and producing new forms of cellulose for various types of construction and materials productions. We should among other things, become the leader in producing new forms of insulation, because in a time of rising fuel prices and increased costs of heating and cooling buildings in general, Maine is positioned perfectly to develop and ship this sort of product all over the world. Blown cellulose as we know it now, isn't the END product, but merely one product in a development cycle in its infancy.
Maine could well use its vacant plant floor areas to develop new and far more efficient windows and doors, including large doors for various purposes, and those products and technology could be the beginning of an entire new industrial initiative here in Maine, that distance and problems of transportation could easily be resolved if Maine would please better utilize the port areas that it already has. (I think it is certainly time for Maine to think of its rail lines as something to be restored and not something to merely turn into bike and snowmobile paths.
And there is an awful lot of hot air and hogwash devoted to Maine's wind power development. The simple truth is that the wind power industry is in its infancy, and the State of Maine is already a leader and that leadership position needs to be embraced and fertilized so it can grow and develop. It is far larger than merely a few wind turbines stuck up on a hillside or on an island: the ramifications of wind turbine technology (the building of turbines, the development of turbine management and grid systems) is an industry with world wide implications. Maine has terrific amounts of wind both on shore and off shore. Harvesting these winds, whereever they are, is an economic development and initiative on the order of the development of woods products harvesting. The University of Maine is rapidly becoming the "go to" source for wind power technological development, and wind may well provide the basis for the next economic turnaround in Maine.
Whatever industries are to be encouraged in Maine in the future, they should be those that can flourish in a state with population groups that are spread out, and probably not be industries that depend on huge plants located in one town. Industrial eb and flow is a rule of economic development, and if Maine harnesses itself to one employer within thirty miles, that area will always be subject to the chaos of plant closings or business failures. But if we encourage small businesses...those with twenty five employees or less, then we as a state have a fighting chance of providing an improving standard of living to all of its citizens, and perhaps more younger people will come here to work.
And while I am on my soap box, I will offer this as a way to "regulate" the Great North Maine Woods. Maine needs to pass a law that requires forest land, removed from productive forrestry use, to continue to pay taxes at the same rate that it paid them before removal. This is not to suggest that the Tree Growth regulations be altered for small woods lot owners, but that large tracts...such as might be gobbled up by people who have little stake in the general welfare of Maine residents, will not be simply turned into preserves that contribute nothing to the general welfare of Maine.
I agree with alot of this. Instead of trying to resurrect dead industries that are already gone (manufacturing, lumber), Maine should forge ahead and develop new industries that are in its infancy and to which they are uniquely suited for. I like to add:
1. Aquaculture....it is an industry that Maine is uniquely suited for, but we are too busy mourning the impending loss of the fishing industry to notice. Like it or not, Maine is being regulated out of the fishing industry and if something isn't done its going to be gone with nothing to replace it. Aquaculture hasn't really caught on in the US and Maine could be a leader in this.
2. Nuclear Power....I think more of the US power supply is going to be derived from nuclear power Maine has plenty of isolated spots to put them. Disposal is another option.
3. Offshore wind farms-it gets around the NIMBY argument with putting turbines on inland hills and Maine has plenty of coast line.
I realize alot of these options are unpopular with Maine residents, but I think as a state we need to start thinking about how we can exploit the resources we have in profitable ways.
Do any of you know anyone who is "filthy rich". I don't think many working people do.
There is this enormous misconception propogated by the literature like the GREAT GATSBY and others that those people who are rich are also idle.
You don't understand. While I am not rich by any stretch since I went into education instead of business, I have relatives and friends and friends of relatives who did. When you run your own business or when you are a CEO of a large corporation or upper management, there is no such thing as an 8 hour day. 99% of wealthy people when they are working are extremely frugal and also work 12-16 hour days EVERYDAY INCLUDING SATURDAY.
My sister in law works for a major bank in the international division. She leaves for work everyday at 6, doesn't come back in until 7, and often works Saturdays, as well as from home. She's been on vacation with us in BH, and has spend mornings three days of the seven of her "vacation" on the phone in business conferences.
My brother lives in Greensboro NC. While he's not really wealthy, he's pretty well off. But to do that he doesn't have his summers off. And he works from 7 in the morning till 7 at night everyday, and at least 6 hours on many saturdays. And if something comes up, he works Sundays too. Sure, he goes on vacation not and then to Hawaii or hunting in Tetons, but the other times he's working like a dog drumming up business, fixing problems, dealing with crazy clients, etc.
And before these people got to the level they are, the went to school: College, Graduate school, and grad school was while they were working 10 hour days.
The concept of the idle rich is a myth, and its not encouraged by them. There are very few idle rich playboys and play girls except for Paris Hilton.
There are no idle rich fat cats.
When i was a professional photographer in addition to working in mental health services, I spent a huge amount of time running the business. If I'd planned on staying in that business job, to make any money I would have had to hire people to work for me, and I would have ended up working 12 hours days everyday.
When you talk about bringing in business to Maine you simply must understand that running a business is not easier than working for someone else: its often a nightmare of endless work.
When you talk about bringing in business to Maine you simply must understand that running a business is not easier than working for someone else: its often a nightmare of endless work.
Z
Nobody said the rich were idle...what is your point?
Nobody said the rich were idle...what is your point?
Lots of people say that. And many people on this forum have implied it many many times. I've even listened to people saying over and over again that only the rich and "idle" move to Bar harbor, which is just plain not true. But the myths persist.
My point is that if we want to bring more industry into Maine, then its these people who are working their tails off in industry that we have to attract. And people need to understand that running a business(and its business that you want to attract) is no bed of roses. You can gold-brick some of the time when you work for someone else. If you are working for yourself, you can't ever run on autopilot. Every moment of the working day is filled with work. There are no idle times. There's no going to the bar after work, and there is no "after work", its always about work..... all the time.
Running a business can be a drudge way worse than working for someone. You can't rail against rich people moving into Maine on one hand and then on the other hand bemoan that all the business is moving out. If you don't understand both the rewards and the hassles of being a business magnate, then you will never understand how to get more industry back in the state. Honest poor working folk cannot help. Only people who are well off can. At least as long as we live in a capitalistic society.
Like I said before: You can get Toyota to put a 3 billion dollar plant in Bangor like they have in Indiana, but you have to give them huge tax breaks to do it, a climate that they'd like, and amenities that will draw them. AcadianLion is right. They won't go to Orono or Eastport. But they will go to Bangor. Bangor is about the size of Carlisle PA, which has a huge tire plant called Carlisle Tire and Rubber. When I lived there it employed a lot of people in the area.
If you do it, if you make them feel welcome, they will come. Do you kow how much the Chinese have invested in the USA? There is plenty of investment out there, you just have to make it inviting enough to come.
Xenophobic attitudes will not attract the business that Maine needs. And new business doesn't spring up out of nothing. You need skilled people to do and fat cat banks to bank-roll it. And you need management and organizational skills. I work in a job where organizational skills are huge. I wasn't always like this, and I still make mistakes that I proper organization missed. But one thing I've learned, not more than 1 person in 50 has the organizational skills to manage a business successfully. But people without the skills constantly complain about why things aren't done without the faintest idea of the logistics to make it happen. Many of these people couldn't organize themselves out of a paper bag. They do great as long as someone else tells them what to do, but if they had to figure it out for themselves out of nothing, they'd be dead in the water.
Make it attractive or they will not come, and they will not build.
Paris Hilton's father Ricky attended NYA with me. We were both put there by our parents to "get us out of town and straightened out."
Did it work for you?
It sure worked for him.
Z
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