Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If people of Maine REALLY want to rejuvenate their local businesses we ALL have to bite the bullet and shop locally. Yes, this means we may pay $5-10 more per grocery trip. Yes, we may have to go to a few stores rather than one stop shopping but it's the Walmarts that are killing us. Mom and Pops can't compete with their prices and the stuff at the big box stores for the most part is disposable crap. The latest numbers I saw is that 25 cents of every grocery dollar is being spent in Walmart, yet Maine has some of the best farmland. Why aren't we buying more locally produced stuff? Shop local and keep Main(e) street alive!
I am guessing you do NOT own a business in Maine. How can I tell well if you did you would know that the COST of running a business with employes is tight. The reason the "big box stores" are able to exist is two fold first they offer what the people want at prices they want and they can do this via buying power ( ie buy large amounts of product X for far less then a local store stocking them can) allowing them to sell the item at a profit for less then a "mom and pop" store can sell them. Then we get into the taxes the insurance the payroll the stock and the other mountain of costs to just keep the doors open before you even get close to profit.
Next as I already stated welfare ( welfare is ANY monies given out that was NOT earned ) this plays into in in many ways. First let us use you're shop local theme. You get X on you're welfare card each month are going to go to the mom and pop place and buy 2 bags of groceries OR are you going to the wally world and getting 5 bags? Those on the dole know exactly what they are doing.
Next ending or putting a finite reasonable limit on all welfare would help cure itself in the end as those who are no longer on the dole will seek employment thus generating monies that will then make more of a market for other businesses who will in turn need more employees that will remove more from he welfare rolls and get this at the same time those getting welfare goes down taxes can also be lowered BUT with more working and less welfare there will still be more tax dollars coming in.
Last edited by Maineguy04654; 03-13-2013 at 11:05 PM..
and if costco. came to maine, we should all shop at costco. becaue it is cheaper, even more local buineses would close, more people out of work, more on welfare, and local taxes are higher,- but hey, its cheaper.
the 10 cents you save today, may cost you 20 cents tomorrow.
i say bring in all the big box stores...and offer incentives,,because it may be cheaper-lets give them all tifs...entice them to come with tax breaks and such-the small businesses dont get them, but lets offer them to any new huge store
whenever im in wal-mart..... especially on the weekends, reminds me of a wilderbeast herd....and i'm one of them.
Some folks just don't make simple connections, even when it affects them
we had a local bakery nearby,(now it's closed) use to be a mainstay, and while in line to buy my fav date cookies, a couple was in front of me, the husband says, i dont know why we come here, its cheaper at wal-mart-she said , this stuff is so much better, and im not going all the way to augusta to save 22 cents... the husband worked in a nearby hardware store...
and while in there,,looking at paint, i looked at him, and whispered, you know, i can get this cheaper at home-depot
he got all red in the face, and didnt say anything...then I told him, i was in line behind he and his wife at the bakery, and loud enough for the baker/owner to hear , you said the same thing about the rolls they sell-well i can save a hell of alot more than 22 cents if i buy this paint somewhere else.
and dont be telling me your paint is better paint-i dont care, because i can buy it cheaper,,,isnt that what its all about??
I did buy some paint, the owner of the store came out to say hi....
I whispered to the other guy-so not to embarrass him- the reason i buy paint here is partly because of that owner, he has done so much for the town, he helped a couple families, when there house burned down, he sponsors a little league team....home depot doesnt do that-the owner of that bakery does alot for the town also-
if we all shopped at walmart and home depot- all these businesses will be closing including yours-so if you want locals to support you and your livelyhood, you should be supporting them.
Last edited by mainebrokerman; 03-14-2013 at 03:16 AM..
Maine could reduce poverty by investing in the sort of infrastructure that would attract clean industries; investing heavily in education, making it something that would create a skilled workforce for the future rather than the present, shifting the focus from Recreation service industries, Fishing, Agriculture, Wood products, to a re-purposing of the Maine Maritime Academy to deal with climate change, adapting to the ongoing reduction of sea ice in the arctic and the effect of changing weather on forests, fisheries and agriculture positively with the coming Northeast passage meaning more traffic to Maine ports, new sources of alternative energy, wind, solar, hydro; LEED; jobs for hydronics engineers in fish processing plants; possibly tying this to treating affordable education like affordable healthcare and other safety nets so that Maine workers are both healthier and better informed as to a solar self sufficient off the grid lifestyle.
I don't think we want a race for the bottom. More community colleges and continuing education that would allow high school students to take courses in things like welding would be a big plus. Maine workers need to get paid more and then demand stores that sell goods that cost more so that the economy really has a reason to grow. In order to demand higher wages Maine needs investment in education and infrastructure not austerity. Maine workers could get paid more if they had schools that taught them skills that go beyond what the Maine economy presently produces for jobs, if they could expect to graduate and be hired for a job as a hydronics engineer or as a marine biologist rather than a sternman; or as somebody who has the business education to identify entrepreneurial funding to engineer and build skidders rather than just operate them.
62% of students that start grammer school don't finish 4yrs of college. We have 13 million people unemployed,we also have 20-30 million illegal people working here.I don't blame them from risking there lives coming here I blame those that hire them. A fifth grader could subtract those numbers and find the problem.When i was young Belfast had 4 shoe factories 2 poultry plants.and other things They said then imported shoes were cheaper.there not now!! Very little is cheaper. The people owning these companies are making money hand over fist--there worker aren't. Worker everywhere are getting the shaft. Instead of complaining about unions maybe we should ask the 1% what a living wage should be?
Yep cats do a lot of damage. Forget the word 'environment' as it is overused and nebulous.
You get bit or scratched by a feral cat and its off to the ER for rabies shots.
Reportable disease in most if not all states. In Nj for example you can't get rabies treatment without approval by the state health dept. Always given in a hospital because of insurance costs. Need to hang around after the shot to see if you have a reaction to the shots. Afterwards you can get booster shots every few years without state approval.
You get rabies, you die.
Rabies can be dormant for up to a year.
I had been getting rabies shots at the local ER for about 5 weeks when they bought in a young guy who had been bitten by a cat he went to pet when he was out bird hunting. Turned out he shot the cat in the head and as a result no brain tissue to examine for rabies infection so he had to get the shots.
New formulation is a couple of cc's in the arm over 5 weeks. what hurts is the gamma globulin dosed by body weight and tetnus shots they give in conjunction with the intiial rabies shot. That GG is very viscous and the large volume make you feel you lingering pain. Saw that tray loaded with enough syringes for 6 patients..asked the nurse who they were all for and she said, ' just for you'.
Deer do seem to be fascinated by cats and I have seen fall young of the year follow a cat for a couple hundred yards in a pasture. Cats may be the next rage in deer decoys.
Poverty is a state of mind. When asked how he fared during the great depression, the old Mainer asked, "what depression?".
Of course if some one tells you you are poor and missing out on available resources and keeps showing you graphs and charts to prove you are poor and in poverty, you get to believe it.
With all those Obama lawn signs and bumper stickers around the U of Maine in Orono it is a sure bet that poverty is highlighted as a evidence of class warfare where business is the enemy and the government is here to help you. You just sit back and we'll take care of you. Oh, and here's a cat to pet while you wait...it will lower your blood pressure and give you tape worms to bring your BMI/body mass index into accpetable limits set by the US dept of Health.
By the way if you haven't tried fresh cooked spring dandelions with the classic salt, vinegar, and butter you are all the poorer.
Just one more thought. I have a geography book used at the university of Deleware in 1949. College Geography by Case and Bergsmark. 3rd edition
There is a chapter on productivity of the people and soil quality. So if you attened college in 1949 you learned that southern NJ was the poorest palce in the USA and people oftern walked aroud barefoot in the summer and houses had neither paint or carpeting. This was in contrast to the truck farms of northen NJ and its industrious population. " many of the inhabitants dwell in cabins that have neither carpets or paint...most of the adult population goes around barefooted in the summer;"
A bit about Maine from the same page..." Perhaps the most striking illustration of the influence of soil type in human development is found in Aroostook co Maine. Here a pocket of glacial soil in a granitic wilderness stands oiut as an osasis in a desert......Farm buildings are in good repair and yards are well kept.....the area has many miles of good roads, many of the farmers own their own automobiles, there are telephones in about nine tenths of the farmhouses and electric lights and washing machines in most of them. Here in this garden spot the finest New England traditions are fostered. Almost all the boys and girls graduate form high school; there are good books to read and churches are well supported and a lecture course is maintained every winter in the village of Presque Isle."
Book later goes on to say main industries in Maine are Dairy farming, lumbering, fruit trees and endless summer vacationers.
'investing'? I think that has became a new catch phrase for bonds and more taxes.
Quote:
... investing heavily in education,
It has been proven dozens of times that throwing money at education, does not equal increased literacy.
Quote:
... re-purposing of the Maine Maritime Academy to deal with climate change,
A school that successfully supplies workers to a worldwide economic industry, needs to be gutted and changed into what?
Quote:
... more traffic to Maine ports,
There are harbors North of Maine; there are harbors South of Maine; there are harbors WEST of Maine.
If there were ships to dock in Maine, where do you think this cargo would be going to?
Nowhere North of us, Nowhere South of us, Nowhere West of us, and East of us is nobody.
So who would be the customers of this shipping?
I was a career sailor, I would like to know where you think this cargo would be going to?
Quote:
... new sources of alternative energy, wind, solar, hydro; LEED;
This has all been tried, the protests still ring in our ears.
Quote:
... jobs for hydronics engineers in fish processing plants;
There was once a fish processing industry in Maine with hundreds of processing plants along our coast. yes I said HUNDREDS of plants. There is a nice museum up in Eastport. I have been there. Maybe you would benefit from going through the museum and learning about Maine's history.
Quote:
... affordable education like affordable healthcare
Yes, we do need more taxes.
Taxes help so much.
Quote:
... More community colleges and continuing education
Yes, free education and more grants all on someone's dime. uh, the tax-payers dime. If only we could get more tax money flowing, we could tax our way out of debt.
[quote ... Maine workers need to get paid more and then demand stores that sell goods that cost more [/quote]
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
