A debate: How to grow Maine's economy? (Bangor, Wayne: transfer, public schools)

[Maineac]

Ricky was kind of a numb "surfer dude" type. He was allowed the only TV in the dorm, etc., etc. with privileges the rest of us didn't get. Weekends at the Boston Hilton. Conrad's grandson, as I recall. He never had to lift a finger to pass classes or be very, very wealthy. Me? I got sent down for my junior year and got kicked out of NYA for sneaking off to a Jethro Tull concert in Bangor in October. Parents were real pleased. Then moved out of the house and lived down to Lucerne my senior year of high school. We made out just fine. I've always lived life as though I'm "retired broke," never passed up a day of fishng, sailing or hell raising, guided whitewater, canoeing, fishing, hunting, was a State tax assessor, certified general appraiser, forester, broker, house renovator, steeplejack and . . .

[Zarathu]

Clearly it "worked" for you in some way.

I stand corrected. What ever became of Ricky? Wiki said he was a real estate high developer in Scal after getting a degree in restaurant management from U of DEnver. Estimated net wealth is almost a billion bucks.

Do you still keep in touch?

[Maineac]

I haven't talked to Ricky Hilton since 1973. Wow. Restaurant management! Huh. (there's nothing wrong with that, but I thought the uber-wealthy went ivy league. Maybe they have some entrance standards that money can't overcome). I do get a kick out of his daughters' shenanigans. Paris is only one of them. I've always wondered why the other doesn't show up in the press like her idiot sister. Maybe I just answered my own question.

[broadbill]

Originally Posted by Maineac

I do get a kick out of his daughters' shenanigans. Paris is only one of them. I've always wondered why the other doesn't show up in the press like her idiot sister. Maybe I just answered my own question.

The "other one" has had her fair share of the media attention. I also think you are underestimating Paris by calling her and idiot. I think she knows exactly what she is doing!

[Maineac]

Well, it's obvious from some of her film work she does some things quite well.

[dmyankee]

MORE SKIING, LESS OTTEN!

Slash the over bloated State budget and employees by 50%.

Cut taxes to the bone. Kill the sales and income taxes.

Return the schools to the towns to raise their own budgets, tell the Feds to screw and let the property owners see their real costs of indoctrination!

Consolidate as many offices as you can. Merge every redundant State entity into single offices.

Kill DHHS and allow more incentives for people to donate their earnings where they think it will do the most good. Charity should only be handled at the private and municipal level.

Kill LURC, CLUP, DEP, and any other Cluck, Squawk agency at the State level. All planning should take place at the Municipal and County level.

Kill the MTA and the Highway Dept. All road work and maintenance should be handled at the Municipal and County level. The turnpike is officially bought and paid for! These services can be privatized.

Consolidate all the police services to the County and Municipal level. You can privatize this also.

This is just the beginning baby! You want change?

Get out there and get active. Get involved in the Caucus activities. Volunteer for your party or county political machines. Hand out flyers at the fair. Attend the fund raisers and town halls, if you can!

We have the momentum this year and you can make a difference. Steer clear of the "Independents." There IS A DIFFERENCE between the two major parties!

[starwalker]

dmyankee -- tryin' to rouse the rabble, there, are ya?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

In 1970, Maine reached a milestone. We reached a million people. The DHS was housed in a single building in Augusta. Today we have nearly 1.3 million people. The DHHS has 3,700 employees spread out in 37 buildings all over Maine. A few years ago the DHHS lost $138 million. Somebody got the money. I should think they would inquire as to who that is, but that's just me.

Maine, The Entitlement State. How is that working for Maine?

[retiredtinbender]

Let the Gov't have an outreach program for entitlements and that's what happens.

[Maineac]

Ya. Les Otten. The theme when he took over Sugarloaf was "work more for Les." He slashed and held down wages that were already dead low. Then drove the ski area into the ground. Ditto with Confalone up to Squaw or whatever they politically correctly call it these days.

Given the large amount of TWP land in Maine, then, who would oversee development "at the muncipal level"? Nobody? Municipalities already set their development and zoning rules. LURC steps in when they don't. And I wouldn't be too excited about the (industrial) foxes watching the henhouse.

"Entitlement" to me means having a government job, government benefits, retirement, vacation pay and all the bennies that go with working for State, County, Municipal and Federal Government. THERE'S your "entitlement." Funny how civil service used to be viewed as noble. Now every civil servant I know has the attitude that "they'd have done better in the private sector." Bullschlitz. They'd have been laid off and dealing with life occasionally like us lowly humans.

I've had one or two "jobs" in my life. One was with the Feds and the other was with Scott Paper (well, not counting a few bartending gigs over the years). I quit the Feds after two years. If taxpayers had any REAL idea of the disgusting level of "entitlement" and waste that goes on, there'd be a goddamn revolution. Otherwise I either worked in the family business as a laborer and steeplejack (I was the idiot painting the wind vane at the top of the steeple in 20 knot winds - try swinging out over main street Orono in a bosun's chair some time when the wind is up. That was in the '70's and the hair just stood up on my arms) or was self-employed, the latter being the primary household support for nearly 25 years. There's reasons for SOME regulations and appropriate zoning. Water quality. Development density. Messes that have occurred at several Superfund sites around the state. Ridiculous development for the quick buck, leaving municipalities holding the bag.

I lay the blame squarely on the living, breathing, self-serving, money-sucking monster that is Government. Don't rock the boat and you can retire in pretty good shape, and never have to really "produce" like you would if you worked for me or for yourself. Hell, you can even triple dip (military pension, Federal retirement AND social security) if you plan well enough in advance. And don't give me that crap about "they deserve it" when I have to pay for it. That's even more galling than knowing my tax dollars go to food stamps. Government's lost touch, simply because it's run by people who need that bi-monthly, automatic deposit paycheck and all the bennies. Without the stress of actually putting in an honest 50 hours a week or more.

But I worked for the Feds under a Republican administration. Believe me, they can burn taxpayer dollars just as fast and with equal impunity as Democrats. Evidence "TSA" and "Homeland Security." The greatest full-employment malarky ever to come down the pike. There's no partisanship when it comes to pork barrel politics and growing government. Maine needs to grow a backbone and bring raises, wages, benefits and government expansion back to the SAME level as the average taxpayer. And just say "NO" to the MSEA rather than fear losing votes from it.