How do we get Mainers out of poverty? (Bangor, Augusta: apartment, home)

[GrittyMcDuffy]

How do we get them jobs?

[DavidoftheNorth]

First we have to determine which ones want to work.

[90077]

Barter goods and services. Form more co-ops. Get off the grid. Vote out of office the socialists and reduce welfare programs.

I vote with my wallet and always try to buy goods and services from local individual Mom & Pop enterprises whenever I can. I buy from franchises and conglomerates only as a last resort.

Originally Posted by GrittyMcDuffy

How do we get them jobs?

Lower taxes on biz. Lower workers comp rates(better than they were). Throw Baldy out. Deemphasize focus on tourism

[mainebrokerman]

if i open the bangor daily, kennebec journal, and portland press herald, and look at the help wanted section,,there seems to be quite a few jobs, do they start at 25 an hour without any skills?? probly not,,but i believe any mainer that really wants to work,,,can find a job,

[BacktoNE]

I have always believed that education can and will break the cycle of poverty.

The State also needs to be more business friendly regarding taxes and workers comp coverage.

[Submariner]

'poverty' is a state of mind.

America is one of the wealthiest nations on the planet.

When your taxes are low, and your cost-of-living is low; then you do not require a high income. [which is why we moved to Maine]

I have had a high income career, and we collected apartment buildings as a hobby during my career. Though now we have moved to Maine, and we are living on my retirement pension and my DW's income from working at a grocery store. We moved to Maine because we should be able to prosper here with the general lower cost-of-living.

There is nothing that anyone can do by legislating to bring the average household income up [without hurting the entire equation]. And average household income is only a useful set of numbers when used to compare with other areas. Our low cost-of-living rural folks in Maine simply do not need those higher income levels. Land is cheap, taxes are cheap.

I have lived in areas of the world where folks do live in poverty.

America on the other hand is wealthy.

I have not seen true poverty stateside, as I have seen elsewhere.

On an American minimum wage, if you lived in most other nations, you could live 'as a king' with a palatial home and servants. And I have known a few men who as soon as they qualified for their pensions have settled in those areas. Because our society is so wealthy.

[Mark S.]

Great post, forest beekeeper. That sound you hear is me applauding.

I do have a question for everyone: In discussions like this, the subject ALWAYS comes up about the state of Maine not being "business friendly." What do you mean by that? And how would you solve it?

[DavidoftheNorth]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

Great post, forest beekeeper. That sound you hear is me applauding.

I do have a question for everyone: In discussions like this, the subject ALWAYS comes up about the state of Maine not being "business friendly." What do you mean by that? And how would you solve it?

Just to take a quick initial stab, I think what "business unfriendly" translates into by the most business savvy who might make such a statement is:

1. Excessive environmental protection regulations enacted and enforced by state government. Key word is "excessive".

2. Labor laws in Maine which are tipped too much in favor of union and union-type business models. Key words are "too much".

This is a start - I think these are the biggies - others might believe differently. And they are inherently subjective - I might suddenly appreciate tough environmental laws when some company or government tries to locate a dump on the property next to me. Same with labor laws.

3. Some would undoubtedly include excessive taxation (again, by state government). I don't know enough to be able to discuss that knowledgeably.


Another key element here, I think, is what's perceived as intrusive government. Native Mainers, and I'm sure others as well, have an almost instinctive wariness of government.


How do you solve it? Well, if my assertions above are at all correct, the solution appears to be located, if anywhere, in the Maine political arena, mainly in the Governor's Office and the Legislature. The next (actually, preceding) requirement would be an informed and reasonably intelligent electorate. It is out of this scenario only, that I see any potential solutions to Maine's business climate and related economic maladies.

Fortunately, there is still some room in Maine for individual initiative, for those inclined.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by DavidoftheNorth

Native Mainers, and I'm sure others as well, have an almost instinctive wariness of government.

I think that is the key then.

Personally, I'm all for strict environmental regulation. I like breathing clean air, and I want my kids to have clean drinking water. It boils my blood that when I take my kids fishing, we have to worry about whether or not we can eat what we catch for fear of mercury poisoning.

The proper solution, to appease both those wary of government intrusion and to protect locals, is to give the strongest control to locals. It's understandably frustrating when a bureaucrat in Augusta is making decisions for folks in Presque Isle or Bangor or Farmington or anywhere else. The solution is not to cast off all regulations and let Big Business do whatever it wants, but to give folks in Preque Isle and Bangor and Farmington and etc. the power and authority to make those decisions. Most regulations that effect locals should be decided on by locals.

The solution is not to cast off all government regulation, but to give the power of regulation to the people most affected by it.