To what extent does tax policy alone cause an economy to grow — or keep it from growing? Maine could soon have a laboratory of sorts to answer that question. Under a new initiative being pushed by the Maine Heritage Policy Center, called Free ME, the state would stop levying income and sales taxes in […]
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Exports: Economic bright spot or imperative?
Growing Maine's Economy Maine FocusThe statistics point to exports from Maine businesses as a growth area for Maine’s economy. In 2012, Maine companies exported $3.1 billion in goods, up 72 percent from the $1.8 billion in goods they exported in 2000. Maine exports reached a high of $3.42 billion in 2011. The Business Roundtable estimates that the share of […]
A state role for growing Maine’s economy
Growing Maine's Economy Maine FocusIt’s a constant debate at the state and national levels: What role does government properly play in growing our economy? Does government simply put into place the policies that are hospitable to economic growth, or does the state do something more? The state has an important role to play in making funds available for research […]
No ‘one size fits all’ economic strategy for Maine?
Growing Maine's Economy Maine FocusWhat’s the best way to plan for Maine’s economic future? Leave it to the regions, argues Michael Aube, president of Eastern Maine Development Corporation in Bangor. In an OpEd published this week in the Bangor Daily News, the former commissioner of economic and community development argues that a statewide economic development strategy is ill-suited to […]
Metropolitan future for Maine’s economy, but policies for rural past
Growing Maine's Economy Maine FocusGreater Portland now accounts for more of half of Maine’s economic output. And 90 percent of the state’s population growth between 2000 and 2010 took place in the state’s metropolitan areas (Greater Portland, Greater Bangor and Greater Lewiston), its two “micropolitan” areas (Augusta-Waterville and Rockland), and in the state’s service-center communities. Yet Maine’s economic development programs, […]
What will build a workforce for Maine’s future?
Growing Maine's Economy Maine FocusA number of efforts are already underway in Maine to build a workforce ready to take on the jobs of Maine’s economic future. The Democratic majority made the state’s workforce a key issue of this year’s legislative session, assigning a special legislative committee the task of developing legislation aimed at strengthening the state’s workforce. The […]
Demographics complicate Maine’s economic future
Growing Maine's Economy Maine FocusIn many Maine counties, deaths outnumber births. Young people are leaving. Those who stay in Maine are often less educated. Manufacturing jobs are drying up and not being replaced. The state’s workforce is increasingly made up of aging workers. If Maine wants to reverse this trend of economic decline and stagnation, many argue the state […]