The governor’s speech had some good things in it, and some that I have a real problem with. Certainly the last topic he talked about, ending domestic abuse, is one that everyone can support. The devil is in the details of course, so we will have to wait and see what the details are. But a well crafted bill with the resources to actually enforce it will be welcome.
The Governor also talked about the incomes in the state and the big difference between incomes in Maine in comparison to New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He said that Maine incomes need to come up to the levels of NH and MA. But is it our business climate that makes that difference? A quick look at educational attainment may hold some perspective. Maine’s population aged 25 to 64 educational attainment figures show we have 37% of that age group has at least a 2 year degree. How does that compare to NH and MA? New Hampshire has 46% of their population in the same group, 9% higher. Massachusetts is even higher, with 50% hold a two year degree or better. Education has been proven to have a major impact on wages. If we are to catch up on wages we will have to catch up on education to get there!
The governor also focused on electricity costs and compared Maine’s rates with those of the nation and with states like Oklahoma. If one were to look closer to home, such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire which were used in the prior paragraph, we would have to note that both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have higher electric rates than Maine.
The governor opened up early on welfare and Mainecare. There weren’t any surprises, he wants to cut. He talked about the absolute need to cut, and claimed his plan would protect those truly in need, but there weren’t any firm details. The fact of the matter is that we will need to see the details and who suffers and how much. The language was reasonable, but we need to get the details and see where the devil is!
The final issue I want to comment on is that of upcoming initiatives that were mentioned for education. There weren’t any particular indications of what those initiatives will be. Certainly I expect there to be more on school choice, but we will have to see what happens.