Unfinished business

It probably won’t be known until next week if Gov. King will veto the living-wage bill, legislation that ties public support of business to business support of the working public. However, anyone who can unravel the subtleties of the phrase “major concerns” heard from the governor’s office probably can make an accurate prediction.

If vetoed — which would be unfortunate — it likely will withstand an override attempt. Although the bill requiring companies that receive $10,000 or more in taxpayer subsidies to pay wages at least 75 percent of the county average passed the Senate by a two-to-one ratio, it cleared the House only narrowly.

And if that failure to pass comes to pass, lawmakers and advocates still can come away encouraged. This session has been ennobled by several attempts to establish links between benefits extended by the public and benefits returned by business. It’s a long journey — more of an education process, actually — and it’s one well begun.

Other such legislation considered this session included bills to make subsidies contingent upon compliance with environmental laws, to strengthen the reporting of job creation, wages and benefits by businesses receiving subsidies, to end “double-dipping,” in which companies get rebates under one program on taxes they didn’t pay under another. Although all these bills fell short, lawmakers no longer focus solely upon minimum wage hikes. This new emphasis on the public getting a demonstrable return on its investment is the right one and the bipartisan support the living wage bill enjoyed in the Senate is commendable.

Now it is business’s turn to respond. The old argument that there is some vague “business climate” that must always be improved, no questions asked, lest business flees the state in panic, simply is not cutting it. The trend in other states, states far more robust economically than Maine, is for government and business to work together defining and prioritizing all the elements that make up a healthy business climate. Invariably, an educated work force, modern transportation and other infrastructure, investment in research and development and integration of technology rank higher than tax burden. Taxes are an important factor, but it takes taxes to create all the other elements of a business climate. Simply not wanting to pay taxes and a willingness to shift that burden to others is hardly the basis of strong public policy.

Wise businesses do not make investments without clear expectations of what the returns will be and they do not continue to make those investments when the returns fail to materialize. The public is making investments in business and it expects job creation, higher wages and better benefits, not layoffs, excuses and demands for more. Business lives by the bottom line — the bottom line here is that this session is nearly over but this issue is not.