Maine economic report not all rosy

AUGUSTA – The latest yearly report from the Maine Economic Growth Council highlights a few areas of progress but records a bigger catalog of shortcomings in the drive to bolster’s the state’s economy, environment and community at large.

The council’s ninth annual report, Measures of Growth 2003, found that personal income in Maine had increased but remained relatively low, and that Maine’s tax burden had declined but by less than taxes in New England as a whole.

No improvement was reported in the percent of Maine jobs that pay a livable wage, and rising household debt was pegged at the highest level in 20 years.

Health care costs were found to have continued a dramatic increase, outstripping the nation and all but two other states as a share of gross economic output.

Attainment of higher education degrees lags, and home prices have increased relative to income.

A recent increase in domestic assaults was categorized as a serious problem.

On the positive side, the report credited Maine for an advanced level of Internet access among its adult population and cited some success in the reduction of income disparity by gender. Also lauded was a continued increase in conservation land intended for public use.

Gov. John E. Baldacci, who received the report at a State House news conference, suggested that the council’s measures of growth reflected goals shared by his administration and could be a valuable tool in charting gains in prosperity and the state’s quality of life.

Baldacci also used the news conference as an opportunity to reiterate his desire to “hold the line on taxes” at the state and local level.

Council co-chairman Leroy Barry, a retired Madison Paper Industries executive, pointed out that benchmark tracking offered policy analysts a long-term perspective.

“These are megatrends,” he said. “We’re not looking at one point in time.”

Co-chairman Paul Tessier, a former state legislator, also urged people reading the report to avoid drawing conclusions from one element alone.

According to the Maine Development Foundation, which serves as staff for the growth council, this year’s report found that Maine had not fared as poorly in several areas during the national economic downturn as did much of the rest of the country.

“For various reasons, our employment growth, income growth, manufacturing productivity and overall gross state product did not decline as much as these things did nationally,” the foundation said in a statement.