Negative rhetoric ignores improving state economy

There is a lot of rhetoric in the media these days about Maine’s economy, leading many to believe that our state is slowly slipping into an abyss of joblessness and poverty driven by high taxes and an unfriendly business climate. I am certainly willing to agree that our state is slipping into an abyss, but it isn’t the one some are so fond of talking about – it’s actually the chasm between the rhetoric and reality. What makes me so sure? Numbers.

Growing up, I was never mathematically inclined. However, since becoming a member of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee four months ago, I have quickly learned the skill of crunching numbers. Graphs and charts of all manners are useful, but nothing can match the pure value of the numbers themselves. So, when the Maine Development Foundation released its annual report on Maine’s economy (“Measure’s of Growth”) last month, I called and asked for the numbers behind the graphs. What I found will likely surprise you – since 2000, Maine has fared economically much better than the rest of the country.

Let’s start with the indicator of most interest to the average citizen – personal income. In 2000, the average Mainer made $25,969; by 2004, that number had grown to $30,567 – an increase of 17.7 percent. By comparison, the New England average income grew 11.3 percent while the national average grew only 10.4 percent.

What about joblessness and poverty? According to the numbers, Maine is actually doing quite well. The total number of jobs in Maine has steadily increased, from 603,400 in 2000 to 613,900 in 2004 – an increase of 4.7 percent. Again, by comparison, the national average increased 1.9 percent while job growth in New England was just 0.1 percent. Maine’s poverty rate (10.1 percent in 2000 and 10.5 percent in 2003) has been below the national average (12.2 percent in 2000 and 12.7 percent in 2003) each year since 2000.

And what about the cause of all our problems, the high taxes and unfriendly business climate? As a percentage of personal income, Maine’s state and local taxes have declined each year, from 13.1 percent in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2004. That’s a change of -6.1 percent, compared to -3.8 percent nationally and an increase of 1.5 percent in New England. While the term “business climate” has never been particularly well defined, several indicators contradict the rhetoric about Maine.

The reality, for instance, is that Maine’s growth in total economic output (“Gross State Product”) since 2000 is 29.1 percent, compared to 25.1 percent in New England and 25.7 percent nationally. Our percentage of citizens with higher education grew from 31.15 percent in 2000 to 34 percent in 2003, an increase of 9.1 percent; nationally, it increased by only 4.1 percent.

Some may argue that we still have a long way to go, a point that I’ll concede. However, as a famous Chinese proverb states, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

I ran for office as a progressive, believing in the continuous betterment of the lives of our state’s citizens. I’m proud to report that Maine is making significant progress. With this reality in mind, it’s hard to figure out why the abyss of rhetoric keeps getting deeper.

Jeremy Fischer represents Presque Isle in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Appropriations Committee.