Be honest, are you optimistic about the future of Maine? Do you really think Maine 2030 will be a better place to live, work, raise a family or own a business than in 2020? Goodness, I wish I could say yes to one or both of those questions. I cannot answer in the positive on either, and that makes me rather sad.
I grew up in a wonderful Portland, Maine. A Maine with almost no crime. I walked to school, starting in kindergarten, every day until I was in high school. I rode my bike all over North Deering, mostly in search of girls, and all my mother knew was that I would be home by dinner. I went down to the Little League fields every Spring evening, whether my team was playing or not, and went home when the games ended (or a little later if I thought I could get away with it). It never even dawned on anyone that it could be dangerous, because it wasn’t.
Businesses were left alone to grow their companies and pay their people, and they did both. My company went from 5 employees working in 20,000 square feet to 90 employees manufacturing in 141,000 square feet. No one looked at us as greedy and there were no cries to stifle our growth with socialism. Legislators in Augusta may have been “pro-labor” but they were able to do so without being hostile to businesses. My father didn’t get the many calls I do from other states encouraging him to re-locate. Those calls never happened because 45 or more states were not told year after year that Maine is a horrible place to do business. We were not an easy target for other states to prey upon. And our businesses stayed here.
The “Maine work ethic” was something everyone in the state took pride in. We were known for it across America, or at least we thought we were. People worked hard for a day’s pay and didn’t expect the politicians in Augusta to take care of them if they didn’t. When someone had sore muscles at the end of the day, it wasn’t a worker’s compensation claim, it was proof they earned their paycheck.
There was a time when the Maine Chamber of Commerce was able to promote Maine as a great place to do commerce. We were not picking up the Chamber’s newsletter to read multiple articles with the word ALERT in the title because business owners needed to drive to Augusta to testify against another job killing piece of legislation. The business climate was good and the people in Augusta actually wanted to make it better. Imagine that!
So, now that I have you fully depressed, what can we do?
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hat can we do to ensure Maine 2030 is not a wasteland of empty manufacturing buildings, 75% of the population on some kind of government assistance leaving us with skyrocketing taxes and banned plastic straws? We can pay attention! We must pay attention. For God’s sake, folks, pay attention. Watch what your legislators, especially the ones you get to vote for, are doing. See what the Governor does with the rainy-day fund and how fast she burns through it leaving us no fiscal safety net for a recession. Learn about the bills they are voting on, and how they voted. When they come to your door campaigning and declare they are “pro jobs,” ask them in what ways they have voted that way. Make them prove it. Decide what kind of Maine you want to live in and do whatever the hell it takes to make it that way. Don’t give up because our fate is not sealed, well, not yet.
Derek Volk is the President and owner of Volk Packaging Corporation, a 3rd generation corrugated box manufacturer in Biddeford, Maine. He is the author of the Amazon Best Seller, Chasing the Rabbit: A Dad’s Life Raising a Son on the Spectrum.
