When I think about what I’m going to do after I graduate from school here in Maine, the first thought in my mind is to move away. And I say that with the most sincere hesitation. But when I consider my options, moving away seems like the best choice. And I’m not the only one who thinks that.
Having spent four years as an undergraduate at the University of Maine in Orono and embarking on my first of two years as a graduate student here, I’ve seen a lot of students come and go. I also have noticed a trend with a lot of these students after they graduate. They move away.
There is a deep problem here. It goes beyond our schools and our youth. And, the effects of the problem are clear: our skilled, soon-to-be business leaders are leaving the state.
So the solution is for the state to create job opportunities, right? Yes and no. Obviously people leave because there aren’t enough opportunities in the state. But before we can dig into the deeper problem, we first must ask, who is the state? Are they our elected officials? Are they our citizens?
Simply answered from what I read and hear, the state refers to the government that we have elected. And often times from the comments I read, “the state” is the problem. But at the same time, I see the state bringing in new ideas and new proposals for business. So by definition, aren’t the state officials doing exactly what they were elected to do?
Here is what I have witnessed many times. A proposal comes to a vote to the people of the state or to the town/city in which the new business will inhabit. There are public meetings, debates, new articles, opinion editorials and finally a vote. The vote then turns down the new proposal citing reasons such as, “This is bad business for the state,” or “All of the money will be going out of the state,” and finally one of my favorites, “They just want to use our land and take our money.”
This begs the question: Do these people understand how a business works? The purpose of the business is for the owners to make money. Whether the owners are local or foreign, this object remains the same.
So what about the workers for these businesses who will be spending their money at local stores? What about the foreign investors who are visiting that will spend money at local restaurants? What happened to the economic development? Yes, infusing money into already established businesses is economic development.
Whether a company is foreign or local, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is they want to come to Maine. You bring a propane terminal to Maine, and then you have new jobs. Not only do the new workers spend money in the state, but also so does the business. Who do you think they are going to call when their toilets back up? They certainly aren’t going to hire a company out of state.
Now let’s go back to the beginning, what is the deep problem here? It isn’t the government officials. It isn’t the businesses. What could it be?
I’ll leave this question out for the readers to answer. I wish that problems such as this could be black and white, but unfortunately it is more complex than that. I understand that not every business proposal for the state is good but there has to be a point where something changes. Consider whom you are talking about when you say “the state.”
Think about why people like myself are getting an education in Maine and then leaving. I would surely be glad to stay in this state if I could make a good living here. I know that incentives such as Opportunity Maine are a great benefit, but even with that I still don’t feel like it is worth while staying in Maine.
Lastly, think about the future of Maine. If we spend all of our time thinking and talking about what could have been, then our future will be lost. When a new business wants to come here, I’m not going to think about who is going to make the most money on the deal. I’m going to think about creating jobs for residents and creating new customers for already established business. Those are the real winners in my book.
Charles Hastings is a first-year MBA student at the University of Maine in Orono.
Thats simple to answer ! Its because you only have to drive 3 hours south of the Maine border and get more money for the same job that you would be doing in Maine. Have more jobs to choose from, with better benefits, and get much more culture options than you can in Maine ! Not new news really !
There are better jobs and better benefits elsewhere in New England. You also don’t have to worry about having your teachers and gay friends demonized. It’s kind of a no brainer for most young people.
My young adult family members find it refreshing to work and live in states where the people aren’t social and fiscal liberals that think they’re better than everyone else or lazy layabouts.
And what states might those be?
NJ, NC FL, CA and the District of Columbia
Irrelevant, really. Graduates are leaving the state in droves. I somehow doubt the pull of like-minded bigotry you speak of is that strong.
What’s like- minded bigotry, realizing that not everyone isn’t a mindless liberal who pretends they care.
Yes, it is much better to be a judgmental conservative that applies labels to everyone based on blind obedience to a failed political belief.
In your world it is better to be a judgmental liberal that would have anyone with a conservative point of view considered irrelevant to the discussion.
I consider myself apolitical and take different, independent stances on most issues. I have never known liberals to be judgemental. That is a right wing, holier than though thing. Rooted mostly in extremist religions.
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Aren’t you the one who believes that gays want to have the right to marry in order to be more promiscuous? LOL, I’d say that’s a good example of the paranoid brand of bigotry.
No you got it wrong, gays really don’t want the right to be married, they love their promiscuous lifestyle just like heterosexuals.
And what does that have to do with lack of jobs and young people leaving the state – hmm, I smell a personal agenda here; tying gay rights, bigotry, and promiscuity the issue; a far stretch even for you.
It’s not irrelevant. They’re leaving for better jobs, but they’re also leaving to areas that are more liberal, especially on social issues. Sorry you don’t like that, but it’s the truth.
Anyone who disagrees with you is a bigot.
Why do you lump all young people together? Just like older people there is a variety of opinions among them.
I think that this commentary is truthful and well thought out. Unlike Rickytan, there is a point to be made. The point is concise, mainer’s want jobs and economic advancement, but they aren’t willing to change a thing to obtain it. As the old cliche states, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. It’s time for Maine to grow forward, and there are plenty of avenues for growth, they keep getting beat down because……change is bad?
The only growth in Maine are Drugs and Welfare.
Actually there is growth in ‘Assisted Living Care’ facilities. Great business. Too bad they don’t pay their help worth a fidlers damn. I know someone who works in one. CNA, had the med course, she now does 2 24 hr. shifts a week, passes meds, cleans, cooks and tends to other needs of the residents. All for the whoppingly huge salary of $8.50 an hr. With the added benefit that she can have 4 so called down hours out of her 24 hr. shift. Of course she doesn’t get paid for those 4 hours.
As long as they can get people to work for $8.50 an hour, it will never pay $8.51. Sad, but true. I hope she does not have a student loan to pay back on the very, very generous wage.
When you live in Washington County, this is what you can expect. This is the kind of wages the NIMBY’s, that seem to be the most vocal, think that we should be making. Of course most of them moved here after making theirs elsewhere. I wonder where they will go when they can no longer care for themselves and need assisted living? I wonder if there will still be enough able bodied caring people left in Washington County to fill these wonderful high paying jobs?
Washington county is a perfect example of what happens when you send all your manufacturing jobs to China with no plan to replace them. Every single example of what is wrong with the American economy can be found in Washington county Maine. I have been there several times over the years and my ancestors settled the area around Princeton. My grandfather moved to central Maine back during the depression from Grand Lake Stream. I have always enjoyed my visits and found the residents to be very nice and welcoming.
There will be plenty of Junkies to take care of them.
Most European economies with weather/terrain like Maine do very well with manufacturing, etc. Notice: Finland has Nokia; Sweden: Volvo/Erickson!!!
Maine seems to have no forward-looking plan and gets too tied up in putting trees before people & their jobs!!!
It can be done just look at those that have done it and their government has helped!!
Just think of what one could manufacture using the Loring AFB facility. Or the other closed down military facilities. Such a waste of land, buildings and runways. But, the problems are rooted in the last few decades of liberal rule in Augusta. LePage wants to change things, but sacrifices have to be made, and far too many in the state aren’t willing to make the necessary sacrifices. It’s sad, but it’s happening in every liberally run state in this nation, and in DC.
Manufacturing at Loring doesn’t work for people with degrees for a variety of reasons. Being at the end of the transportation line hurts that possibilty. Unless you are using local resources the costs of bringing the raw product to Loring are prohibitive. If you are manufacturing something using wood or potatoes, there aren’t a lot of jobs for college grads. You will have a human resource person, some management positions, assuming the company does not bring in their own, which is what usually happens. Yes it would be great for the area to provide a lot of unskilled jobs, but the product would have high costs due to the amount of shipping required to get your product to market. Great idea in general, but it would do little for our college grads. We need something more along the lines of services rather than goods. Advertising agencies, financial brokerage houses, and (Loring would be perfect for this) research labs are where we need to be looking. Getting raw materials in, and getting finished products to market from Northern Maine cut too deep into the bottom line. Manufacturing is more of the old thinking that hasn’t worked, but we are so used to “making something” in order to work we are neglecting high end service. We need industries that don’t make anything but sell themselves as a service where distance means little.
If we are at the end of the transportation line, what are all those Canadian trucks hauling, and where are they coming from.
Transportation is a weak argument.
They are coming from Canada where they are subsidized by their government because they are at the end of the transportation line. Their farmers sell potatoes cheaper because the farmers are subsidized by their government… see a pattern here? I am referring to American trucking. Lets say Company A builds their plant in Northern Maine, Company B builds a similar plant in PA. Both companies need 10 truck loads a day of metal. The metal comes from PA/NJ area were a lot of recycled metal comes into the ports. Company B pays $500 per load in transportation costs. Company A all the way up here in Northern Maine has to pay $2000 per truck load in transportation costs. Same differences on the finished product end getting it to market. Just in shipping alone, it costs Company A $3000 per truckload more than their competitor. Lets assume the products are of equal quality, which company is going to be able to sell their product for less and beat the competition? (Here is a hint $3000 per load x 10 loads a day = $30,000 x 365 days/year = $10,950,000)
Loring has a runway system that was designed to handle B-52s. There would be no problem getting materials in or products out. And why restrict the manufacturing to wood or potatoes. You’re thinking too small. And thinking small is one of the reasons Maine is losing out.
I don’t know of too many shipping companies that will use a cargo plane for a single customer pick up and delivery. Wood and potatoes are the resources Aroostook County offers. Like I just showed in the post, if you have two competitors and we have to bring in raw material on top os shipping out a finished product, the distance alone means the Maine company is spending $11 more than the competition just in shipping costs. Using a plane will triple those costs. Using Loring is a great idea. They are reconditioning tanks and hummers up there already and with the gov’t footing the shipping bill its great. I just think manufacturing isn’t the way to go to keep our graduates here. we need things that eliminate that distance barrier and brings all those smart people up here. Like a research lab. Of course that old thinking could bar that as well, it’ll turn into a “what kind of research?” “Not if they are doing stem cell research!” kind of thing. With all the forms of instant communication we have, companies that sell idea, or a service like advertising or finance eliminates the distance factor. same with research, FedEX and UPS would be all that was needed to keep a research lab going.
At the present time there are several foreign automobile companies that are looking for sites in the US to build their plants. All they need is land, buildings, and a place to test. But, mostly they need engineers, managers, and laborers. Northern Maine has the laborers ready and able to get to work. I’m sure that there are a lot of people with managerial experience, too. And the engineers would come.
Trouble is, Maine is not even in the running because of location, high taxes, and a bad reputation (at least that’s the rumor).
What about a snowmobile factory? What about making snowplows, snow blowers, ATV’s, firearms, farm equipment? How about an RV park for those that want to camp out in the summer or enjoy the snowmobile trails in the winter? There are so many possibilities, if only the state and county governments would promote and offer incentives. The young people of Northern Maine need a reason to stay, and the unemployed and under-employed need a reason to get out of bed each morning.
High end service based businesses sound great in theory. The problem is that if you look at the big picture a service based economy in the long run is a declining wage economy. It is a net consumer of wealth and resources. Yes, you can have individual islands of high end services in a larger economy. In fact, such services are necessary to the health of a larger economy. But there is only a limited market for such services and when you look at a much larger picture, the US economy and even the world economy, the market for those services is already saturated.
Service based economies move a lot of money around. That makes GDP look good. But they do not create any real wealth or even the necessary goods to live on.
We need to create a tax free internet zone in Maine which would bring many “clean jobs”
Maine will never be competitive in manufacturing until we address our high energy costs. We have abundant hydro resources that we refuse to use because the Dems wish to keep people dependent on the government instead of self reliant.
That is exactly correct.
With the costs of a college education soaring, most students upon graduation are looking at the cold reality of paying off their college loans and still living. The average wage scale in Maine is probably about 10 to 20 years behind other areas of the country. Maybe if the costs of tuition was also that much cheaper, grads could afford to stay here. But degrees, cars, groceries etc. are pretty much the same. Financially most grads who wish to make a living wage have no option but to leave. They’ll come back to retire when their careers are done and join the NIMBY crowd to continue the tradition of turning down any opportunity that might come knocking at the door.
I haven’t checked lately, but I recall just a couple of years ago UMaine was rated one of the better deals among State Universities.
It is quite simple why our college grads leave – there are no jobs; not that pay is 10-20 years behind as you claim (quite incorrectly). That is why my son just left the state after graduating from college; no jobs in his field, but plenty elsewhere in the country, so now he has left as he sees no future in Maine, such a shame……
There are no decent jobs in Maine that a College Graduate can make a career out of. They are even laying off graduates in the medical fields in Maine. Graduates leave Maine to prosper.
great article….there is a huge out migration of maine kids to find opportunities elsewhere….I would suggest that business students should think in terms of creating their own business to stay in Maine. I did it 30 years ago and it was tough but did allow me to stay in Maine. I think another serious out migration are retirees as they have money and buy services.. they leave in most cases to follow kids and grandkids…I would not wait for goverment to do anything as they really cannot make a difference…i would suggest talking to students about self reliance, work ethic, and creating their own opportunities…
This drift of talent from Maine is nothing new. I left back in the 60’s because the wages and benefits just about doubled when I hit the border. I ended up coming back to Maine to raise a family here, but I never made much money here in Maine. I won’t work for the peanuts they want to pay here.
This is nothing new. The young have been leaving the state since colonial times. It is called cold weather and no jobs.
Charles – I understand your concern, but the situation has been that way in Maine for decades. I left the state for the military in the early 70’s because of the lack of good jobs and a better future elsewhere. And the situation has only gotten worse, especially in Northern Maine.
Why don’t you get together with a few of your college buddies and try to open a job producing business in the state? Since you’re still in school, maybe you could use this idea as a basis for a thesis that could attempt to answer your quandary, or, at the very least, identify the roadblocks and reasons for the lack of decent work in the state. Just a thought. Never can tell, you might just fix a few of the problems and actually create a great job producing business. If so, just remember where you got the idea.
Here’s a great idea for your project, if you decide to undertake it: Take advantage of the facilities already in place at Loring AFB and build yourself a profitable resort with housing, recreation, and a hospital. It’s a project that someone should undertake. And just think of the jobs and money that would pour in to the impoverished area.
Why would anyone open a business in Maine? To be demonized and taxed to death if you’re successful?
My son recently graduated from college. His job allows him to live anywhere he wants. He chose to live in New Hampshire because, “What I save in taxes will almost pay my mortgage”. Surprisingly New Hampshire has good roads, schools, fire and police protection just like Maine. How do they do it?
The 3 major sources of revenue for NH (for 2009) are Business Profit (8.25%) and Enterprise (.75%) Taxes (27%), Property Taxes (20%) and Rooms & Meals Tax (12%). Taxes on dividends/interest for 2009 accounted for only 5%. The “Enterprise” tax is actually similar to a value added tax and is calculated based on the value that a business adds to a product. Of course this is built into the price of every item purchased in NH.
This has been many years in the making by the former Democratic party leadership in the state of Maine. In order for the Dems and Leftists to be successful they must drive out all business folks and entrepreneurs leaving the remaining folks completely dependent upon big government. The Democrats will trade entitlements for votes; classsic Leftist game plan.
The people who always complain about new businesses coming to the state are Democrats explaining why the new business is bad for the State. New successful businesses are not bad for Maine but bad for the Democrats.
Very well written piece. I was recently in Texas on business and was surprised to hear that folks in Texas were commenting on the fact that Texas A&M graduates were leaving Texas after graduation. Texas has certainly been the one bright spot on the business development play card for the past few years. I really do believe that Maine’s graduates are leaving for more opportunities, just like I did back in the 70’s. And then I moved back home to raise a family, got paid less for what I do and have absolutely no regrets. But I don’t have the large college debt that today’s graduates do either.
I think that kids are supposed to go out and find themselves in the big world. And I think that we have to create an economic environment that can create the kind of jobs to entice them back home when they are ready to raise the family and better understand whats important in life. Good luck to Mr. Hastings as he ponders his future. If he does leave Maine after graduation, we need to do a better job of creating those opportunities that will encourage him to come home when he is ready.
Unfortunately I suspect that as long as the leaders of the state (and the people) sit on their respective thumbs and point at the other side as the problem then finding a solution that will work for all of us will be extremely difficult. It will require compromise on both sides, something that I see as increasingly unlikely.
As for my own children, both of whom will graduate soon from UMaine, one has wanderlust which no amount of changes by the State of Maine will cure. The other will go to the job/company that offers the best opportunity for professional growth, where ever that may be, thus it comes down to having good companies that offer potential for growth within our students’ areas of interest.
A student writes a commentary that is truthful and hits the point…Maine is ‘us’ and it is ‘us’ that needs to change. And what do we get from most posts? Political hyperbole being thrown about. You fools cannot see the forest from the trees….YOU are the problem, not because you are a democrat, a republican, a liberal or a conservative. YOU are the problem because you always believe the problem rests with someone else and not you. But the fact is: we, us, YOU….all of us are the problem.
Too many people moving here with the attitude that they just….(long sigh)……love it here.
THEY are the ones that fight change.
Most have excess time on their hands and tend to use that time to hijack any step forward that might help to create jobs, in order to preserve what they supposedly came here for.
LNG, propane storage facilities, deepwater ports, petroleum refineries, paper mills, torrified wood products, biomedical facilities………the list of NIMBY no nos goes on and on.
Well, all you college graduates will have to make do with a great big platter of “quality of place” in order to stay here.
Either that or get on the welfare train.
It arrives the first of each month.
Stephen King, many years ago, implored Maine youth to stay in Maine. So did Joshua Chamberlain when he was governor. Since when did this become news?
Why are they leaving,,,, they have been asking that question for years….. They are leaving because manufacturing jobs have been going away, new fields are only being explored in other states and traditionally, the only thing north of Bangor has been tourist crap..!
We need manufacturing north of Bangor and we need a Congressman that understands that…!
Never get it from forktruck Mike.
Yup… Ol Media Mike has forsaken the 2nd District a long time ago. We need a representative “of the people” to help us return manufacturing to Northern Maine.
If you want manufacturing to be successful in Maine you will need to jettison the unions
As much as I agree, the unions have helped throughout history. The greatest economic benefit to Maine would be a return of manufacturing, especially north of Bangor. The greatest start to such an endeavor would be to find a Congressman that actually cares about the 2nd District.
Maine has companies from south to north that offer good opportunities. We can find many examples from Kittery to Madawaska. There just aren’t enough of them to provide opportunities for all of our young people. This was a problem in the ’50s, I could have earned two-thirds more with a job offer in Connecticut. Our children have generally earned much more and have been employed in jobs that don’t exist in Maine. The problem seems to involve a combination of issues: better pay, challenging opportunities, wanderlust,and anventure. Of course some, but not as many come to Maine for the same reasons.
Maine’s most costly export. Our children. I hope the rest of the country enjoys our products
Good article! Definitely conveys my feelings and thoughts in the 17 years I’ve been in the Maine. This is the oldest, whitest state in the nation, not to be ageist but what do we really expect. Change is scary period. Something else I have discovered is the Maine/businesses have an affinity to do things the Maine’s way even if that means reinventing an inferior wheel at greater cost instead of focusing on obtaining a better end result for the state/business.