Gov. Paul LePage, 2nd District congressional candidate Bruce Poliquin and Maine Republicans have a clear understanding of how to attract and promote business in Maine.
Senate President Justin Alfond’s recent Bangor Daily News OpEd expressing his pride in what he feels “Maine Democrats have done for small business” is scary in its complete lack of understanding as to what all businesses, large and small, need to succeed. Democratic policies for decades have, in fact, deterred business development in Maine.
The Democrat initiatives of which Alfond is so proud are akin to polishing your car while simultaneously pouring sand in the gas tank. You may feel better about your car, but it’s not going anywhere.
Democrat policies and legislation have kept our taxes and energy costs high. Many states recognize the importance of these issues in attracting new facilities from such companies as Apple, Google, Mercedes, Samsung and others.
Put a new Apple plant in Maine and see how many other smaller businesses it spurns. Tesla recently announced it would locate its new $5 billion dollar plant not in California where it originated, but in Nevada, a state with no income tax. And Texas dwarfs all other states in job creation, including at the highest pay levels.
As one who has started many Maine businesses employing hundreds, I strongly believe that dynamic companies would invest in Maine if the economic climate to do so were instituted.
LePage, Poliquin and Maine Republicans understand that bringing large dynamic businesses to Maine will launch a myriad of small businesses cropping up around them, employing far more than the new large businesses themselves. As we all know, Maine can provide a living experience far superior to other states. We need to re-elect the governor and provide him with the Republican legislators necessary to fulfill the goal of attracting business to Maine.
Maine income taxes significantly reduce the take-home pay of the employees of any company thinking of locating in Maine, while a variety of state policies keep energy prices unnecessarily high, hurting the poor most of all. And many Democrats would support a carbon tax, making energy even more expensive.
Ironically, our high state taxes do provide us one significant bipartisan result. Every year, there is a mass exodus of our wealthiest to Florida, a state with no income tax. Philanthropist Harold Alfond and his estate have been able to bestow far more to Maine since he maintained his residence there, and Stephen King has a home there as well. Why do we continue to chase our most successful people from our state?
Sadly, the high tax rates we have are to service a state government that, until recently, had been lacking in even the most basic cost controls. As an example of how poorly Democrats ran our state, $740 million in hospital debt had been left unpaid. The LePage administration insisted on paying this bill as soon as possible and did so. The Department of Health and Human Services stopped the skyrocketing cost of MaineCare dead in its tracks.
Led by Poliquin, the Maine State Housing Authority made simple rule changes promoting competition in low income housing, reducing construction costs by 49 percent while increasing new units built for the poor by 32 percent, without sacrificing quality. This was done after cleaning up horrific living conditions in Norway that had been allowed to fester for years.
Without a doubt, both parties seek to create prosperity and assist the poor. Government programs, however, do not create prosperity. The only way to create prosperity for all Mainers is through businesses. Providing an attractive business climate enables the economic pie to expand exponentially benefitting all as so many other states have shown.
There is absolutely no reason why our incredibly desirable state cannot be an economic leader. LePage, Poliquin and Maine Republicans understand how to accomplish this.
Peter Anastos is owner of Maine Course Hospitality Group and chair of the Maine State Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners.