January 2007 Archives

The recent debate over Governor John E. Baldacci’s school consolidation plan has initiated an invaluable discussion about how to reduce school administrative costs. However, the debate must not end with school administrative costs. Policymakers must begin discussing ways to reduce municipal service costs and examine the functions of state government in order to identify potential savings. If Maine is ever going to reduce the onerous tax burden that residents bear, the talk must materialize into legislative action.

The Maine Heritage Policy Center has been discussing ways to achieve government savings without reducing the quality of services. The following reports are two recent research projects that examine ways in which to reduce government costs.

The Maine View, Vol. 5, Issue No. 1
Education Service Districts: Achieving school administrative cost savings while protecting local control and parental involvement

The Maine View, Vol. 4, Issue No. 10
Local Government Can Thrive with Spending Limits

In my recent paper examining Maine's personal income, I noted that personal current transfer receipts have recently reached 20 percent of personal income. Economists view transfers of 20 percent or more as a red flag. A red flag indicating that present and future economic growth potential is in jeopardy. Evidence? Look no further than the economic performance of the four states with transfers at a greater percentage of personal income than Maine's--Louisiana (32.6 percent), Mississippi (26.9 percent), West Virginia (26.3 percent) and Arkansas (20.7 percent).

I also note that transfers are going to continue to increase its share of personal evidence. Evidence? Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released its new Budget and Economic Outlook--check out the graph on the first page . . . or click "continue reading."

Two days ago, Maine Governor John Baldacci gave an unfortunate – if not odd – Inaugural Address as he began his second term. It was disappointing to hear that the message of this past election cycle – the promises that our elected officials “heard the call� to truly lower taxes and strengthen our economy by doing so- appear to have been short-lived. Instead, the Governor delivered a spiteful message to those who chose to attend the Inaugural festivities at the half-filled Augusta Civic Center.