We live in a moment of decision in the State of Maine. We have the status quo: 1) a fossil fuel dependent society; 2) an antiquated tax code that is too burdensome on Mainers; 3) low economic growth; and 4) a health care system in decline.
If that sounds like the right direction for Maine, I am not your candidate. But, if you want a new direction in Maine, we need new leadership in Augusta, and I am that candidate.
The change I will bring to Augusta is a bold new vision for our state. It is not the status quo.
My vision for Maine is: 1) an energy independent society; 2) a reformed tax system that provides real tax relief for Mainers; 3) a growing economy based on renewable energy, green collar jobs, and the creative economy; and 4) a healthcare system that expands access to health insurance by making it affordable for all Mainers.
I came to this vision of Maine because I am a small business person. I came to this vision as an attorney who frequently meets with clients who are one medical bill or heating oil bill away from bankruptcy. I came to it because I grew up here and I care about the people that live and work in this community. I came to this vision because I am a new father worried about putting food on the table for a hungry family, paying for health insurance, and still having enough left over to pay my taxes. I also came to this vision because I want my twin daughters to be able to live in Maine and have good paying jobs that are not dependent on cheap foreign fossil fuel leaving them to the whims of oil sheiks and energy speculators.
So, how can we accomplish these goals?
First, we need to fundamentally change how we attract new and better jobs to Maine. We can do this by creating the right incentives for areas of the economy projected to be high value, high growth jobs. I want to bring “green collar jobs” to Maine by making our state a center of green innovation and renewable energy.
This sector of the economy is projected to be one of the hottest areas of economic growth in the coming century. We can harness Maine’s wind and other natural resources to supply the U.S. with renewable electricity and create new high paying jobs for our working families at the same time.
We need to work to ensure that our historical industries are healthy. I want to develop a plan to bring a fish processing plant to Midcoast Maine. Such a facility will provide needed jobs, but even more importantly, will mean that Maine fishermen will no longer have to ship their product to Canada for processing. We can process ‘Maine Lobster’ here in Maine instead of making it a ‘product of Canada’. We also need to develop a plan with fishing industry groups to market our sustainably caught lobster, shrimp, and fish around the U.S. and the world. These are great products and we need to make that known.
We need to transform Maine’s economy from one based on increasingly scarce fossil fuel to an economy based on plentiful renewable energy.
We need to encourage local agriculture so that we are not getting food from half way across the country and still vulnerable to high transportation fuel costs.
We need to dramatically act to ensure that Mainers can afford to insulate their homes and switch from oil to another means of heat. I will work toward all of these policy goals including introducing the “Maine Plan for Winterization” which will offer low interest loans and grants for energy audits, insulation and weatherization, and non-petroleum heating systems.
One major barrier to new businesses in Maine, and a hardship on all Mainers, is our high health insurance costs. We can bring these high costs down by expanding coverage across our population. As we expand health care coverage to a broader portion of the population, we will be able to bring health insurance premiums down. As those premiums come down, it will be easier for new businesses to decide to do business in Maine. That will keep more of our young people in the state and decrease insurance rates even further as more young workers are included in our insurance pool.
Another part of attracting new jobs to Maine is by reforming our tax code to make it more fair. The tax burden paid by Mainers must be reduced. We can lower these taxes as other states have done by changing how we generate revenue, like in New Hampshire.
The good news is that we can act to fix these problems now. We can reduce income taxes. We can work to make healthcare affordable to every family in Maine. We can work to ensure that Mainers can afford to stay in their homes even with rising fossil fuel prices. And in solving Maine’s energy challenges, we will become renewable energy exporters and do our part to help fix our national energy crisis and profit from our clean energy.
This is a challenging time in Maine, but it is also an incredible opportunity if we make the right choices now. With your vote, I will bring new vision and new leadership to Augusta and work hard to make sure we make the right decisions today to secure a bright future for Maine.
If you would like to learn more, please visit my web site: www.peterdrum2008.com.
