Maine Jobs Council

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Maine Jobs Council

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Advocating for economic prosperity by promoting the growth and maintenance of foundational jobs in M

10/10/2026

How Do We Actually Grow Jobs in Maine?

Lower taxes. Cheaper energy. Stable regulation. Housing tied to jobs. Here's a concrete starting list for what it would take to make Maine competitive again. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maine needs more jobs that provide a quality wage. We can get them by improving the jobs we have, adding jobs to companies that are here, or attracting new jobs to the state. How do we grow jobs in Maine?

First of all, we have to provide goods and services that people want at price points that represent value. We have to out-compete our sister states for jobs and investment. If companies are going to grow or locate here, Maine has to be their best choice for delivering quality products and being profitable. That means being more efficient, more cost-effective, more innovative, harder working, or some combination of all of them.

What does it take to do that? Young families and workers are key resources. Housing for workers needs to be available and affordable. K-12 education needs to be very good if not excellent. Health care and elder care has to be available and affordable. Taxes, energy costs, and government regulation has to be less onerous than in other states. Jobs are funded by investment, so investors have to know they have a fair chance to be successful and that the economic environment will be stable. They must compete against every other state, so we can't keep changing the rules, regulations, or costs every legislative session.

Where to start?

We can't dragoon young people or investors into Maine. They have to come as a result of changes we make so people and investors find it attractive to come to Maine. The things over which we have most direct control are taxes, energy, and government regulation.

Maine's taxes (property, income, excise, sales) need to be lower than competing states if we're going to attract jobs, young families, and investment. That's a hard fact that our Legislature has been unwilling to face. We need to produce more of our own energy more economically with the aim of reducing rates—especially for Maine businesses that are big consumers—like our mills and manufacturers. And regulation needs to be streamlined and stabilized. Enabling job creation and attracting young people and investment need to be priorities when looking at how business is regulated. Decisions need to be made with all deliberate speed, job creators should be supported, and new regulations should be minimized.

Finally, we could tie housing, education, and health care to jobs. Housing permits can be fast-tracked and financing available when employers commit to providing jobs so people can afford the homes. Apprentice and internships should complement classroom learning and employers should be involved in curriculum development. And financial models should be developed to cap health care costs for companies that provide jobs, invest in Maine, or bring new businesses here.

This is a high-level start on the road to prosperity. But taking this path will move Maine in the direction of more productive, vibrant, and growing communities and better lives for working people and their families.

10/07/2026

What Exactly Is a “Foundational Job

We use the term a lot. Here's what it actually means — and why growing these sectors is the sustainable way to fund everything else Maine cares about. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Foundational jobs are a combination of jobs that are sometimes referred to as value-added and traded. I'm not an economist and don't know how they might be described in classical texts.

Value-added jobs are those that transform raw materials or natural resources into finished products as a result of human processing—manufacturing, construction, farming, fishing, and forestry are all examples. Traded jobs are those that bring revenue into a state or country from outside that entity—LL Bean, BIW, tourism, and hospitality are all examples of these jobs.

The point is that these sectors are “foundational” in that they provide the dollars and wealth to expand the tax base and pay for the service and public sectors. For the most part, service sector jobs are not foundational (lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, insurance brokers and the like) although a school, surgeon, or lawyer that attracts students, patients, or clients from away would be, and large out of state retailers actually organize Maine's consumption to move profits out of state. The public sector is completely dependent on the foundational sectors and in general it neither generates wealth nor brings in money from away (state parks might be an exception). If everyone worked for the government, they'd have to be taxed 100% to pay themselves.

What's in a name? There's nothing magic about the term foundational jobs, but the point is that it describes those sectors that are the foundation of a healthy, sustainable economy that generates prosperity throughout the population and enables funding for the service and public sectors. To the extent Maine needs to pay for state spending, social programs, and school funding, the healthy, sustainable way to do it is to grow the foundational sectors and expand the tax base. That means creating conditions and supporting public policies that attract investment, provide the right job skills for the workforce, retain our young people, and enable Maine companies to successfully compete for innovative new companies and jobs.

10/04/2026

Not All Jobs Are Created Equal

Growing Maine's economy starts with foundational jobs — the ones that add value or bring money into the state. Here's why that distinction matters more than people think. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The place to start improving Maine's economy is with jobs—specifically jobs in foundational sectors. Foundational jobs add value or bring money into the Maine economy. The classic foundational sector is manufacturing, but others include energy, transportation, construction, tourism, farming, fishing, and forestry. That's not to say that all jobs aren't important, but economies are built on foundational jobs.

There is a second tier of jobs that enable foundational jobs but are dependent on them. Retail, health care, and education would be examples. Then there is a third tier that makes markets more efficient or keeps score. Accounting, actuarial, banking, insurance, and legal fall into this category.

Finally, there is the public sector—police, fire, and government would be examples of these. If everyone worked in the public sector, they'd have to be taxed 100% to pay themselves. Public sector employees are completely dependent on the rest of the economy to support them.

The key to growing our economy, making the state more prosperous, and making life more affordable for working people, is to grow the foundational sectors of the economy.

How?

09/30/2026

You Can't Fix What You Don't Understand 📈🔍

Before Maine can fix its economy, we need real data — median income, housing costs, health care costs — and a plan built on facts, not politics.
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The first step in improving an economy is understanding how an economy works. True understanding of modern economies requires years of study and experience, but there are some basics that are common ground. People pay for goods and services they need or want. Providers who deliver quality and value prosper. Competition serves to give people choices, limit over-charging, and encourage quality and value.

And that is a wildly idealized over-simplification!

There are an enormous number of forces and factors that come into play—geography, infrastructure, taxes, capital, natural resources, manpower, education, price controls, monopolies, higher education, health care, R&D, weather, water, energy, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

So, one thing our policy makers need is information about just how our economy works. Making decisions without quality information can be good politics but it is unlikely to help Maine's economy. And a good place to start would be to look at general statistics for various Maine communities.

What's the median income? What's the median cost of a home? A mortgage? Health care? Groceries? Heat? Transportation? Education? Internet? Who can afford to live here? Who can't afford to live here? How do we compare to other states? What does a healthy economy look like?

The answers to these questions and others would give us a starting point for developing a plan to improve Maine's economy. It isn't a partisan issue--and we shouldn't let our politicians make it one.

09/19/2026

Maine's Economy Isn't Keeping Pace

Aging population. Expensive housing. High taxes. High energy costs. The list of what's holding Maine back is well known. The real question is what we do about it.
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It is no secret that Maine's economy is not keeping pace with our sister states. The causes are numerous and oft discussed: an aging population, lack of investment, expensive housing and not enough of it, young people leaving, complex and onerous regulation, poorly performing K-12 education, expensive health care, high taxes, labor shortages, high energy costs, and a widely dispersed population in rural areas.

These causes lead to slow growth, uncompetitive businesses, a high cost of living, unaffordable housing, low wages, business closures, business sales to out of state owners, and an ever-growing income gap between those who have and those who have much less. And all of that leads many to believe the answer is to tax the rich.

The problem with raising taxes—as other states have discovered—is that people have choices and can move out of high tax states. They can also choose not to invest in them. Both of those trends have a negative economic impact.

So, what to do?

09/14/2026

Maine Legislature Reactive, Not Strategic

Every two years, Maine's Legislature processes over 2,000 bills — one at a time. What it doesn't do is step back and ask what the state actually needs. That's the problem.
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Every two years the Maine Legislature deals with over 2,000 pieces of legislation. Every single legislative document (LD) is assigned to a Committee, gets a hearing, a Committee vote, and is dealt with on the floors of the House and Senate. It is an enormous amount of work, and there's no question that our legislators put in long hours over many weeks and months moving legislation through the Committees, House, and Senate.

They do this by dealing with each LD as it is printed and introduced—one by one.
What they don't do is comprehensively and deeply study the major issues confronting the state—quality education, high energy and health costs, complex regulation, high property and income taxes, lack of investment, aging population, young families leaving, and more. They don't get quality, in-depth information about these issues, analyze them systemically, and develop comprehensive, coordinated, strategic solutions that will work together to improve the state's economy, attract jobs and investment, bring down the cost of living, and keep young people here.

The Legislature reacts to the LD's submitted. It does not take the initiative to create a unified vision and strategic plan for the state's future. Maine's facing big issues that require comprehensive, strategic solutions. That should be the Legislature's #1 priority instead of not being one at all.

Address

1015 Main Street
Readfield, ME
04355

Website

https://www.mainejobscouncil.com/

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