Augusta Insider Interview Now Online
I had the opportunity to appear in an interview with another of Maine’s top blogs, Augusta Insider . I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about who I am and why I’m running for Governor.
Here’s an excerpt:
AI: How can we reverse recent trends and put Maine on a path to economic prosperity?
Businesses and families can’t afford the high taxes necessary to pay for our bloated state budget, so they leave. The fastest way to reverse that trend and spur job growth is to get spending under control so we can reduce taxes at least to the national averages. That will make Maine more competitive for business investment and jobs and remove a major impediment for companies to do business here.
We will not be able to create a healthy economy in Maine until we put our fiscal house in order. That requires someone with intimate knowledge of finance and how an economy works. I have that experience.
AI: What one piece of legislation in this past legislative session did you consider most important, whether you were for it or against it?
Bruce: The budget battle was deeply disappointing. It served as a microcosm of what is wrong in Augusta. Our elected officials failed to balance the last state budget with tax revenues generated here in Maine. Instead of making the tough choices, they plugged the hole with one-time “stimulus” money from Washington which now legally prohibits us from reforming some our most out-of-control programs. So, when the money runs out at the end of next year, we have an even bigger problem to fix. Now Augusta is borrowing millions more from future generations to “balance” the current budget. Again, instead of making the difficult spending decisions, our elected officials are unrealistically betting that our economy will rebound enough in the 1-2 years to generate the needed tax revenues.
This type of gross fiscal mismanagement of hard-earned taxpayer dollars has been continuing in Augusta for years. As a business owner and manager, trained in finance and economics, I find this behavior inexcusable and frightening. This must stop.
Another Chance to Get Our Budget Right
Several legislative committees are holding hearings this week to discuss a number of important issues ranging from funding for rural highway projects to budget cuts. The meetings are necessary because Augusta failed to make the hard decisions in the last legislative session to tighten the belt on government spending while our families were doing the same.
Chief among the concerns is the massive hole that will form in our State budget after next year when the stimulus money Augusta used to balance the budget disappears. Faced with an enormous projected shortfall, Augusta used roughly $700 million in so-called stimulus money from Washington DC to bring both sides of the ledger into “balance” this year. The reality is that the money runs out at the end of 2010 and there is no reasonable expectation that the economy will have recovered. Maine, in particular, is always very slow to recover when compared to the national economy. Jobs will come back at a slower pace and we’ll still be in trouble.
Using stimulus money to balance the budget was a lazy way to temporarily fix the problem. Our state’s fiscal problems require an overhaul of how the state spends our tax dollars - not tax shell games that grab headlines and temporary solvency with the help of Uncle Sam.
Our elected officials have another opportunity to do the right thing and begin the process of performing a line-by-line assessment of each state program and department to identify and eliminate waste. We don’t need more smoke and mirrors to disguise our bleak fiscal outlook. We need to find the waste that permeates our budget, remove redundancy, and demand our tax dollars are spent wisely. Hopefully this opportunity is not wasted. But, I’m not holding my breath.
A Great Weekend Visiting Mainers at State Fairs
A special video update has just been posted! Watch it here. See all the pictures here.
This weekend I had a wonderful opportunity to travel around the state visiting some very important events in Maine. For more than 60 years, Rockland has been home to the Maine Lobster Festival. Our campaign arrived on Saturday and spent several hours meeting hundreds of Mainers and enjoying the music and food.
On Sunday, I attended one of the biggest events of the year, the Bangor State Fair. The fair attracts tens of thousands of Mainers from all over the state. Families came out in droves to ride the enormous Ferris wheel, see the Tigers of India, or face off in the Duck Races. Along with several volunteers, I spent the day meeting as many people as I could and hearing their concerns about the future of our state. Even at a fun event like the Bangor State fair, it wasn’t hard to get people talking about our high taxes and out of control spending.
And last, we took the campaign bus all the way up the Presque Isle for the Northern Maine Fair. The fair has been a staple of Presque Isle since 1850, making it one of Maine’s oldest. Primarily an agricultural fair, there were a number of animal exhibits, horseracing, and a livestock show. Luckily the weather held up and I was able to talk with hundreds of Mainers and have a little fun with them at one of the biggest annual events in the region.
In all, it was a great trip. Of course, we’re not slowing down. I have scheduled a number of meetings, events and fund raisers this week and our fair schedule continues throughout the month.
Hope to see you on the campaign trail!
Greens and Republicans Agree, Tax Bill Bad for Maine Families
Politics sure does make strange bedfellows. Though the Republican and Green Parties rarely agree on much, the Green Party recently announced it would work along side Republicans to defeat the poorly thought out tax bill that passed earlier this year.
It’s an interesting marriage, to say the least. But both groups recognize that the law hurts Mainers overall.
“The new flat tax, in association with new taxes on services such as auto repair, represents a regressive tax system that favors the wealthiest few to the disadvantage of low- and middle-income Mainers,” Anna Trevorrow, Green Party chair, said in a written statement.
Indeed. Frankly, there are a number of reasons to oppose its passage without necessarily getting into a class warfare argument. The bill does not offer actual tax relief and sets us up for higher taxes down the road.
Rather than impose this shell game, Augusta should have begun with the goal of lowering taxes across-the-board. Real tax relief would have the immediate effect of helping our struggling families and remove a major impediment to job growth. The truth is that lowering taxes would first start with finding and eliminating waste - something that Augusta has demonstrated that it is either unable or unwilling to do.
The odd alliance of Republicans and Greens should send a strong signal to Augusta that they need to go back to the drawing board on tax reform.
Interview with Pine Tree Politics
Pine Tree Politics has just published an online interview we recently finished. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about who I am and why I’m running for Governor. Please send me your feedback. I’m very interested to hear your thoughts.
Here’s an excerpt:
PTP: I’m doing this interview from Washington DC, because after college I found that Maine was an inhospitable place for me to get a job, so I moved. I am hardly unique – the state is getting older, and its economic base is going away, all while its demand for social services rises. How can we combat this trend? How can we keep people like me in Maine?
Bruce: We all understand that Maine needs more jobs. More jobs means a broader tax base, a government less dependent on individuals for revenues, and opportunities for our sons and daughters who want to return to Maine after college. Unfortunately, we can’t just hold up a banner and say “Maine is Open for Business.” Our state government and non-profits have tried that for decades with very poor results. Instead, we need to address the root problems of why Maine can’t compete for good jobs. These reasons include high taxes, an incomplete infrastructure, and a regulatory environment which discourages business-owners from expanding or locating here.
There’s no doubt that we need to lower taxes across-the-board. To do so we must reduce spending on state services and programs at least to the national averages. Decades of poor management and oversight have allowed our state government to swell. One of the Governor’s chief responsibilities is the safe and productive investment of taxpayer dollars. As Governor, I will institute a performance assessment of each state program, agency, and department to identify and eliminate waste, and to institute a more efficient way to deliver state services.
Maine’s infrastructure is badly in need of repair and expansion. However, we cannot move forward until our fiscal house is in order. Unlike many in Augusta, I won’t saddle Mainers with even more taxes, fees, and assessments to pay for infrastructure improvements. Cutting waste and finding the money in our current budget for infrastructure projects is the first step.
Finally, we need a new positive attitude toward business development and jobs. This won’t come from a career politician. It will only come from a strong and informed leader who knows first-hand how tough it is to start and run a business in Maine. I do.
Getting Past Gridlock in Augusta
As I travel around the state meeting with voters, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at GOP meetings in almost every county. One of the biggest concerns Republicans have is how a Republican Governor can work with a Legislature in Augusta long dominated by Democrats.
First, Maine doesn’t have Republican or Democratic problems. Our families struggle because mismanagement by both parties has resulted in a government that lives beyond its means and is addicted to taxing Mainers at a higher rate than most states in the nation. We need to get past the desire to point fingers and affix blame. Our families need real reform led by someone who can bring solid management to Augusta.
Second, Maine is facing a fiscal crisis. We can no longer afford to put off the tough choices. It is critical we build the necessary consensus to do what’s right for our economy and Maine’s struggling families, otherwise we face economic collapse. Some recent statements coming from Augusta suggest they are finally realizing we cannot continue to spend like we have in the past. But, simply recognizing there is a problem doesn’t necessarily mean that our current representatives have the experience required to put our state back on track.
Third, I am hearing the same message from people of all parties. Nearly everyone is asking for strong, competent leadership from someone who understands finance, how an economy works, and how to effectively manage and reform a government that is out of control. If the Legislature resists efforts to reform our bloated and wasteful state government, I will take the case directly to the people, using the bully-pulpit of the Governor’s office to build public support.
I think we can move beyond the politics and do what’s right for Maine. I’m prepared to fight to make our state government accountable again and work FOR the people instead of AGAINST them.
State Government Spending is Unsustainable
In a recent editorial, the Portland Press-Herald takes stock of Maine’s budget woes.
“Once you get past all the numbers, what you end up with is a variety of agencies and individuals facing the reality that they will have less resources to do their jobs than they were counting on having.”
It’s encouraging that state government is finally coming to the realization that its appetite for spending is unsustainable. The sad part is that it was predictable.
Our state government is borrowing astonishing sums of money from future generations with no reason to believe the money will be there when the IOUs come due. Budgeting gimmicks mask our fiscal insolvency. If no one is willing to properly manage our finances, eventually the bottom falls out.
We should be demanding realistic revenue projections, then require revenue match expenses. Go line by line through the budget evaluating every program we offer and determining the level we can actually afford.
Now we have little choice. We “balanced” our budget with a huge check from Washington that won’t be there after next year. Structural changes have to be made or else we will find ourselves in much, much deeper hole.
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights
One of the questions voters will be asked on this fall’s ballot is whether to approve The Taxpayers Bill of Rights, also called TABOR. TABOR seeks to limit the ability of the legislature to increase taxes above a particular formula tied to population growth and inflation. Because Augusta has shown a troubling inability to competently manage our state budget, allowing the people of Maine a direct vote over tax increases gives them a powerful voice.
Consider this, since 2000 our state population has increased roughly 3%. However, over the same time period, our state budget has increased by nearly 24%. There is no reasonable explanation for such a disparity except rampant mismanagement and Augusta’s insatiable appetite to spend.
Under TABOR, no tax increase above what the formula allows could go forward without a majority vote by the people of Maine. This prevents the legislature from causing further damage to our economy. Instead, it forces them to make tough decisions about what our state can afford.
Getting our fiscal house in order should be a top priority. Only then will we see real tax relief, job growth, and resurgence in our economy. TABOR provides a strong incentive for the legislature to competently manage our precious resources.