plan research communicate planning decisions, inc. maine needs mrra to think big

plan

researchcommunicate

Planning Decisions, Inc.

Maine Needs MRRA to Think Big

Thinking Big

“Anyone working on a problem that can be solved in his lifetime isn’t thinking big enough.”

Wes Jacksonfarmer and plant scientist

Maine has been the industrial frontier

Cheap Power, Cheap Labor and a Strong Work Ethic produced a string of successes:

• Textiles• Lumber• Food• Paper• Metals• Electronics• Call Centers• Health Care & Hospitals

4

6

8

10

12

14cen

ts p

er

KW

H

Industrial Electricity Prices, Maine & U.S.

U.S.

Maine

That Era is Over

Jobs

-17%

-27%

71%

-6%

-23%

51%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Average Price ofIndustrial Electricity

Total IndustrialElectricity Consumed

Total ManufacturingEmployment

% c

han

ge 2

00

0 t

o 2

00

8

Maine U.S.

Industrial Electricity Prices, Consumption & Jobs

Shifting Demand for Resource Industries

New supply of paper, U.S. all grades, million tons

60

70

80

90

100

110

Ratio of new supply to real gross domestic product

4

5

6

7

8

9

%

Slow Job Growth

Index of Total Non-Farm Employment

0.90

0.95

1.00

1.05

1.10

1.15

1.20

1.25

1.30

1990

199

2

199

4

199

6

199

8

200

0

200

2

200

4

200

620

0820

10

19

90

= 1

.00

Maine

U.S.

1.26

1.18

1.20

1.14

1.19

1.17

Labor Force Participation Rate75% 84% 66% 14%

People

Counter Cyclical Migration

Net Migration to Maine

-8,000

-6,000

-4,000

-2,000

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

20012002

2002 to 2003

2003 to 2004

2004 to 2005

2005 to 2006

2006 to 2007

2007 to 2008

2008 to 2009*

3,000

-5,700

10,900

-3,400

People don’t leave when times are bad. They do

when times are good.

If we do nothing…let current trends

continue:

• Loss of traditional jobs• Even slower employment growth• Continued emigration loss of rural life• Rising value of waterfront and

mountaintop property• Continued loss of open space and

deterioration of downtowns;• Rising tax burden & social conflict.

Job “Growth,” 2004-2009

An Alternative Future:

Where MRRA leadsThe keys to the “creative” era are the

opposite of the keys to the “industrial” era:

Industrial Era

Assembly

Isolation

Inward Orientation

Creative Era

Imagination

Synergy

Outward Orientation

An Alternative Future

The keys to the “creative” era are the opposite of the keys to the “industrial” era:

Assembly--the manipulation of things to produce commodities--becomes,

Imagination--the manipulation of information to produce meaning.

An Alternative Future

The keys to the “creative” era are the opposite of the keys to the “industrial” era:

Isolation--the hard-working, independent loner--becomes,

Synergy--the hard-working, inter-dependent, collaborative, network.

An Alternative Future

The keys to the “creative” era are the opposite of the keys to the “industrial” era:

Inward Orientation--”Tell me what you want, & I’ll make it for you; but don’t expect me to be interested in whatever ‘it’ may be.” becomes

Outward Orientation--”I know that to live ‘in here’ I need to be connected to ’out there.’ I need to understand, even anticipate, the ‘why?’ of whatever I do even before my customer does.”

An Alternative Future

1. The key to future prosperity is people--bright, energetic, learning oriented entrepreneurial people.

2. The key to people is place--beautiful, lively, safe, relationship rich, learning promoting, close to nature communities.

3. The key to place is land use regulation, business development and redefinition of community.

No Better Place to Start than MRRA

1. Its own community, a defined physical place

2. An established business-education relationship

3. A mandate to start over.

Two Modest Proposals

1. Separate yourself from the dog fight that is higher education…and try to take some bones with you.

2. Separate yourself from the dog fight that is energy development…and try to take some bones with you.

Modest Proposal #1

The Legislature should allocate some percentage of total state higher education spending to a competitive fund (like technology bond fund) to be allocated to proposals submitted by industry association-education collaboratives.

MRRA should be at the center or organizing such collaboratives.

Modest Proposal #2

MRRA should set itself up at a public utility and become the test site for all energy feasibility research.

Generate both electricity and information. test sitesmaterials researchgrid interconnection researchstorage researchimpact on Maine ratepayers research.

Questions & Discussion