New report targets business costs
The Maine Development Foundation and Maine State Chamber of Commerce have issued a report on how to grow the state's economy based on an analysis of hundreds of previous economic development plans and a survey of 1,000 Maine businesses.
The report, "Making Maine Work," identifies four major costs that are barriers to private sector investment -- health insurance, energy, taxes and regulation -- and offers recommendations for each. The report also suggests solutions to transportation, education, innovation, connectivity, business finances and quality of place problems.
"We asked over 1,000 businesses, in various industries, ‘What is stopping you from investing in Maine?'" Laurie Lachance, MDF executive director, told Mainebiz. "The answer was high costs. It is killing business."
The report advocates a shift in government spending priorities toward investments that build productivity and, at the same time, manage cost inflation. Lachance says the report, which took a year to produce, was released now with the hope it will frame debate for the upcoming elections.
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