GrowSmart Maine
Excerpts from
Brookings Report Summary:
Why is
Brookings optimistic about
Maine?
Brookings
found many of Maine's
well-known problems, but
also some surprisingly
positive news that Maine
can build on.
Our
population is growing
again
In spite of
the well-publicized flight
of young people out of the
state, Maine's population
is growing again at a
pretty good clip. Since
2000, we've jumped from
46th to 26th in overall
population growth, the
biggest acceleration of
any state. The influx of
newcomers between 2000 and
2004 was the biggest surge
in the past half century.
Furthermore, these
newcomers aren't just
flocking to southern Maine
or the coast. They're
spreading out to every
corner of the state. Our
in-migration now ranks the
state fifth in the nation
behind such popular
destinations as Nevada,
Arizona, Florida and
Idaho. Who are these
newcomers? They're mostly
healthy, wealthy retirees,
but also a growing number
of better educated young
professionals fleeing
cities to our south. Why
are they coming? A big
reason is Maine's special
quality of place.
The economy
is diversifying
Like the
rest of the nation, Maine
has been undergoing
wrenching economic change
for a generation. We've
lost manufacturing jobs
and we've struggled to
find good alternatives.
Fortunately, we may
finally be reaching the
end of that transition.
Maine's economy
outperformed the nation's
economy in unemployment
levels and growth every
year between 1998 and
2004. Per capita income
now stands as close to the
national average as ever
before. More encouraging,
Maine fortunes are no
longer tied to hard-labor
jobs in shoe-making,
fishing, and logging.
Paper companies and other
manufacturers are leaner
and more productive.
Business services are
growing because Maine is
on the edge of the greater
Boston orbit. And Maine is
beginning to produce the
high-wage jobs of tomorrow
in biotech, precision
manufacturing, information
technology, composite
materials and a host of
other innovation sectors.
The Maine
'brand' is gaining in
value
Brookings
says Maine's quality of
place is one of our
strengths in the new
economy. We can live
modern lives - connected
to the world through rapid
transportation and
internet connections - and
still be close to working
fishing villages,
neighborly small towns,
family-run farms, and
accessible wild places.
That is a powerful new
reality in Maine today.
Quality places, quality
products and quality of
life - that's the Maine
brand. Sometimes we
underestimate the power of
that brand, but products
that evoke Maine sell all
over the world. Just ask
L.L. Bean, Poland Spring,
and Tom's of Maine.
Economists say Maine's
image, growing out of this
special place and the
people who live here,
gives us a "competitive
advantage" over other
places that are more like
"Anywhere USA."
