Mike Fear- Interview

My field experience was quite short and sweet. I was able to connect with Mike Fear, the owner of Now You're Cooking as well as the head of the Bath Merchants Association. I wanted to connect on a local level with someone who had helpful insight upon how this economic crisis was effecting the local store and businesses in conjunction with the local townspeople. Mike Fear is a well known man throughout the Bath/Brunswick area and had some very interesting and insightful observation and ideas as to how this economy was affecting the people around us.

I started off the conversation by asking Mr. Fear about his own business and how it was doing. As with any business owner, he of course has issues. He shares with every business that surrounds him a small drop in customers as well as a large drop in the number of expensive items that are purchased. It seems that while people still travel to his large cooking store on Front St. in Bath to pick up the occasional necessary kitchen utensil, no longer is the need present for a trip to be made to pick up the expensive items. Mr. Fear states that he is doing well though. He has been able to keep his store well staffed, something he prides himself in, and he has been able to continuously run his business without any major mix-ups or hook-ups.

From here I moved onto the local town and how other businesses are dealing with the economic crisis. I found it interesting the Mr. Fear stated the success of the cafe across the street. While most other businesses are experiencing major customer base problems, the place is still packed on any given afternoon with customers vying for a sip of coffee. While Cafe Creme seems to be doing fine in it's times, the same can certainly not be said for all sectors of the town. The Chocolate Church has recently laid off all it's staff with the exception of Trudy Gilmore, a neighbor of mine. She is now the single employee or volunteer at the Chocolate Church. This weekend, the Chocolate Church Hot Chocolate Jubilee will be continuing as planned. Many more shops share the same story as does Mr. Fear. A small dip in customer numbers as well as a dip in the purchase of expensive, non- important products.

Mr. Mike Fear gave me a nice long conversation. However, most unfortunately, the current state of Bath Maine has little play in my final project. Mr. Fear knows more than I will ever need to know about the local businesses and how they are doing. He knows everyone and he was sure to incorporate all into his conversation with me. Most unfortunately Mr. Fear did not seem interested in discussing his own opinions. He seemed quite satisfied with only his observations.

I was thrilled when I found this article on line. I spent a lot of time looking for a locally based article that would allow me to better understand how Maine is dealing with the economic state. It really is astounding to look at the amount of money being pumped into the state of Maine alone. To me it really shows the extent of the Federal Stimulus Plan and how it attempting to saturate every corner of the economy. In Maine, money is being sent to every industry imaginable. From cash being sent to citizens that don't qualify for certain tax breaks to a break for the softwood lumber industry. It really shows how every single corner of the US is screaming for economic assistance. This article does a fantastic job of tying directly into the article I wrote about last. In the previous article I researched the report issued that identified each area of the Maine economy that was in need of assistance and improvement. It seems that the money coming from this Stimulus Bill will be able to address all of those issues. It was mentioned that perhaps the biggest issue with the current working of the Maine economy was the transition from research budgets to job creation. This stimulus bill will not only provide more money for further research but also provide funds to create jobs stemming from that information. Education will also experience a massive impact as more funds are put into school renovation and restoration. The funds entering the educational system coupled with the facilitation of college payments are obviously tailored to meet many of the issues that have arisen in our local economic system.

What Does the Stimulus Mean for Maine?

Federal Funding
$470 million in federal Medicaid dollars (FMAP) over the span of 27 months.

State Stabilization Fund- $196 million for Maine. Provides financial support for expenses such as elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Other needs include public safety as well as the modernization and renovation of K-12 post-secondary school.

$42.8 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program as well as $27.5 million for the State Energy Efficiency Program which is administered through Efficiency Maine.

Maine receives $116,295,00 in additional food stamp benefits (The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). 13.6% increase in benefits will be seen by those currently utilizing food stamps. Families will also be able to use food stamps for a longer period of time.

School districts will receive $37.5 million in Title I-A Grants.

$11 million in Title I School improvement grants.

Special education funding in Maine will see $53 million through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Schools throughout the state will benefit.

Nation wide- $15.64 billion for Pell Grants. The maximum Pell Grant will be increased by $500 for a maximum of $5,300 in 2009 and by 2010 it will increase to $5,550.

Job Creation

$133 million for highway investments.

$50 million for water and sewer infrastructure.

“Making Work Pay” tax credit to $400 per worker and $800 per couple in a refundable tax credit to offset the 6.2 percent payroll tax on the first $6,450 of earned income.

$16.7 billion for retirees, disabled veterans and SSI Recipients. Those who do not qualify for the tax credit will receive $250 cash payments.

Restoration of cuts of Medicare payments to hospice. Results in $400,00 for Maine’s hospices.

17,000 families in Maine will be eligible for a new tax credit to make college affordable.

Crucial relief to Maine’s softwood lumber industry. Accomplished by waiving the requirement that they return funds paid to them after Canada violated U.S. trade law.

Temporary suspension of taxes on Unemployment Insurance Benefits. Will benefit more than 33,000 Mainers. Bill includes a $100 a month unemployment benefit increase.

Money will be overseen by the Governor’s office.

Ryan Low, Baldacci's finance commissioner, said the money coming into the state will be kept in separate accounts for each department. For example, if the state gets $5 million from the stimulus bill for bridge construction, the money would be kept in a Department of Transportation "bridge stimulus" account.

"What we wanted to make sure we could do is segregate and follow that federal stimulus dollar as it comes into state government and it goes out of state government," Low said.

Agencies will have to file a form called a ‘financial order’ to request funds, and the governor, Low and a state budget officer will have to sign off on each one. Then, the orders will go to the legislature, where the Appropriation Committee will have a chance to make statements about each expenditure, but will not have the power to block the spending.

"My hope and understanding is the governor will work closely with the Legislature on both budgeting the money and spending the money," said House Speaker Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven).

David Farmer, Baldacci’s chief of staff, said the Governor's Office plans to work with lawmakers.

Republican and Democratic legislative leaders have been meeting for several weeks with each other and with the Governor's Office on the process for handling the stimulus money.

The Legislature set up a trust fund for any Medicaid money to come with the stimulus package, giving it some control over how funds will be spent. It's looking to do something similar for any energy-related projects, which will likely be new initiatives and need more legislative oversight, Pingree said.

Senate Republican Leader Kevin Raye (R-Perry) said lawmakers made it clear to the governor that the funds should be spent on infrastructure projects of lasting value. Raye said lawmakers don't want the money spent on programs that would grow state government or prop up existing programs.

Some money might go directly to communities, although how much was unknown by presstime. Local school committees or city councils would have oversight of those funds.

Higher income key to state's prosperity- Response

This article was exactly what I was looking for at this stage in my research. I stated that I hoped to move my research in a more local direction and this report as well as this article helped to do just that. This article was a goldmine of statements and facts that will be very beneficial not only to my continuing research but also to my personal observation or experience. I hope to utilize the many quote available in this article in oral presentation and in my preparation for the end of this project. These statements represent the mind set of many local Maine residents who are closely tied to Maine economic state. I was not aware of Maine ranking in the list of domestic income and this is certainly an area for further research. Nor was I aware of the very high energy prices in Maine. I was thrilled that this article looked into all areas in question in this report from worker productivity to higher level education. I was able to compare the state of all of the areas that have been affected by this economy. This article has been extremely beneficial to my research. The six red flags listed at the bottom of the article were very interesting and make for good strong facts.

Higher income key to state's prosperity

Maine ranks 35th in the country in personal income.
This is a problem that must be addressed in order to help the state of Maine prosper stated a non-partisan group on m February 26th.
During a major recession in the 1990s, the Maine Economic Growth Council, comprised of a group of business leaders as well as others, was formed.
On the 26th, this council released in 15th "Measures of Growth" annual report.
This report tracks 24 indicators of the states economic state.
The purpose of this report is to identify 4 areas of strength and six areas of weakness in Maine's economy.
Laurie Lachance who is the director of the Maine Development Foundation stated that "We would be remiss if we were not to note we are in extraordinary times."
House Speaker Hannah Pingree states that this report should serve as a road map for decision makers as opportunities are presented to cut the federal budget, spend stimulus money and identify projects that can benefit the state as a whole.
Hannah Pingree speaks more directly to the issue of extending high speed internet to more of the state of Maine. She believes that federal stimulus money will help.
While Maine has gotten very high marks for investiment into research, job creation it appears has fallen to the wayside.
Pingree states that Maine needs to focus on tying research into jobs and job creation.
Tim Hussey who is the president of and CEO of Hussey Seating Co. stated his concern for the large gap in the worker productivity of the manufacturing sector.
Tim stated "We're falling behind. We have a gap of 24 percent and it's getting worse."
Sen. Christopher Recor is concerned about the high energy prices in the state of Maine and their impact upon businesses.
He believes further research at the University of Maine System will help.
Theodora Kalikow, the President of the University of Maine at Farmington, stated that a higher education level in more Maine residents will benefit the economy by allowing a larger population qualify for higher paying jobs.
She believes that the lack of educational funding is blocking economic progress in all directions.

Below are the six red flags identified in the report.

http://www.mdf.org/megc/measures/MOG2009.pdf

* Personal income: Maine ranks 35th nationally with a per capital personal income of $33,962.

* High speed Internet subscribers: Maine lags behind New England and the United States when it comes to Internet subscribers per 1,000 residents.

* Manufacturing productivity: There's a 24 percent gap between productivity of the Maine manufacturing worker and the rest of the United States.

* Cost of health care: Health care expenditures in Maine are nearly 20 percent of the state Gross Domestic Product, which is 7 percent higher than the national average.

* Cost of energy: The price of electricity in Maine is 32 percent higher than the national average.

* State and Local Tax Burden: The state's tax burden was 14.4 percent in 2006, according to census data.

Final focus; further research needed

As discussed in my Blog Analysis Essay, the trajectory of my blog will begin to move towards the observation of the economic crisis on a local level. Recently I have chosen to focus more upon the impact of our economy on internationally based businesses as I find this section of my topic to be more rich and diverse in information while encompassing more areas of the topic. As I move forward however, I believe that my research needs to focus much more locally. Research taken from internet and through national newspapers offers only a broad public insight to this crisis. There are no personal stories to be told. I believe that there are many opportunities to follow this topic straight down to a local Maine business or perhaps even family. This would allow my topic to work from an international scale and follow and linear projection downwards. The decision to follow this path was developed while writing my Blog Essay however the catalyst for the thought came from my mother who reviewed my blog.
There are many opinions circulating throughout our country and indeed our world that relate to the state and direction of the world economies. Many of them contradict each other and all of them are derived from a unique set of individual viewpoints. I can think of no better way to end my research and incorporate an observation into my project other than to observe how our global economy is impacting local Maine residents. By beginning research now encompassing the local economic strain I will soon be able to organize an interview or observational experience. This experience will allow me to thoroughly incorporate all of my research into how it all has affected one single person or business. I will be able to listen to and interpret their thoughts on the politics involved with this economic crisis. I will have the opportunity to observe how international business such as bank closing and foreclosures may or may not have impacted their successes.
The research needed to achieve a standard necessary for complete comprehension of this topic is extensive. I will need not only to familiarize myself with the state of the local economy but furthermore select one example out of many to exemplify our current economic state. I will begin this process searching through local media publications such as newspapers that will often write about small personal stories. Perhaps I will find a family whose home has been foreclosed on due to a bad mortgage or possibly I will be able to locate the owner of a business who has had to close their doors or lay off employees due to a lack of business. Any and every story I locate offers an opportunity to learn about local impact. I believe I will be able to find a personal story that will incorporate all of my research, which stretches to every corner of the globe, into one single unified experience. This story will offer insight into every aspect of the economy. This story will finish my project. This story will give me the personal aspect needed to adequately teach a group about the all-encompassing impact of an international economic crisis.

Senate Approves Stimulus Plan- Responce

This success is perhaps the most crucial development of my topic. All of my previous research relates directly to this bill. As jobs have been lost and businesses closed (such as Circuit City and the Auto Industry) support has been provided only through large federal bailouts that have so far ceased to provide any real benefits for the tax payers. However, this bill is the first directed completely towards those paying for it. Its success or failure could be the catalyst for a major economic catastrophe or restoration. The fact that this bill has passed with three Republican supporters, proves the existence of a desire to do take action. While the bill received no Republican support at all in the House, the Republican support shown for the bill in the Senate is very important. I feel that this bill will be a major catalyst for change throughout the country unlike the previous spending put directly towards large corporations. Whether it is for good or bad, only time will tell. However with so much of the bill going directly towards the American citizen, there is no doubt that its impact will be felt by all.

Senate Approves Stimulus Plan

On Tuesday, the Senate passed the $838 billion stimulus package passed by the house a few weeks ago.
While the bill saw full Democratic support, only three Republicans left their party to back the bill.
Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine along with Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania gave their Republican support. "I am supporting the economic stimulus package for one simple reason: The country cannot afford not to take action,"
Spector stated that he had no option but to support the deal.
The 61-37 approval came as President Obama looked for public support in Florida- a state destroyed by foreclosures.
Negotiations will now begin to form a full compromise between both parties as well as the Senate and House as well as unemployment.
The Senate version of the bill looks to cut spending in the forms of school construction and state budgets.
However House Speaker Nanci Pelosi states that some spending needs to be restored for areas such as school construction.
Changes are headed do to the fact that the approval of the bill hinges upon three Republicans who are in essence holding all of the cards.
President Obama is moving to sign the bill into action before President's day. He pushed this desire by appealing to the public restating the benefits of the bill.
Obama stated that the bill would provide work for people creating wind farms and digital lines as well as repairing our roads and bridges.
3 million to 4 million jobs would be created.

House passes $819 billion stimulus bill- Response

This piece of information is crucial to my research. As the state of our economy continues to change, it is imperative that such large bills are covered within this blog. There are many circumstances pertaining to this event that make it incredibly crucial. First is the complete lack of bipartisanship from Republicans. This act shows none of the support called for by Obama from the House Republicans. With a total of 11 Democrats voting against the bill, the all around acceptance of this bill is now in question. It also puts the possibilities of passing the bill in the Senate that much bleaker. With 2 Republican votes needed, the success of this massive, and first piece of work completed by President Obama is now in question. I was thrilled to find this topic on the home page of the CNN website, immediately exemplifying the importance of this piece of legislature. There is no doubt that my topic, and the state of American economics as a whole, directly hinges upon the outcome of this bill. There is no certainty of the success of this bill should it pass at all. With so much spending, it puts into mind the incomprehensable debt building upon the American people. Should a President less than two weeks of office time be signing a check for more than $800 billion? This momentary success suggests so. However, if this plan fails to work, then both our economy, and the country's trust in our President lies in balance.

House passes $819 billion stimulus bill

On Wednesday evening, the House passes the $819 billion stimulus bill.
Despite Obama's push for bipartisan support, no republicans voted for it and 11 Democrats voted against it.
The final vote was 244-188.
Next week, the Senate will begin the vote on the bill.
"I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it get's to my desk" President Obama stated. "We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work and that is exactly what this plan begins to do."
The package offers opportunity to immediately replace lost jobs and restart economic growth. Such features were exemplified by almost complete support by Democrats.
House Speak Nanci Pelosi states that this bill does good on the inaugural address delivered by Obama last week. She states that this bill begins taking America in a new direction.
The critics of the bill examine the monstrous spending affiliated with it, the potential effectivness, and the lack of tax cuts.
Republicans lean towards tax-cuts to quickly jumpstart the economy, not slow moving spending.
Voted down by the House was a Republican amendment that slashed spending for the bill and added tax-cuts.
To pass a Senate vote, the bill will need a total of 60 votes, which will require 2 republican votes.
It is agreed that the bill is needed on the President's desk before the law maker's recess on President's Day in mid February.

College On Credit- Response

This article was very disheartening, especially to a student who is beginning to look at colleges. However, I found it to be a very interesting idea that college education might be so heavily affected by this economic downfall. In this time, now is the worst time for college to become inaccessible to those who need it. In a world where a high school diploma hardly holds weight anymore, the idea that the mere cost of college would keep a student out of their hard earned education is terrifying. I've never thought of all the families who are struggling to heat their homes, let alone send a child to college. This country needs well educated college graduates now more than ever. We need a workforce that can be highly specialized and trained. It seems to me that the age of private colleges might have come to an end. As with the public school system, colleges may soon be going the same way.

College On Credit

College costs are becoming an often ignored factor of the economic recession.
Tuition costs are up 439% from the 1980s.
The average bill of college this year is $25,000.
Public universities are more affordable at $6,500 but still costly for some families.
More students are borrowing to finance their very own education.
Student debt has risen from $41 billion 10 years ago to $87 billion.
Two thirds who graduate from a four year program are in debt.
Although some colleges are starting to promise grants rather than loans, many colleges are stretching for money.
Many loans come from the government but as government funds are limited, much borrowing has turned to private sources.
Over the past academic year, $17.5 billion was borrowed from the private sector compared to $2.5 billion last year.
Private loans carry high interest rates. Up to 19%.
These loans are impossible to get out of even in the state of bankruptcy.
These loans are very tantalizing to desperate students and parents.

Liam's Third Response

Alex, it is interesting to hear comments from the Britsh givern that their auto industry imploded. I'm not sure we can expect the same thing to happen in the US that happened in England. Once people start buying plug-in electric hybrids they may start buying new cars more quickly than they have been. We may just have to bridge this transition first.

Your citations might need a little work. I used the site http://dianahacker.com/ as a reference.

Katie's 3rd Response

Great work Alex! A lot of your articles go right over my head, but I can tell you understand everything from your thoughtful and detailed responses. One thing: when I was grading your citations, I almost marked them wrong because you have them under websites, but I realized they were from magazines. I would make a separate section for them so you don't get them marked wrong in the future. For your research, maybe you could look at the speculations people have on the future of the stock market, alternative forms of earning money in addition to jobs, and maybe what businesses are doing to help their consumers and keep their business afloat at the same time.
Your blog is extremely intelligent-sounding, just like you, and the research seems to be developing nicely.

Jeanette's 3rd Response

Wow, Alex. I like all your opinions that you put into the responses. It makes reading them it clear what your thought path is. Another thing you might want to research is how the average American is dealing with the current economic situation. It would be interesting to know how other people or businesses are dealing with the money worries and recession. Other than that, I think your I-Search will be really interesting to read when it is done! :)

How the see us: Do U.S. carmakers deserve a break?- Response

I decided to continue on the topic of the auto industry with this article I found in "The Week" which is coincidentally the same magazine I drew my previous entry from. I found it extremely interesting to see just what the rest of the world thought of a situation that many Americans believe only affects the US population. This article brought to light though, just how far reaching the US auto industry is. I thought it to be almost amusing the Europe can't agree on the best fate for the auto industry any better than we ourselves can. Bailouts and bankruptcy both offer different potentials and potholes for the future of the industry in America. I had no idea that Britain has gone through the same crisis with their industry as we are now. One must ask though that if the auto industry essentially began in America, why did Britain's fall apart faster than ours? It certainly does bring new light to the phrase "history repeats itself". I personally do not feel that the auto industry entering Chapter 11 would cause such a disturbance nationally or even internationally. In a time when funds are not even available for many people to even purchase a car, it seems to me that this is the best time for these companies to take some downtime and reorganize. Better now than when the economy is strong and such a disturbance could potentially cause an even more significant ripple effect.

How the see us: Do U.S. carmakers deserve a break?

"Pity the poor Americans" says Jeremy Warner in Britains's Independent.
The American auto industry is now in the same position that British auto makers were 30 years ago.
The Big Three auto makers "pay themselves too much, they've failed to modernize, and they no longer produce the sort of cars that anyone wants to buy".
The US intends to do the same things that the British did when their auto companies were risked- handing out cash.
Howe this will not be enough as can be seen from the outcome of the efforts made by the British.
It is thought that by March, the auto makers will be back asking for even more money.
"Huge amounts of tax payers money were spent propping up this dying industry" in Britain and "very little was there to show for it in the end".
Jeremy Warner believes that instead of subjecting the American auto industry to a "slow death by a thousand cuts" which is what is believed to have been the what the British car makers endured, Warner claims that bankruptcy would do the auto makers better.
This is the only "long term solution".

However, there are indeed other opinions being spouted across the pond.
Quentin Willson in Britain's Sunday Mirror thinks that the US auto makers have done themselves in with "lousy management, kowtowing to unions, too many big-drinking trucks and SUV's, and an arrogant contempt for small acrs and green technology"- bold statements to be made by a journalist who reports for a country who is not directly tied to the US auto industries implosion. Or is he???
Willson thinks that allowing the US auto makers to enter into bankruptcy would have a "seismic effect on the US economy" but also "hurt Europe".
Chapter 11 would indeed allow the auto industry to reorganize and get back on track with out sucking billions of dollars out of the US government's pockets. It is thought that this might have effects more widespread though.
The auto manufacturers' suppliers would fail due to the lack of business from the US, and thus, the European auto market would also falter, due to their reliance on the very same suppliers.

Bush's vow to rescue Detroit- Response

This article was somewhat outdated however, the publication date of the article I was taking information from was within the two week time period. I had yet to really focus on the potential auto bail out in my research and thought that it would be critical to my research to do so now and to be able to follow it as it progressed. These bailout will be extremely critical in how this financial crisis proceeds. With the deficit closing in on $1 trillion dollars, it seems as though now is no time to be bailing more companies out. However, this article offered some very interesting points as to how this bailout might help the recovery of the auto industry, and the US economy. I found it to be a very interesting idea that this bailout would provide the Obama administration with much more leverage over the auto industry than before. However, I find this to be a horrifying concept. There is no reason that the US government should have any more control over the auto industry than it should have over the computer industry, or the boat industry, or any industry for that matter. The US government has no place in corporate America other than to enforce laws and Constitutional rights. The failure of an industry is a sign that it needs to be reformed and the placing of such companies under more jurisdiction from the US government will in no way help the reformation of such companies. As stated in the notes, "Chapter 11 would provide an opportunity for these companies to reorganize themselves". This is exactly what chapter 11 was designed to do and it has worked out so far. That is, until the apparent relization that certain industries were too closely tied to the US economy came about. It seems to me that any industry that is that closely tied to the US economy needs to be reorganized as it is.

Bush's vow to rescue Detroit

The Senate rejected a $14 billion dollar bailout plan for the auto industry.
The Bush administration, auto executives, and union leaders scrambled to put together a bail out plan.
With little time left, auto makers hurried to look for cash, even looking into the $700 billion financial bailout plan, which would not requite congressional approval.
Opposition from Republicans in the Senate led to the failure of the original Congressional bailout plan.
General Motors and Chrysler have been cutting jobs and slashing spending but still claimed that a direct infusion of cash was necessary.
Chrysler staked claim to $4 billion while GM asked for $10 billion, claiming that this money would be essential to keep them running through march.
Ford did not claim to require bailout help.
President Bush claimed to be committed to constructing a bailout package for the auto industry.
"By refusing to write a blank check to Detroit, Senate Republicans have started to reclaim some credibility on fiscal policy and the role of government." stated the Wall Street Journal.
The common belief is that no amount of bailout monies will save the auto industry without massive restructuring.
This would include a reduction of union wages and benefits.
There is another side to the bailout however, one that is embedded in the future administrations of the US government.
Such a bail out would provide the Obama administration and Congress "huge leverage over the cars Detroit builds"- this is a power that many organizations have craved for decades.
The Big Three auto makers only pay around $10 more an hour in wages and benefits than Toyota and other foreign car makers in the US.
Detroit's labor costs are much higher however due to the fact that they have been in existence for longer and thus have hundreds of thousands of retired workers receiving pensions and benefits.
Some see the potential bankruptcy of the auto makers as the way out. Stock holders will loose massive amounts of money however, placing the companies under Chapter 11 will free them from past obligations and thus allow them to produce better products, not focus their out put on profit needed to meet past obligations.\