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.