Opportunity Maine to boost education

Far too often, good programs become law but then stagnate. That is not happening with Opportunity Maine by Clifford Ginn, lawyer and president of Opportunity Maine & Justin Alfond, state director of the League of Young Voters and treasurer of Opportunity Maine

As the legacies of two of the best-known business leaders and philanthropists in the state, we both now live, work and play in Maine because of its people, its unique sensibility, and because our roots here run deep.

From an early age, we learned from our families that education is a pathway to future choices and success. Our family legacies are firmly planted on the foundation of giving to improve education and encourage students to excel in Maine. Educational philanthropy is one the highest expressions of our families’ values.

It’s a legacy of which we are proud, and a tradition that we have committed ourselves to continue. That’s why we are among the founders and leaders of Opportunity Maine, scheduled to hold a Bangor-area open house Oct. 11 at the Children’s Discovery Museum.

By now, most people in the state have heard about the Opportunity Maine success story. Almost two years ago, concerned community leaders and students came together to address what was becoming an epidemic in Maine and throughout the nation — the rising cost of tuition, the downsizing of loan assistance programs, and massive amounts of accumulated student debt. In Maine’s rapidly changing economy, those barriers deny economic opportunity to laid-off workers, mothers wishing to enter the workplace, and those who simply need training to compete in our traditional and emerging industries. At the same time, Opportunity Maine’s founders and many other Mainers recognize that an educated workforce is the No. 1 predictor of economic growth and high incomes.

The program’s founders believed that the best way to address these problems is to make the prospect of loan repayment less daunting. And we succeeded! After collecting 73,000 signatures and gaining the support of business, labor, educational and civic leaders throughout the state, we were ready to put the question before Maine voters. Instead, Maine lawmakers recognized that our bill couldn’t wait any longer. With a unanimous vote in the Maine House, a three-fourths vote in the Senate, and the Governor’s enthusiastic signature, Maine’s elected leaders committed themselves to a long-term investment in Maine’s people, workforce and economic future.

Now anyone who attends a Maine college (public or private) and lives and works in Maine after graduation is eligible to claim a large tax credit to help pay their student loans. What’s more, businesses who pay an employee’s loans can take the credit for themselves.

Opportunity Maine will help Mainers of all ages to earn college degrees, and will attract people from other states to attend our colleges and settle here afterward. As the proportion of degree holders in our work force increases, businesses will increasingly start up, grow and locate here. Meanwhile, Maine businesses can offer employees a substantial benefit, at no cost, that is unavailable from out-of-state competitors.

Far too often, good programs become law but then stagnate. That is not happening with Opportunity Maine. When it comes to giving back to Maine, one of the important things we have learned is that it’s not enough to pledge support; you must follow through. The work of Opportunity Maine is far from done.

In the coming weeks, Opportunity Maine and its supporters will engage people throughout the state about the importance of supporting our higher education program. From an event next week featuring a trifecta of Maine governors — Baldacci, King and McKernan — pledging their bi-partisan support for Opportunity Maine, to the Bangor open house featuring University of Maine System Chancellor Richard Pattenaude, we’re marketing Opportunity Maine to make sure that it succeeds. Chambers of Commerce, labor unions, educational organizations and others are all reaching out to their members to inform them about Opportunity Maine and to invest them in its success.

But it’s not just politicians and business leaders who recognize the importance of implementing this first-in-the-nation program effectively; a vast network of students is currently spending their days and nights talking to other students about Opportunity Maine and how the program will benefit them for years to come.

Just like our parents and our grandparents, we believe that Maine is the best place in the nation to work, raise a family and have fun. But we also know that Maine can be a challenging place to do so.

Opportunity Maine will make living in Maine easier by expanding educational opportunities, reducing debt for students and families, and building a skilled work force that reflects the unique aspects that Maine has to offer. As we begin to raise our families here in Maine, we look forward to encouraging our children to consider Maine their home. With the success of Opportunity Maine and other programs designed to make college more affordable and to grow the economy, we’re confident that Maine will become an even more appealing place to plant their roots.

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College loan tax credit will pay for itself - Portland Press Herald

Keeping Maine's brightest youth here after graduating is among the best economic catalysts by Clifford Ginn, President, Opportunity Maine

A recent Press Herald editorial praised a group's efforts to create a scholarship fund for South Portland high school graduates. As president of Opportunity Maine, I, too, applaud these people for working to make college affordable. Expanding educational opportunity is the best way to bring more high- paying jobs to Maine.

What the editorial neglected to mention, however, is that Maine is now the nation's leader in making college affordable for its residents. Under a new law, Mainers who earn associate's or bachelor's degrees at Maine colleges (public or private) and live and work in Maine afterward can claim an income tax credit large enough to cover their student loan payments.

A graduate can also transfer this educational opportunity tax credit to an employer who makes loan payments on the graduate's behalf.

Opportunity Maine drafted this law last year as a citizens' initiative, gathered more than 72,000 signatures to place it on the ballot, and built a statewide coalition of hundreds of students, community members and business, labor, education and civic leaders. The Maine Legislature passed it as written (the sixth time in Maine history that the Legislature passed a citizens' initiative outright). The vote in the House of Representatives was unanimous!

The governor and legislative leaders of both parties have publicly committed to making this a long-term investment, without any scaling back, so Mainers enrolling in college can count on the credit being there.

Educational opportunity tax credits are capped based on tuition and fees at public colleges, and are tied to loans approved under a financial aid package. This translates into assistance for most students, and up to $55,000 for those least able to afford college.

Most Maine graduates leave college with education-loan debt. Debt loads average more than $21,000 for bachelor's degree earners and half of that for associate's degree earners. The extraordinary cost of college deters many Mainers from attending and drives many graduates out of the state because they cannot make loan payments on Maine salaries.

The educational tax credit makes it possible for Mainers to enroll in college with the confidence that they will be able to erase their educational debt, and makes it easier for graduates to live and work in Maine after earning their degrees.

This law will benefit Maine businesses. The education level of the work force is the most important consideration for businesses deciding where to locate, and making college affordable is the best way to get more degree holders in our work force.

Allowing Maine businesses to claim the credit on an employee's behalf will also give them an advantage over competitors in other states.

Investing in making college affordable is thus the best way to strengthen the state's economy. The proportion of degree holders in a state's work force is the main predictor of average incomes. This is unsurprising, as an associate's degree adds an average of $10,000 to a person's yearly earning power, and a bachelor's degree adds almost $17,000.

Maine's incomes lag 25 percent behind the rest of New England, and the proportion of degree holders in our work force lags 23 percent behind. Opening the doors of educational opportunity will allow us to catch up with the rest of New England on both fronts. The law will pay for itself.

The law provides benefits for anyone enrolled in college when it goes into effect, so current students and Mainers enrolling this fall and winter should check with their financial aid offices about how to become eligible.

Even with the educational opportunity tax credit, we still need more of the type of aid that the South Portland scholarship fund would provide.

Likewise, the state and our colleges must work together to finance needed improvements to our higher education system and to control tuition growth.

However, we have seen in the past year that when Mainers work together, we can meet any challenge and build a brighter future.

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MDI: Young retail entrepreneur finds success - Bangor Daily News

BAR HARBOR - Growing up in Bar Harbor and spending summers waiting tables, Danielle Mace knew what tourists wanted.

And Mace knew what she wanted — to live in Bar Harbor indefinitely. In 1997, at age 24, she and her boyfriend purchased the modest, aging building at 240 Main St. and got to work — renovating, rebuilding and seeing it through its evolution from a summer rental home to a consignment shop to a popular women’s clothing boutique, Macey’s.

"I definitely think she’s filling a niche on the island," Julie Veilleux, president of the Bar Harbor Merchant’s Association and owner of the Widow Panes stores, said Friday. "Danielle is a great gal. She certainly is ambitious."

Mace represents the young, native Mainer the state is trying to retain with programs such as Realize! Maine, a social networking organization, and Opportunity Maine, which gives tax credits for college loan repayment.

While her family and work have made her want to stay in Maine, Mace said she has seen about half of her class at Mount Desert Island High School leave the state. Her brother lives in Portland because he simply does not see any work opportunities on the island, she said.

After graduating from high school in 1991, Mace took a few college business courses at the University of Maine and then decided to return to her hometown to keep her job as a waitress at Jordan’s Restaurant and save money. In the winter, when Jordan’s closed, she would go to Florida to wait tables and work on a boat that sailed between Naples and Key West.

Mace and her longtime boyfriend, Dean Paine, decided to purchase the house on Main Street from his father, David, the owner of Jordan’s. Mace began working for David Paine at age 15. She credits him with teaching her business savvy.

"I saw what was happening on this end of the street and I just knew that I needed to utilize the property," Mace said in a recent interview, referring to the restaurants, galleries and shops that had spread up the hill through the center of town. "It was a great investment."

Mace and Dean Paine got to work renovating the 1890s house themselves, then began renting it summers. Mace eventually decided she wanted to move on from waitressing and decided to turn the rental house into a business.

"Somewhere in me I knew I was probably not going to work for somebody else for the rest my life," Mace said.

An avid resale shopper, Mace and an aunt each contributed $1,000 and started a consignment shop together in Mace’s house, calling it Macey’s. They filled the small rooms of the first floor with used and sample clothing and opened for business.

After a year, Mace’s aunt chose a new career and left the shop. From 2000 to 2003, Mace ran Macey’s on her own but found the slim profit margin discouraging. In 2003, she and Dean resolved to tear down and rebuild on the property so that she could open a larger shop and sell new clothing.

It had taken almost two years of negotiating with the town to come up with a design that would appease both owners and planning officials, but in May 2004 Macey’s reopened on the first floor of the new, three-story building. Mace and Paine live on the second and third floors in a sprawling, sunny apartment.

Mace has found much more success with her new store, which closes every January and reopens in April. Last year, when the Bar Harbor Merchant’s Association opened with the goal of promoting shops that are open beyond the summer months, Mace quickly got involved.

"People just assume Bar Harbor shuts down [after summer ends], and really it’s not the case," Mace said.

The seasonal, sometimes capricious, nature of business is Mace’s biggest challenge, she said.

"This business runs on sun, and when it rains you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got all this inventory,’" Mace said. "There’s a lot of sleepless nights, but it’s a lot of fun."

by Anne Ravana

Editor’s Note:
This is one in an occasional series of articles on young business leaders and their decision to live and work in Maine.

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Calais: Small-town community makes life worthwhile for lawyer - Bangor Daily News

CALAIS, Maine - While quiet, small-town life may drive many restless young people out of Maine, it was exactly what drew David Mitchell back to his hometown.

Mitchell, a 38-year-old lawyer, exemplifies the type of educated person the state is hoping to retain with programs such as Opportunity Maine, which gives tax credits for college loan repayment, and Realize! Maine, a social networking organization. He decided to return to Maine when he was 25 and in the midst of a teaching career outside Detroit, Mich.


"I can recall driving to school one morning … and thinking that but for that seven-mile trip, one would rarely have to leave the immediate area of his or her residence. Each corner of each intersection consisted of a strip mall of sorts with all the necessities. … But there was very little sense of community," Mitchell said recently in an e-mail to the BDN.

Mitchell grew up in Calais and attended boarding school at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass. He graduated from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, in 1991 with a B.A. in English and political science, then stayed on for a fifth year to play hockey and earn a second bachelor’s degree in education.

After teaching and coaching soccer, hockey and baseball at private schools in Massachusetts and Michigan, Mitchell decided to return to his home state and pursue a law degree at the University of Maine School of Law. His father is a lawyer in Calais, but it was not until Mitchell graduated in 1997 that he considered joining his father’s practice.

"He has a wealth of experience to tap into, and since I graduated after him he could tap into my knowledge," Mitchell said in a recent interview.

Mitchell & Mitchell is a general practice firm that takes on criminal defense, family law, personal injury, real estate and probate cases. In addition, Mitchell represents the Passamaquoddy Tribe.

Young lawyers who enter the field in rural Maine must be prepared to practice general law, Mitchell said. He has had plenty of opportunities to hold leadership positions and is a member of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, the Calais Planning Board and the board of directors of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

The cost of health insurance is the only complaint Mitchell mentions when asked about running a small business in Maine.

"It’s expensive. I always say ‘I have it but I don’t’ because the cost of it is so high. We have health insurance we never use because the deductible is so high," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said his brother, a hemophiliac, lives in New Brunswick because the cost of health care is so much cheaper there.

Life on the Canadian border allows for plenty of cross-cultural exposure, Mitchell said, and while he might be far from any major U.S. cities, he has quick access to those in Canada. His wife, Tammy, grew up in Pennfield, New Brunswick, and Mitchell coaches two youth hockey teams in St. Stephen. Two of his children, Greg, 8, and Emily, 6, play on his teams. Mitchell also coaches baseball in Calais.

Living out of state was ideal because Mitchell was able to return to Maine to establish roots, he said. And when friends frequently pose the question of why he chose to spend his young adulthood in such a rural place, Mitchell insists "the small things" make it worthwhile, he said.

"Not having to spend hours on the road commuting to work and such simple things as being able to return to my own home daily for lunch with my wife and youngest child, Megan, are, put simply, enjoyable."

by Anne Ravana

Editor’s Note: This is one in an occasional series of articles on young business leaders and their decision to live and work in Maine.

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Gains for workers must continue - Portland Press Herald

Labor Day celebrates our workers. This holiday dates from the late 19th century, when the country was changing from an agricultural economy to an industrial one and labor unions began organizing and advocating for America's workers.

The first Labor Day parade took place on Sept. 5, 1882, when 10,000 workers demanding better working conditions took unpaid leave to march in New York City. Congress legalized the holiday in 1894, after a turbulent labor strike at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago drew attention to the issue of worker rights.
Maine has a rich, tumultuous labor history. At statehood in 1820, Maine's work force was mostly agricultural. Less than 7 percent of our workers were employed in commerce, called service and transportation now, and just over 11 percent were in manufacturing.

During the dramatic economic change of the 19th century, and despite the state's enduring reputation as having the hardest workers in the nation, working people were not necessarily well-treated or well-paid.

In 1888, the Maine State Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics (now the Department of Labor) engaged Flora Haines to assess conditions for women working in the state's shops and factories. The bureau's annual report that year includes comments like this one, from a cotton mill cloth inspector: "Scores of women with
families to raise and support have but barely enough for their work to keep hunger from their doors."

While wages were a primary concern for most workers, safety and other working conditions were also inadequate, if not downright dangerous.

A 92-year-old Lewiston man who worked as a boy in the Pepperell Mill is quoted in the Museum L-A's current exhibit, "Portraits & Voices: Workers of Seven Mills," in which he recalls another boy taking his place on a machine and losing a finger when he accidentally ran it between the rolls. "If they had had OSHA in those days, they would have made the company change lots of machines."

Reforms regulating child labor, safety, wages and hours at the state level occurred directly because of the tremendous sacrifices of Maine's workers, individually and collectively, along with support from lawmakers, cooperative businesses and responsive government.

Labor Day 2007 finds Maine's work force in transition. As in the 1800s, the economy is changing the character of the job market and the nature of the work force. Nonetheless, workers still want basic respect, a safe workplace, fair pay and benefits, opportunity for job advancement and a chance to make life better for themselves and their children.

Today presents a tough reality for Mainers who have lost the jobs they thought they'd be retiring from. Layoffs in the papermaking industry this summer are a recent and sad example. We acknowledge the challenges facing our work force and respond both compassionately and pragmatically.

Technology is transforming the way work is done. Nearly half of the jobs in Maine created by 2014 will require a college degree or a training certificate. We introduced Lifelong Learning Accounts so employers and employees can collaborate on paying for continuing education.

The Legislature recently approved the Competitive Skills Scholarship Fund, which helps low-income workers pay for tuition, books, equipment and support services to complete a degree or certificate program. Gov. John Baldacci signed this bill
and another, establishing the Opportunity Maine tax credit for college graduates who work in Maine while paying back their student loans.

The Maine Department of Labor helps laid-off workers with training through federal programs. By partnering with organized labor and businesses, we're keeping Maine's workers in our hearts and minds.

Without our workers, we have no economy. As the state, national and global economies evolve, we commit to ensuring that the entire work force has education and skills, a livable wage and health and safety protections. This is the best way to honor
Maine's workers.

On this holiday, let's honor past sacrifices and vow to help Maine's work force adapt and advance.

Laura Fortman, Maine Commissioner of Labor

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Curbing exodus of graduates - The Providence Journal

The exodus of college graduates from New England to jobs in other parts of the country saps the region of the young, creative minds that are needed to build a competitive, knowledge-based economy.

The out-migration affects all the region’s states, but it is especially pronounced in Rhode Island. The loss of talented students after graduation has left behind a static population and a pool of older workers without the skills to encourage companies to relocate or expand here.

The “brain drain,” first identified years ago, has been blamed on the state’s high cost of living, especially for housing, a culture of insiders that doesn’t welcome newcomers, poor links between employers and the schools and the lack of economic opportunities.

The issue comes up regularly at meetings of business groups and at the State House. But nobody has come up with an answer in Rhode Island.

This year, while state legislative leaders and Governor Carcieri spent their time mired in a fight over spending priorities and plugging holes in the budget, their counterparts in Maine looked forward to come up with a plan to curb the brain drain from their state.

Their experiment, considered the first of its kind in the nation, attacks two problems: the high cost of a college education that leaves a student with an average of $22,300 in debt and the out-migration of graduates.

It works this way:

Any resident who earns an associate or bachelor’s degree in Maine and then lives, works and pays taxes in the state is eligible for a maximum tax credit of $2,100 per year, or a total of $8,400 for the four years of schooling.

And there’s this twist:

The new law that takes effect in January allows employers to make the loan payments for graduates they employ and claim the tax credit.

The idea is to keep Maine graduates in Maine by offering a financial incentive to help them pay down their student loans; and to encourage employers to reach out and hire Maine graduates.

“This is a wise investment in our children’s future and our state’s economic future,” said Maine Gov. John Baldacci.

There’s a taxpayers’ cost to all this.

By one estimate, the tax credits will cost the state’s 1.3 million residents an estimated $150,000 during the next two years. Within 10 years, the cost could grow to $62 million.

That price tag may take aback Rhode Islanders, who are already paying among the highest taxes in the country for a government, even with its heavy tax collections, that can’t pay its bills.

But proponents of the tax credit in Maine argue that keeping the state’s human capital from fleeing will help the creation and expansion of taxpaying businesses, as well as create a new pool of taxpayers. They have a study that shows that by 2018, the state will actually have a net gain, after the tax credits are included, of $15 million.

Here’s something else to consider:

The tax credit idea in Maine was not developed and pushed by the insiders — the lobbyists, college administrators, or business special interests.

Rather, it came from the bottom up, from a grass-roots organization of students and community leaders called Opportunity Maine, that put together some compelling statistics that showed that more than 50 percent of the nearly 7,000 students who earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in Maine leave the state for extended periods.

“We’re trying to combat the high cost of student education and student loans,” said Andrew Bossie, president of Opportunity Maine.

“On top of that, we’re trying to address the economic problems of the state. We have lower income and fewer degree holders than any other New England state.”

Opportunity Maine joined with the League of Young Voters to collect 73,000 signatures to put their proposal to a referendum in November. But that was forestalled when the legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill, the governor signed it, and the tax credit was created.

Bossie and other advocates admit the tax credit is an experiment, and it’s unclear how well it will work or how much it will cost.

But the point is that Mainers are trying to solve what everyone agrees is a problem.

They are tired of seeing the best and brightest of their students drift away. They’re tired of seeing a stagnant economy fall further behind other regions of the country. They’re tired of waiting for business and political leaders to do something.

There’s a lesson there for Rhode Islanders.

Writtten by John Kostrzewa, business editor, jkostrze@projo.com

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Maine governor breaks new ground with student tax credits

The state of Maine has raised the bar when it comes to college tax credits. Governor John Baldacci has announced a new program to provide tax credits to cover educational loan payments for any Maine resident who earns an associate or bachelor's degree at a Maine state college or university and then continues to live and work in the state.

The program, called Opportunity Maine, is being compared to the federal GI Bill, part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal legislation that provided education assistance for veterans returning from war.

The Opportunity Maine Web site describes the program as an opportunity to make higher education more affordable and to create jobs for Maine residents.

The Maine program provides a maximum annual tax credit of $2,100 per year or $8,400 for a graduate who completes four years at a Maine college. Alternatively, a Maine employer can agree to hire a graduate and take over the student loan payments and then take the credit himself.

The Opportunity Maine program is effective starting with the fall semester of 2007. Maine residents who are already enrolled in an associate or a bachelor's degree program at an accredited Maine junior college, college or university may participate.

Maine's new program is believed to be the nation's most far-reaching, according to Tony Giampetruzzi, Opportunity Maine spokesman.

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Governor signs pioneering tax credit law to stop ’brain drain’

NOTE: This article, written by, Glenn Adams appeared in the Bangor Daily News, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Portland Press Herald, and Portsmouth Herald.

AUGUSTA (AP) - With applause filling his office, Gov. John Baldacci signed on Monday what's described as the nation's most far-reaching law to keep the state's best and brightest from fleeing after graduation by offering tax credits to reimburse their college loans.

"The eyes of the nation are looking at Maine," said Justin Alfond of the League of Young Voters, which helped push the Opportunity Maine bill that was enacted with a historical flourish before the legislative session closed in late June.

The law, described as Maine's version of the GI bill that was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 63 years ago, attempts to end a "brain drain" of Maine college graduates to other states in search of better pay to meet the demands of their college loans among other expenses.

It provides tax credits to reimburse educational loan payments for any Maine resident who earns an associate degree or a bachelor's degree in a state college or university and then lives, works and pays taxes in Maine after earning that degree.

Opportunity Maine offers an option allowing a Maine company that hires a Maine college graduate to take the credit if it assumes the former student's loan debt.

While other states have similar proposals and programs that target people in specific careers such as teaching, Maine's new program is believed to be the nation's most far-reaching, said Tony Giampetruzzi, Opportunity Maine spokesman.

Before it was unanimously approved by the Maine House on June 19, the Legislature's lone World War II veteran, Kittery Democratic Rep. Walter Wheeler, compared Opportunity Maine to the GI Bill of Rights as he made a pitch for passage.

The GI bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act, was signed into law by FDR on June 22, 1944, and provided payments for school tuition, fees, books, supplies and subsistence allowances.

Maine's benefits can be claimed only while a recipient lives and works in the state. Tax credits would have a maximum of $2,100 per year or $8,400 total for a graduate who spent all four years in a Maine college.

Baldacci acknowledged Monday that the law will require a major commitment by future legislatures if the program, which has a two-year startup cost of more than $150,000, is to remain funded.

"I can tell you I am personally committed to this," said Baldacci, a Democrat who was re-elected to a four-year term in 2006.

"I often wanted the ability to be able to do this, but we have struggled financially over the years," said Baldacci, adding, "We finally have been able to get to a point where we can get our head above the water and make investments in higher education."

A coalition that launched a citizens' initiative drive last year collected thousands more voters' signatures than they needed to force a referendum. Recognizing popular support for the plan, the Legislature opted to enact the proposal themselves instead - something that had been done only five times previously.

"This is a huge deal for our state," said Democratic Rep. Hannah Pingree, majority leader in the House, which approved the bill 142-0.

Hours after Baldacci signed the state bill, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, held a news conference to trumpet similar federal legislation he has introduced to create Lifelong Learning Accounts.

Employees would contribute after-tax money to savings accounts that would be employer-matched and portable. Employees would get tax credits on the first $500 they contribute to the account, and a tax deduction on subsequent savings.

There would be no tax penalty for funds withdrawn for educational costs, Allen said.

Americans need such a program to keep their skills sharp amid the rapid pace of technological innovation and increasing international trade that changes jobs, Allen said.

"There is a real need in our work force for continuing education," said Allen.

A Senate version of the bill has been introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.

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Law Signed for Student Tax Credit

by Victoria Wallack

Gov. John Baldacci signed into law Monday what’s being called a first-in-the-nation student tax credit program to help Maine college graduates pay off their loans – a proposal with a $62-million price tag 10 years out that proponents say will be offset by more educated young people working and paying taxes in Maine.

The proposal was brought to the Legislature by the group Opportunity Maine and the League of Young Voters, which collected 73,000 signatures to put it on the statewide ballot. Instead of waiting for the referendum vote in November, legislators overwhelmingly decided to adopt the plan themselves.

In fact, there were only eight legislators in the entire State House – all Republican senators – who voted against the bill, saying the tax break was too broadly worded.

“This is a wise investment in our children’s future and our state’s economic future, and I believe it will pay huge dividends,” Baldacci said at an enthusiastic bill-signing ceremony punctuated with applause.

“This will require a lot of commitment on our part into the future,” the governor said. “I am very much committed to this.”

The new law allows any Maine resident, who earns a college degree at a Maine school, to take up to $1500 off their income taxes for loans taken out for an associate degree and $5500 for a bachelor’s. Opportunity Maine estimates the average tax credit, however, will be between $1,000 to $2,000. The credit caps were determined based on the cost of going to the University of Maine System or the Maine Community College System, but students attending private in-state colleges would be eligible.

Graduates must continue to live and work in Maine to get the credit.

While the state’s fiscal office has estimated the program will cost $62 million in lost income tax revenue by 2017, proponents say the higher wages earned and taxes paid by college graduates would offset that loss. They say the program should break even by 2015.

Majority Leader Rep. Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, a strong proponent of the tax credit, said the price tag is large, but the cost of doing nothing is even greater.

“If we don’t find a way to keep young people in Maine and paying taxes, we’re in trouble,” she said, referring to Maine’s status as the oldest state in the nation in terms of median age.

Pingree said the Legislature should keep tabs on the tax credit to make sure it’s working, but she doubted it would be amended dramatically.

“The Legislature, in passing this, made a commitment,” she said. “If we get 5000 people enrolled, it’s going to be hard to take away this credit.”

Pingree, in fact, would like to expand the program to Maine students who attend out-of-state colleges and come back to live and work in Maine.

Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Hancock, the assistant minority leader, was one of the eight Republican senators to vote against the bill. He thinks the law needs to be fine-tuned.

“Of course I support the goal of helping Maine students over the burden of their tuition debt and encouraging them to stay in Maine. I voted against the proposal because, as currently written, it was extremely broad and open-ended, and I thought it should have been more focused and affordable,” Rosen said.

“It will be the subject of amendment,” he added.

Members of Opportunity Maine know an amendment is possible since the Legislature can alter any law it passes, but on Monday they committed to making the program work.

“What we’re witnessing is the first in the nation,” said Justin Alfond, director of the Maine League of Young Voters. “An entire generation is now gong to see what this can do.”

Alfond said it was up to supporters to “keep pushing harder than ever to make sure this succeeds.”

(State House News Service)

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Taking Chances

by Justin Ellis

When it comes down to it, college is not for everyone. Some people would rather get right to making money, others see vocational schools as the best way to get bankable skills.

But with rising tuition costs and student loan rates, there are now also a group of people out there who see college as a goal, but can’t get there because of the money question.

Opportunity Maine won’t provide a gold-bricked path to college for everyone, but it will help.

The new law will provide tax credits (or "tax breaks" depending on how you feel about it) of up to $2,100 a year for students who continue to live and work in Maine following graduation.

Every one of the Opportunity Maine people I spoke to said they were almost caught off guard by the Legislature’s approval of the tax credit.

But as far as surprises go, this one was not so bad. Also, its possible this is a first-in-the-country type of program, so we’ll see if the “so goes Maine,” idea holds up.

Opportunity Maine’s organizers had been planning to take this one to the streets, just like every other citizen-initiated proposal over the last few years.

But they still plan to take their show on the road this fall to educate people about the new law and make people aware of how to take advantage of it. That means heading out to schools, talking with guidance councilors, principals, students and parents.

Speaking with Gov. John Baldacci last week, I was told that the tax credit is an important tool for keeping young people in the state.

As the governor sees it, addressing the cost and accessibility of higher education are just as important as dealing with rising property taxes. In the end, taking part in the program means joining the workforce as a young Mainer, which also means becoming another taxpayer, he said.

Baldacci said the program is not the ultimate solution, but it will help address at least some of the issues that young people face when deciding whether to stick it out here in Maine.

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'Opportunity' knocked and lawmakers opened the door

The Legislature was totally on board with the idea of tax credits to induce grads to stay in Maine.
by Justin Ellis

Andrew Bossie owes $27,500. Too bad irony does not pay bills.

For months the recent University of Southern Maine graduate has been working to see through a proposal that would give students tax credits for staying in Maine after graduation.

Two weeks ago the Opportunity Maine proposal was approved by the state Legislature and today is scheduled to be signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci. The initiative may be the first of its kind in the country.

Sadly, eligibility for the tax credit starts in January 2008, which means Bossie will be paying back his loans the old-fashioned way.

Still, he says, it helps knowing that others are going to get help with their loans.

"It's a step in the direction of making it more feasible and helping someone who wants to stay in Maine and wants to contribute to the state and not face major financial impediments along the way," he said.

As a law, the Opportunity Maine proposal would provide a tax credit to anyone who receives an associate degree or bachelor's degree in Maine and remains in the state to work following graduation.

Supporters of the citizen-initiated bill were expecting the proposal would be passed along to voters in a referendum this fall. But a funny thing happened.

On June 19 the House voted 142-0 in support of the bill; a day later the Senate voted 27-8.

It's only the sixth time in the almost 100 years that a citizen- initiated bill was approved without having to go to referendum.

"When the House vote came and it was unanimous we were kinda like, 'Whoa,' maybe we do have a chance," said Bossie.

Tony Giampetruzzi, spokesman for Opportunity Maine, said the next step will be educating the public about the new law and how to take advantage of it.

"We have not found anything that is as far-reaching in scope as this," he said. "We think it's a ground-breaking initiative and a model for other states."

The amount of the credit would be based on the amount of a loan payment, up to a maximum of $2,100 a year.

Graduates can take the credit, or their employer may take it on their behalf.

It's estimated the program will cost $160,000 in the first two years.

By building support for the program, they can to show the Legislature that it will be worthwhile to fund in the future, Giampetruzzi said.

Baldacci said he supports the Opportunity Maine tax credit because getting an education can make all the difference for individuals as well as the state.

"I believe in it, I know it's the key to opening up opportunities for people to realize their dreams," he said.

Baldacci said he understands that the cost of college has risen too high for many families and has become a barrier to higher education. "The reason a lot of kids aren't going on or not staying in Maine is because of the high debt that they have when they get out of school," he said.

Opportunity Maine's detractors have mentioned the potential price tag of the state providing tax credits to graduates. Baldacci said the tax credit means more workers, which means more people paying taxes.

Justin Alfond, state director of the League of Young Voters, attributed the success of Opportunity Maine to statewide petitioning and aggressive lobbying efforts at the capital.

"When we tested it, 73,000 Mainers jumped right in there with us and said we believe it's time that Maine looks toward an education policy that is for the long term, that looks towards economic development and workforce development," he said.

Alfond said the League and countless other volunteers were ready to head out, house-to-house, to supermarkets and salons, to canvass the state to raise support for the proposal had it gone to referendum. In the end, it wasn't necessary.

Alfond said more people recognize that an education is necessary to get ahead and that Maine's livelihood will depend on people going to school and entering the workforce.

For an aging state like Maine, this sends a message that the state values young people and wants to keep them around.

"It's exciting to see Maine doing this great policy work and investing in young people," Alfond said.

For Bossie, a kid who grew up in rural Maine whose parents' income was just below the state's average, the money piece makes all the difference in college. On top of loans, he had around $17,000 in scholarships as well as grants.

Bossie said there is still a lot more work to be done in addressing rising tuition and student-loan rates, as well as what else Maine can do to keep its young people here.

But Opportunity Maine can be a big first step, he said.

"It's an agreement with the state not to worry about repaying your loan," he said. "It's not a ball and chain, but (the tax credit) can be an added perk if you want to stay here."

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Holding On to Graduates - Inside Higher Ed

by Scott Jaschik

“Brain drain” is a perennial topic in legislatures, as lawmakers worry about whether their home state universities attract the best students and professors. This year, however, the discussion shifted a bit, with several states considering ambitious plans focused on what happens to students after they graduate and whether states could find ways to keep their graduates from flocking to New York City or Boston or the Silicon Valley like so many before them. While such plans have been common for specialized fields — health professionals in rural areas, for example — the plans being talked about this year were for all students and had much broader goals.

Indiana had the loudest debate about such a plan, which would have offered $20,000 in forgivable loans to top students who pledged to stay in the state after graduation — with repayment required if they left. The plan collapsed when some legislators objected to Gov. Mitch Daniels’s proposal to pay for it through franchising the state lottery to private entities — although Daniels, a Republican, is vowing to bring the idea back next year.

In Maine on Monday, Gov. John E. Baldacci, a Democrat, signed legislation to create a loan forgiveness program there — an idea that came largely from students who said they wanted to make it easier for those who would follow them to Maine colleges to stay in the state. Starting next year, Maine residents who graduate from college in the state will be eligible for 10 years of annual state tax credits of approximately $2,100 if they attended a four-year college and $1,000 if they attended a community college — provided that they needed the loans as part of a financial aid package. Graduates of private colleges are eligible as well.

The campaign for the tax credits came from student activists who in 2005 worked successfully to help defeat a state referendum that would have reversed a state law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. “A bunch of us who were working together said, ‘Hey if they can do the initiative process to try to do something terrible, why can’t we use it for something positive?’ ” said Andy Bossie, who was then a student at the University of Southern Maine, from which he graduated this year.

Bossie was on his way to wracking up $27,500 in student debt — not an astronomical sum, perhaps, for those attending elite private colleges, but a hefty amount for someone graduating in a state where salaries aren’t typically high. Talking with friends at Southern Maine and elsewhere, Bossie started to hear about more and more students who said that they loved Maine, but were looking for jobs out of state, feeling that the salaries in the state wouldn’t give them enough to live on and repay their loans.

About 50 percent of those awarded degrees each year in Maine leave the state (although the figure is inflated somewhat by some private colleges that attract students from national pools, who don’t necessarily have a predisposition to want to stay). The students decided to gather petitions to put a referendum on the ballot to create a tax credit and they created the group Opportunity Maine to do so.

“Too many graduates had been leaving the state even though they didn’t want to,” Bossie said.

This year, the students succeeded in gathering 73,000 signatures — well more than the 55,000 they needed. In Maine, when an item is declared eligible for the state ballot, the Legislature gets a shot at enacting the measure through the regular legislative process. While it is rare for the Legislature to do so, the campaign for the referendum attracted bipartisan support and the House and Senate sent the measure to the governor, whose signature Monday eliminated the need for a statewide vote on the measure.

Baldacci hailed the measure, saying it sent an important message to students: “If you live, work and pay taxes in Maine, you’re not going to have this student debt hanging around your neck.”

National experts on student aid and demographics have been dubious of the impact that tax credits like those in Maine can have. Generally, the criticism is that graduates look for cities with good jobs and — to a lesser extent — places they perceive as being exciting places for young people to live. In an opinion piece in Inside Higher Ed in January, Thurston Domina, of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University, outlined the difficulties brain drain states face in keeping their talent.

Some in Maine worry that the state may not get the transformation it is seeking with the tax credits. But many are hopeful and see evidence that the plan could make a difference.

Libby Heselton, a career counselor at Bowdoin College, said that as a Maine resident, she signed the petition to put the tax credits on the ballot and was excited to see the idea enacted into law. She said it’s hard to predict how much impact the tax credits will have with her students. But she said that many of them do say that “they’d love to stay in Maine, but sense that there’s more money elsewhere.” The extra help from the state might be enough to make Maine jobs more competitive, she said.

Cathy Marquez, assistant director of employer relations at the University of Maine, in Orono, said that she was concerned that some of the publicity about the campaign might send the wrong message about her graduates, 70 percent of whom stay in the state. She said that the greatest impact may be on students who aren’t on the business and engineering track, but who want to work for nonprofit groups or schools or social service agencies. The low salary base for many such jobs in Maine leads graduates to look to Massachusetts and Connecticut, even if they have strong ties to the state, Marquez said. “I think this could be a huge shot in the arm for those in human services,” she said.

And attracting more good schoolteachers and social workers may improve the state long term in ways that will attract more businesses, too, she said.

Bossie, the chief organizer of Opportunity Maine, said he realized that the availability of jobs and the choices of graduates are related. But he said that the tax credits will succeed in part because of other efforts going on to attract new businesses — and because there are jobs today that go unfilled because graduates leave the state.

A Caribou, Maine native, Bossie has accepted a job in Augusta with the Maine AIDS Alliance. Because the tax credits are not retroactive, they won’t help him — and he’s getting ready to start writing checks of about $250 a month.

But he said that students had accomplished something for those entering college now. And Bossie said he also has the benefit — through answering questions about student loans with examples from his own situation in interviews all over the state — of having “the best known student debt in Maine.”

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One Student Does the Incredible: Gets Law Passed for State to Pay Off College Debts - AlterNet

by Joshua Holland

Andrew Bossie found the staggering costs of tuition, books, and living expenses at college in Maine to be untenable. Working with fellow activists, his campaign eventually convinced the Legislature to offer a way out of debt.

When nonvoters are asked why they don't participate in politics, the most common answer they give is that they don't think they can have any impact. The system's gamed, they say, broken, and lawmakers are only concerned about the interests of their cronies.

Thankfully, Andrew Bossie, a young grass-roots organizer, never came to believe that ordinary people are powerless. In 2005, Bossie, then a student at the University of Southern Maine, looked around and noticed that a generation of young people was having real problems affording the kind of education that most people see as vital to having a shot at the American dream. "The skyrocketing costs of tuition, books and living expenses was taking its toll not only on me, but also on my siblings, friends and peers," Bossie wrote in an e-mail exchange. "It was not uncommon to see a college dorm vacated mid-semester because a tuition bill couldn't be paid, or to find a seat once occupied by an eager student empty, because they simply could not afford to continue."

To read the rest of this story click here

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Take our Money, Please

Student debt no longer hits as hard for Mainers.

By Julie Bero, Colby College

On July 2, 2007 Gov. John Baldacci of Maine (D) signed into law the Act to Allow a Tax Credit for College Loan Repayments. The law is commonly referred to as Opportunity Maine, which is also the name of the group that pushed the proposal. It provides a tax credit to reimburse educational loan payments for any Maine resident who earns an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in Maine and who lives, works, and pays taxes in Maine after earning that degree. Qualifying graduates will be reimbursed for up to $2,100 per year through tax credits.

The first law of its kind, Opportunity Maine is a “cutting edge, comprehensive program,” in the words of Tony Giampetruzzi, communications director of Opportunity Maine. In a state where brain drain is a major concern, the legislation is especially welcome. According to a report done by the School of Economics of the University of Maine, the state lags behind the New England average of earned bachelor’s degrees by 23 percent and the majority of students who attain a higher degree leave the state upon graduation.

The Opportunity Maine organization was created in reaction to campaigning against a referendum that would legalize discrimination based on sexuality. Andrew Bossie, former student body president of the University of Southern Maine was active in that campaign. He and his friends, who sacrificed their time and GPAs to defeat the bill, wished they could have spent that time building rather than merely maintaining basic rights in their state.

As students, the first idea that came to them had its basis in personal experience. It was not uncommon to find a seat empty that had once been occupied by an eager student because they simply could not afford to continue, according to Bossie.

“Some of us were working two or three jobs on top of our full-time class schedules just to make ends meet,” he told Campus Progress. Although standing outside during a Maine winter to collect signatures was demanding work, Bossie believes that it was worth the effort and encourages other young people to take action. “If there is something that you want to change, find those that also want to create change and just do it. Sure, it won’t be easy, but no serious change is.”

When word got out about Bossie’s idea, a coalition of some of the strongest progressive groups in Maine quickly formed to champion the law. The campaign received strategic guidance from The League of Young Voters, an organization that encourages young people to create positive change in their communities by becoming politically active. “Our whole generation is realizing we’re getting screwed,” said Billy Wimsatt, Executive Director of the organization. “We’re getting left with the bill, the debt, and the melting ice caps. And we’re not taking it. We’re seizing the moment and saying: ‘Hey, this is our future! We’re in the driver’s seat!’” The movement is already picking up steam: the university system of West Virginia has already contacted Opportunity Maine for guidance on how to create a similar law.

Many involved with the campaign hope that the law will become popular at a national level. Student debt has become a problem for the majority of students as many colleges increase tuition faster than the inflation rate every year. The campaign noted that perhaps representatives do not understand the high price of tuition because it has increased so dramatically over the past 20 years. “The federal government, and generations who went to school before ours, need to realize that gone are the halcyon days when a summer job and part-time work could pay for a year at school,” said Brian Hiatt, The Portland League’s communication director.

The campaign was entirely dependent on its volunteers, who collected more than 73,000 signatures. There was an especially pointed campaign on election day, during which the majority of signatures were collected. Many of the volunteers spoke of their excitement about Opportunity Maine and said that they felt they had really made difference in their state. One gatherer of signatures, 2007 Colby College graduate Jack Drury, said of the experience: “As a member of a progressive youth-led campaign, it was refreshing to see such overwhelming support from the community at large. The progressive movement is gasping for effective ways to improve the world, and Opportunity Maine is that breath of fresh air.”

The bill was passed unanimously by the Maine House and with an overwhelming majority by the Senate, signifying that this law is important not only to young people, but to voters of all ages. At the bill’s hearing, State Rep. Walter Wheeler compared Opportunity Maine to the chances awarded to him by the G.I. Bill. “It made my career, my family, and my future possible,” said the Navy veteran, as quoted in The Portland Press Herald. “Now it’s a new generation’s turn.”

Julie Bero is an American studies major at Colby College. She collected signatures for Opportunity Maine. She is a native of Brooklyn, NY.

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Maine Lawmakers Pass Innovative Student Debt Relief Solution - News Blaze

The League of Young Voters is proud to announce a major legislative win for its Maine affiliate and the Opportunity Maine PAC, of which the League is a founding partner. Maine's Legislature passed a groundbreaking solution to the problem of student debt - that is vexing every state in the nation - by approving the Opportunity Maine initiative today.

With the passage of Opportunity Maine, any person who graduates from a Maine college or university - and then lives and works in Maine thereafter - is eligible for a tax credit to assist paying back their student loans.

"This is an exciting day for all of us who have worked to make college more affordable, create job opportunities, and grow Maine's economy," according to Andrew Bossie, President of Opportunity Maine. "Today's passage of Opportunity Maine is a testament to the thousands of volunteer hours spent collecting signatures and lobbying lawmakers. We now face a new and exciting challenge: to educate Mainers about this wonderful new opportunity to make their education more affordable and their futures much brighter."

Opportunity Maine will also help workers who have lost their jobs and need re-education for Maine's rapidly shifting industrial and employment climate. Moreover, businesses will also have the option of claiming the tax credit for employees they hire that are themselves eligible for the tax credit.

Opportunity Maine launched its signature gathering campaign in late September 2006 with an ambitious goal. A grassroots network of student and community volunteers collected over 70,000 signatures - more than enough to put the question on the November 2007 ballot if it came to that. In Maine, the Legislature has the opportunity to pass outright any citizens initiative before sending it to the voters. This has happened only five times before today when Maine's elected leaders thought the Opportunity Maine solution was so needed that they did just that with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Maine House passed the initiative unanimously, 142-0, and the Senate passed it 27-8.

"Young people, community leaders, and our elected officials have spoken decisively! Together we have put Maine on a long-term path toward economic and workforce development," says Justin Alfond, the League of Young Voters Maine State Director and Opportunity Maine Steering Committee Member. "The League and Opportunity Maine are eager to get the Opportunity program in front of every high school student and guidance counselor, current college student, worker's center and teacher's association statewide."

Currently, Maine has 30% fewer degree holders than the rest of New England. Maine's average income also lags 30% behind the rest of New England. At the same time, the burden of student debt has skyrocketed in recent years, leading either to crippling life-long debt, or a real - or perceived - inability to pursue higher education.

Opportunity Maine was formed to reverse those trends. The initiative was endorsed by labor and business councils, organizations, and leaders across the state as well as the University of Maine System.

"Opportunity Maine is a historic victory and a breath of fresh air for young people everywhere," says Billy Wimsatt, Executive Director of the League of Young Voters. "It's a quadruple play: it makes college affordable, addresses brain drain, pays for itself so the business community and labor are both on board and it ultimately brings money into the state of Maine. For students, families and jobs, this is an incredible groundbreaking model that can be replicated in other states. With record high costs for pursuing a higher education, Opportunity Maine is the biggest victory to relieve student debt this generation has seen."

Opportunity Maine and the League of Young Voters will announce a formal press conference and signing ceremony in the coming days.

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Credits give graduates incentive to stay here - Lewiston Sun Journal

Program would be a win-win situation for students and state

Rep. L. Gary Knight, R-Livermore, is a first-term legislator serving Leeds, Livermore, Livermore Falls and Wayne.

What's left to do in this legislative session?

The answer is considering a citizen initiative that will advance the future of Maine: "Opportunity Maine." This initiative deserves support from everyone who wants to help young college graduates find rewarding jobs and raise their families in Maine. It deserves support from everyone who wants to help displaced workers, single parents, and others get training to start new careers.

Opportunity Maine allows Maine college graduates who agrees to live and work in Maine to earn a tax credit to help pay their student loans. College has become expensive, but in today's global economy, it is a worthy expense.

There is no more valuable resource than young people. Unfortunately, upon finishing a degree, most students are heavily indebted. To make ends meet, too many leave Maine for proverbial greener pastures. Worse still, too many young people, displaced workers, and parents never pursue degrees to begin with.

Maine leads in graduating students from high school. Fifty-seven percent of high school graduates pursue higher education, with 69 percent meeting their objective. Thirty-one percent stop after earning a two-year diploma, while 69 percent complete four-year degrees. Every individual who fails to obtain a degree is a lost opportunity for Maine's economy, but there is yet another round of attrition for those who do earn their degrees.

More than half of Maine's graduates leave the state (though some do return later). In the interim, Maine faces the new economy with 23 percent fewer degree-holders than other New England states. It is no coincidence our incomes are 25 percent lower than New England as a whole.

Studies proves the importance of a college degree. Data suggests an associate degree means an additional $10,000, and $16,666 for a bachelor degree, beyond a high school graduate's earning power.

Students now graduate with an average debt of over $21,600, and inflation is going to increase that number. We need to be proactive in protecting and advancing this valuable commodity - our college graduates. Providing a modest tax credit is expected to do wonders for attracting these students.

So, how much will it cost?

According to the Maine Revenue Services, the first year of the program carries no cost, and the second year a small cost of less than $150,000. Credit for each student would be capped at $1,532 for associate degrees, and $5,532 for bachelor degrees, but average credits claimed would be far below those amounts.

Return on the credits is projected to pay for itself by 2015, and will trigger revenue growth in the economy. Opportunity Maine, who launched the initiative, projects the costs of the tax credits will grow from about $1 million in 2009 to $55.8 milllion in 10 years. Offsetting this is projected growth in tax revenue from the graduates' income from $875,000 to $74.8 million by 2018.

This is a win-win, for our students and our state.

There are downsides. This is not a perfect legislative solution, and suffers from parochialism. The state would be better served making the same offer to Maine students who obtain degrees from outside the state, who then return to Maine for employment and raise their families here.

We need to take this step first, however, and offer this incentive to those who stay and earn their degrees here in Maine. Once we establish the clear advantages, we can perhaps take the next step.

The Taxation Committee, by a 12-1 vote, sent this initiative to the full Legislature for debate and, hopefully, enactment. It is perhaps, some say, the most significant initiative to come out of Taxation in this session.

Please encourage your legislator to support this important initiative.

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Grads are raw material for the new economy

Lewiston Sun Journal editorial

Traps are useless without lobsters. Paper mills are useless without trees. Innovative economies are useless without youthful, energetic workers to propel them.

Unlike Maine's natural resource-based industries, the ballyhooed "creative economy" depends on cultivated raw material: educated workers. College graduates don't occur naturally, like pines or crustaceans, but are reaped through educational availability, investments and incentives.

Lack of educated workers is cited, over and over, as Maine's economic tripwire. The Legislature, to its credit, showed vision last week when the Taxation Committee enthusiastically supported creating tax credits of up to $2,100 for graduates of Maine colleges who elect to stay, and work, in the state.

It's a sensible, forward-thinking policy that simply cannot hurt to try.

The legislation arose from a ballot initiative called Opportunity Maine, which collected more than 70,000 signatures for the proposal to appear on the November ballot. If the legislative effort fails, this is where this laudable idea will appear later this year.

Tax credits, essentially, fund potential growth, with the hope that today's government support will lead to tomorrow's fiscal reward. College graduates are a smart bull's-eye at which to aim such public investment.

There is no guarantee this credit, however, will change Maine's economic landscape, or kick-start the creative economy so touted by politicians and business interests. The tax credit, however, shouldn't be viewed as a guarantee of finite results. It's investment in raw material, pulp for the new economy.

Most important, this tax credit invests in an overlooked resource: people. This isn't about quality places or other trendy entities that are hopeful magnets for future dollars. As much potential likely exists in tempting college graduates to stay in Maine as feeding funds into emaciated downtowns.

Excitement over the tax credit was revealed through the committee's support, and comments from representatives such as Rep. L. Gary Knight, R-Livermore, who spoke of broadening the idea to include graduates interested in repatriation to Maine.

The credit needs time to work first. Broadening it, either for expatriates or perhaps retroactive application, would carry costs. As constituted, the credit lures graduates to stay where they might not, a simple proposal for a complicated problem, and one that should remain this way, for now.

We urge the Legislature to enact the tax credit as a signal to graduates they are welcome, and urged, to stay. Maine's new economy needs them to thrive.

First, though, Maine needs them to stay here.

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Panel backs bill to keep grads in state - Portland Press Herald

State House: The measure would give tax breaks on college loans to those who work in Maine.

by Ann Kim

AUGUSTA — A legislative committee gave a boost on Thursday to an effort to provide tax relief to Maine college students who work in the state after graduation.

The initiative, which would give graduates of Maine colleges an income tax credit for some or all of their student loan payments, already has enough petition signatures to be put to voters statewide.

But supporters of the plan went to the State House to urge lawmakers to enact the measure directly, and the Taxation Committee listened.

The 11 members present voted that the bill should be sent to the full Legislature for consideration.

Rob Brown, executive director of Opportunity Maine, the group that began the petition drive last year, called the committee vote a crucial step in a long process.

"I think it shows the power of people, and people speaking up," Brown said.

The petition organizers submitted more than 73,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. On Thursday, more than 40 people packed the Taxation Committee's hearing room and all but a handful stood up when asked who was there to support the bill.

Under the proposal, anyone who earns an associate's degree or bachelor's degree from a college in Maine would be eligible for the tax credit in years the person lives and works in the state.

The credit would be limited to the amount actually paid toward loans, up to a maximum that would be calculated based on the costs of tuition and mandatory fees in the University of Maine System.

The limit based on current costs would be about $2,100 a year.

Any employer who makes the loan payments on behalf of a graduate could claim the credit.

Supporters of the proposal say it will encourage more people to pursue higher education, create a more skilled work force and help the state's economy.

All kinds of students -- young, old, traditional and those seeking to train for new jobs -- are burdened with heavy debt, said Andrew Bossie, president of Opportunity Maine and a recent graduate of the University of Southern Maine. He said many face the same difficult question.

"Will I be able to stay in Maine where I prefer to live and seek a decent living or do I go somewhere else where the wages are higher?" he said.

Anya Kamenetz, the author of "Generation Debt," told the committee that it is no longer possible for a student's full-time minimum-wage summer job to cover the next school year's expenses, as it was as recently as the 1980s.

The average student debt in Maine is $20,237 -- the seventh highest in the country, she said.

Rep. Herb Adams, D-Portland, urged the committee to support the initiative, which he called the GI bill for Generation Next.

Adams sponsored a fallback version of the bill that could have gone through the usual legislative process if the petition drive had not gathered enough signatures.

The enthusiasm of some committee members was clear, although there were some concerns raised about issues including the difficulty of recapturing wrongly claimed tax credit money.

Rep. L. Gary Knight, R-Livermore Falls, called the proposal a "terrific initiative" but said he would like to see a broader program that includes Mainers who attend school out of state and want to return.

Independent Rep. Richard Woodbury of Yarmouth predicted that the measure would succeed at the polls if it did not make it through the Legislature.

"It'll pass because it's a really great idea," he said.

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A proposal to give credit where credit is due - Portland Press Herald

by Justin Ellis

Remember that sweet moment just before college graduation, the one where you realize there's a payoff for all those years of work? The payoff is a regular paycheck -- a healthy one, nothing like the part-time allowance you pulled down while in school.

That joy and warm hug of bliss were fleeting because soon after that, you realized how much money you owed. Your parents, friends, school, bank and federal government were looking for their cash.

The Opportunity Maine initiative proposes to help out college students who stick around Maine after they graduate by providing a tax credit for college loan repayments. The amount of the tax credit would be capped at the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for a bachelor's degree in the University of Maine System.

That works out to about a $2,100 a year tax credit at present prices. If you went to a private college in Maine, your tuition and fees would be a lot higher, but you'd only get up to the UMaine System cap.

But the group that launched the campaign must wait as the Legislature decides whether to green-light the proposal or pass it on for people around the state to vote on in November.

If it's going to become a reality, sponsors will need to explain how getting a college degree got so expensive and how exactly the tax credit would help out everyone else in the state, not just graduates.

Though the last statewide education referendum failed -- a request to borrow $9 million to fix up buildings and make improvements on state college campuses -- organizers with Opportunity Maine say they are optimistic.

"A lot of people know someone who is going to college," said Andrew Bossie, a senior at the University of Southern Maine and president of Opportunity Maine. "You don't have to be a college student, you can be a parent, you can be a grandparent, you could be a friend, to know someone who is going on to college and know that struggle to make tuition payments."

Bossie and others figure that's a lot of people, and if they reach out to enough of them, Opportunity Maine's plan would become law.

Last Monday, the group received word from the state that they had collected enough signatures to get the proposal on the state ballot in November. Here's how it would work: You (Maine resident) get a bachelor's or associate's degree at a school in Maine.

If you stay in the state and get a job after graduation, you get a tax credit to help make student loan payments. If so inclined, your company could pick up the cost of your loans and take the tax credit.

Aaron Pavao, a sophomore at Southern Maine Community College, said this campaign reaches out to everyone -- the students who are grinding away in college now, the people who are considering college, parents who have to pay and people who want to go back and get their degrees.

"To think that this kind of opportunity could benefit those people who haven't gone back to school yet, who are still just pounding away at $8-, $9-, $10-an-hour jobs just to support themselves and make a living off of what you make without having a college degree," he said.

Anna Korsen, a senior at USM working on the Opportunity Maine campaign, said the state's economy is not very promising to young people.

"There's this cycle, where people can't afford to go to college, then they can't afford to stay in Maine to work if they did go to college," she said. "Then there's no jobs here because there's no one who has an education to fill that job. It just goes around and around."

In that sense, with your debt just sitting and waiting, graduating seems like running head first into a wall of bricks. At least this way there would be an incentive, Korsen said.

Tony Giampetruzzi, communications director for Opportunity Maine, said there is a generational disconnect between students and recent graduates and people who have been out of college for a decade or more. The actual cost of going to college for students and their families -- with rising tuition, fees and textbook prices -- can be hard to understand, he said.

Giampetruzzi said Opportunity Maine would help the economy directly and indirectly. Graduates have an incentive to stay in state and businesses are encouraged to hire grads, or relocate here and grow where there is a highly educated workforce, he said.

Pavao said a little incentive will make all the difference in people's lives, especially when just getting by seems like a struggle.

"Each year the tuition goes up, it just gets a little more daunting to look at your paycheck at the end of the week and then look at how much it cost for each credit -- never mind a class -- and go, 'How the heck am I going to be able to work towards that,"' Pavao said.

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Maine's golden opportunity - Bangor Daily News

Rob Brown is the Executive Director of Opportunity Maine. He lives in Stockton Springs.

I urge all Mainers to look for and sign the petitions to place the Opportunity Maine initiative on the ballot, and I thank the Bangor Daily News and columnist and political economist John Buell for their recent commentaries encouraging the same.

This initiative will make higher education more affordable for all Mainers, keep our degree earners in the state after they graduate and cultivate the skilled work force we need for strong economic growth.

At one time, a high school diploma and our Yankee work ethic was the ticket to a secure, middle-class life in Maine. This is no longer the case, however. In today’s economy, most people need a post-high school degree to ensure a life of economic opportunity and security.

For a number of reasons, Maine is falling behind the rest of New England in this respect. Good jobs in manufacturing and natural-resource based industries are steadily leaving Maine, leaving behind broad and deep pockets of unemployment and poverty. According to the new report "Charting Maine’s Future" by the Brookings Institution, Maine’s population growth in recent years has accelerated faster than any other state, but many young people, including roughly half of our recent college graduates, are leaving out of economic necessity. Maine has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country, yet our workers are 30 percent less likely to have post-high school degrees than workers in New England as a whole, and our average income is 30 percent below the New England average.

A generation ago, student debt was minimal or nonexistent. Today, the average graduate in Maine is starting off, or starting again, with $25,000 in debt, a mortgage on their future that has perverse effects on life and career choices. Rising education costs have dramatically outpaced inflation and, with mounting student debt and continued cuts in federal support, have effectively become a regressive tax for many.

Lack of educational opportunity and the resulting drag on economic growth is throttling Maine’s economy and we are all paying the price. The best way to break this cycle is through education- a proven and effective driver of job, wage and economic growth.

This is why Opportunity Maine, a group of student and community leaders from around the state, has launched a campaign to expand educational opportunity and create higher paying jobs throughout Maine. We are recruiting volunteers to collect signatures this fall, particularly at the polls on Election Day, for a referendum next year.

Our plan will allow any Maine resident who earns an associate’s or bachelor’s degree here to claim an income tax credit to help pay down their student debt, so long as they continue to live and work in Maine after graduation. This tax credit would also be available to Maine businesses that make their employees’ educational loan payments, allowing a substantial benefit to current and future workers and providing a strong incentive for the development and attraction of new businesses.

Only graduates who live and work in Maine can claim this benefit. It will provide a boost to all those who want to further their education- from young people to laid-off workers seeking new training to adults pursuing higher-paying careers. This type of citizen-centered economic development will sustain our growing manufacturing and information design and service sectors, and provide further support for Maine’s burgeoning creative economy.

Businesspeople, economists and academics agree that the education level of a work force is one of the top considerations for businesses deciding where to locate. Bill Gates has said that if public officials want to bring the jobs of the 21st century to their state, the number one thing they need to do is invest in education. In an interview with The New York Times, Dr. John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Community College System, identified more than 4,200 good jobs recently that either went unfilled or were filled with out-of-state recruits because Maine could not provide enough workers with the needed skills.

Education is one of the most equitable public investments we can make and it pays the most dividends, since the average bachelor’s degree holder in Maine earns nearly $15,000 more than those with only a high school diploma, and associate’s degree holders earn nearly $9,000 more. Because of this, even by conservative estimates, this initiative will create a net gain in tax revenues of roughly $30 million a year within a decade, because of increased incomes and positive economic ripple effects.

Many lawmakers and civic, education, business and labor leaders are enthusiastically supporting the Opportunity Maine Campaign. Perhaps more important is that we have energized young people in Maine to become engaged in the effort, belying their usual characterization as apathetic and disengaged. They have been moved to action because they understand the difficulty of the problem, despite the fact that this initiative will not benefit them directly, as it is not retroactive.

The Opportunity Maine Campaign will benefit all Maine families by raising wages and giving our children the choice to stay in their home state after they graduate. And all Maine taxpayers will benefit from improving the economy of the great state of Maine.

Opportunity Maine believes that opening the doors of educational and economic opportunity for Maine people is a process that needs to begin now. If you agree with us and can spend a few hours making this vision a reality, please contact us at www.opportunitymaine.org or 567-3074.

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