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There’s good
news.
And bad news, of
course.
The good news?
Over the last 50 years,
Maine has made
significant strides in how it serves its
residents.
The bad news:
There is much more that must be done. And
without a revolutionary mindset, the state could
fall a generation behind the rest of the nation
economically, ecologically and as a community.
That’s the
overview of “Changing Maine, 1960-2010,” a
detailed look at Maine’s public policy over the
last 50 years, with thoughts on what needs to
happen for the state to become more viable.
Fifteen years
ago, the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public
Service held a series of lectures titled
“Changing Maine.”
Richard
Barringer, a research professor of public policy
and management at the University of
Southern Maine, organized and
hosted the original series, which evaluated the
state’s various sectors. Its conclusions were
published and also aired on Maine Public
Broadcasting.
“The first
‘Changing Maine’ was prompted by a shared belief
among its contributors that the Maine we knew
and loved was at a crossroads and under assault
from a variety of forces — demographic, economic
and technological — and that caring and
deliberate choices might turn these forces
better to Maine people’s advantage,” Barringer
wrote in his preface.
Recently,
Barringer was asked by the Muskie
School to revisit the data, which he did through another series of lectures
last fall and winter.
“I was
approached once again to assess where Maine has
come in this new century, how we arrived here,
and where we are going as a community of
people,” Barringer wrote.
For anyone
interested in public policy, the collection of
essays is an invaluable resource, replete with
trends and statistics. It is humbling at best,
because what it shows the state’s myriad
vulnerabilities. (No doubt, it should be on
every legislator’s desk in Augusta.)
What makes the
collection formidable is the simple fact that
it’s not written by a third party. Each essay is
written by leading policy experts from Maine.
And they not only offer criticism, they offer
important policy alternatives and prospects for
the decade ahead.
A few of the
subjects the experts examine include: fisheries,
arts and culture, women’s roles, tourism, land
use, education, poverty, government, demography,
housing, civic culture, forest industry, health
care, Native American culture, and the economy.
Each section
includes its own summary that breaks down
history, doles out praise, but then poses tough
questions about a specific policy’s outlook.
In an engaging,
readable style, the essayists aspire to
challenge conventional thinking, offer a new
understanding of Maine and its place in the
world.
The collection
is broken down into four parts: an introduction
(written by Barringer) that serves as an
overview or executive summary; and three
sections titled “Toward Greater Economic
Viability” “Toward Greater Community Vitality”
and “Toward Greater Ecological Integrity.”
The book also
includes illustrations by Jon Luoma of Alna.
“The authors of
this book share the conviction that ideas make a
difference; that there is nothing so powerful as
an idea whose time has come; and that in a
democracy, dialogue and discourse are the best
means we have of testing its truth and
durability,” Barringer wrote.
Then, this
warning: “If we do not get it right, we may
surely anticipate the relentless march of the
larger, homogenizing American culture across the
Maine landscape, the continuing departure of our
young, the decline of our rural communities, and
the erosion of our natural heritage.”
But, Barringer
states, “the challenge is nothing less than to
reinvent ourselves in this new era — not our
values, which may abide, but the outward forms
and structures that give expression to them in
our everyday lives.
“The final and
ultimate question, then, is ‘How do we recreate
ourselves in order to assure the preservation of
what we cherish most?’ The choice, as we begin
this new era, is ours to make. It is a daunting
and exciting prospect.”
The authors
answer that question in a host of ways.
Barringer sums up the “what next?” He maintains
it includes:
• A
decentralized and responsive state government.
• More effective
and efficient local government.
• An economy
built upon high standards of quality and
high–end products and services.
• New, compact
villages in which to raise our children and
renew community life.
• A new stream
of leaders from the nonprofit sector to fill the
void left by our changed corporate structure.
• A community
college system that eases the passage of every
high school graduate and adult learner to the
world of opportunity and responsibility.
• High-speed
rail connections and efficient, multi-modal
transit systems to move goods and people
statewide.
• A thriving
arts and culture sector that drives the
revitalization of downtowns.
• And a natural
environment that remains accessible to all.
In its haste to
get the book out (probably before the November
election cycle), Tilbury House allowed in a few
typos (including one on the first page), as well
as some gratuitous political chest-thumping that
revealed a couple of party affiliations.
All in all, the
collection serves as a valuable history and
civics lesson — a detailed state of the state
address that educates and alarms.
By design,
“Changing Maine” should raise the level of
debate in the Legislature and in town halls
around Maine. At a minimum, it ought to give us
a few things to think about.
If there’s a
legacy to be had in the face of a polarized
political system governing an apathetic public,
“Changing Maine” is a good one.
Not bad for a
$20 education. |
