Without innovation, can an economy thrive?
This is the fundamental question for Maine voters as they consider bond proposals on the Nov. 4 ballot. The answer to that question is clear to us as well as the overwhelming majority of our legislative colleagues who approved these targeted and timely proposals earlier this year.
Leading economists, including Nobel laureate Robert Solow, tell us that innovation accounts for 80 percent of economic growth. Sustained over time, that economic growth translates into increased prosperity for all us.
That’s why a long-term innovation investment plan is crucial to Maine. But while Maine has developed such a plan, we continue to lag in research and development investment. And our position has been slipping.
We ranked 41st in the nation in 2011, according to the Maine Development Foundation. Our total R&D investment is only about 1 percent of our gross domestic product, rather than the 3 percent recommended by MDF. To put it in perspective, Maine invests at only a third of the national rate and not even one quarter of the rate for New England as a whole.
This has profound implications for Maine’s ability to compete in a 21st-century economy, particularly because nearly all other states and countries are making these investments. Without sound investments in R&D, our businesses, our workforce and our youth will be at a distinct disadvantage.
Five of the six bond questions on the ballot were developed by the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future. We were proud to be part of this exceptional panel whose work represents the best of bipartisan cooperation at the State House.
We came together with a common goal, listened and learned together, and we crafted our bond proposals using the best and most impactful ideas. We did so with the aim of leveraging matching funds, maximizing sustainable growth of well-paying jobs and making the most of our competitive advantages, both in knowledge-based fields and traditional industries.
— Question 3 would invest $12 million in existing financing programs administered by the Finance Authority of Maine that have a track record of unleashing the job creation potential of promising Maine businesses.
— Questions 4 and 5 would invest in research into crucial areas of human health. Question 4 would invest $10 million for a new cancer treatment and research center while Question 5 would invest $3 million toward a new biotechnology training lab and the expansion of a drug discovery and development center focused in tissue repair. Each of these investments would be more than doubled by private matches.
— Questions 2 and 7 are the Maine food basket proposals to help farmers, foresters and fisherman. Question 2 would invest $8 million in a University of Maine Cooperative Extension lab that identifies and works to control pests and plant diseases. Question 7 would boost the marine economy by investing $7 million toward fishing, aquaculture, seafood processing and market development.
We, like the BDN, also recognize the pivotal role of the Maine Technology Institute, an industry-led, publicly funded group, in Maine’s innovation economy. MTI and its Maine Technology Asset Fund are, without a doubt, one of the best ways Maine can supercharge our innovation economy.
Unfortunately, MTAF was again a missed opportunity this year. At the governor’s direction, MTI’s then-president testified before our committee that his organization did not want or need an infusion of funds. This was despite a 2006 plan that recommended an annual $50 million bond investment in MTI and the fact that the last investment in MTAF came through a bond question approved by voters in 2009. In 2012, the governor vetoed a bipartisan, $20 million R&D bond proposal.
The testimony of MTI’s president on behalf of the governor made some legislators feel unable to support MTI’s MTAF program this year — support that was necessary for the two-thirds approval required for all bond proposals. We both sincerely hope MTAF is recapitalized by the next Legislature and governor, and equally important, that MTI’s industry-led nature is respected by future administrations as it works to help businesses bring new products and services to market through early-stage capitalization and commercialization assistance.
In the meantime, the five bond proposals developed by our committee, along with Question 6, the $10 million clean water bond developed outside our panel, offer real hope for the future of Maine’s economy. These are significant investments that will do much to boost job creation, bring investment into our state and move our long-term innovation economy plan forward.
Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, is the House majority leader and the House chair of the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future. Rep. Joyce Maker, R-Calais, is the lead House Republican on the committee and a former member and chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Finance Authority of Maine.