The Political Industry had a great victory the other night. Gobs and gobs of cash flowed in to the state to pass Question 1, and going forward, formerly low key, low cost local elections will become their next cash cow. They have managed to pump up the cash for the coffers of the ailing mainstream media. Costs for advertising in the formerly low cost Maine media will skyrocket with the new infusion of Maine Clean Election Act (MCEA) funds, with Maine taxpayers footing the bill. Perhaps we should just pass a law to provide generous subsidies to the local media,…
Author: Barry Stephens
Barry Stephens
Barry Stephens, as the Business Development Director at Zehnder America, Inc, is immersed in the energy efficiency building industry across North America. He lectures and teaches at energy efficiency conferences in the US and Canada, and is involved with many high profile energy efficient buildings projects. He built his own super efficient home in Buxton.
Last week , after over forty years in business, A Maine institution closed in Manchester, Maine. Ballard Meats and Seafood was a locally owned family business that epitomized small businesses in Maine. And now it is closed. For the first time in US history, there are more businesses closing than are being started in America. There is no expectation that that trend will change unless the climate for starting and running a business changes. Running a business in the climate we are in today is much like being the target in a game of whack-a-mole. Except that the game is…
There was a time when serving in State and Federal office was considered service. Service to one’s town. Service to one’s state. Service to one’s country. It would appear that that era is dead. I would surmise that a vast majority of Americans today would consider running for office an opportunity to enhance one’s fortunes. But do they? With the rise of Trump, it appears that a good number of Americans think that maybe that’s not always so. Perhaps there is hope. Trump appears to be a throwback to the days of our founding, when our elected officials truly served.…
If you look up “policy” in the dictionary, you will get several options: “A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes.” And that’s where US energy policy comes off the rails. We are not achieving rational outcomes, and we do not have a deliberate system of principles. Energy policy has been distorted and twisted by too many special interests, and too many political agendas that have confused the conversation. The biggest hurdle to achieving good outcomes is a complete lack of consensus on what US energy policy should be trying to achieve. There…