Maine's Small Business Owners Endorse Prosperity Budget to Support State Economy

Today the Maine Small Business Coalition (MSBC) endorsed the Maine Center for Economic Policy's Prosperity Budget, an action plan for shared growth and opportunity.

The Prosperity Budget is a blueprint for investments in families, communities and the economy that will put Maine on an upward trajectory for years to come. Its proposals promote good schools, good jobs, health care, infrastructure - all of which support small business' ability to thrive.

"An educated, healthy workforce is necessary for Maine's small businesses to grow. Safe and modern infrastructure, from roads to broadband, are needed for small businesses to connect with customers and workers," said MSBC Director Adam Zuckerman. "For too long, these investments have lagged behind our members' needs. The Prosperity Budget lays out a blueprint to get back on track. We're proud to endorse it, and will advocate for its vision of shared growth and opportunity as policymakers in Augusta get to work on the next budget."

The Prosperity Budget contains several provisions critical to Maine’s small business community, including:
• Support for Maine's economy by fully funding our public schools for the first time ever, boosting college affordability by increasing the State of Maine Grant, and making additional investments in adult education;

• Promoting a healthy, productive workforce by fully funding Medicaid and expanding access to proven, effective solutions for the opioid crisis that will help Mainers into recovery;

• Full funding for local services such as clean water, snow removal and public safety, and critical new investments in infrastructure such as roads, bridges and reliable, high-speed Internet access; and

• Progressive tax reform to stabilize state revenue for the future by ensuring those who benefit the most from the economy are not contributing the least toward the public investments that sustain shared prosperity.

"This Budget makes critical investments in rural Maine that will strengthen and support small businesses," said McGinley Jones, co-owner of Lubec Brewing Company in Lubec, Maine. "It addresses the long ignored needs of employers for skilled workers and safe roads for staff and safe transport of goods to the marketplace. And the desperate need for statewide broadband to enable rural areas to maintain as well as recruit young families to our communities."

The Maine Small Business Coalition has over 3,000 members and advocates for responsible economic development, healthy businesses, and investment in community.

There are nearly 150,000 small business owners in Maine and they employ 57% of all Maine workers. While small-business owners have long been used to advocate for policies that hurt low- and moderate-income Mainers — many of whom are small business owners—most small business owners benefit from more progressive revenue generation. In 2016 the median income for a small business owner with an incorporated firm was $41,921. For small business owners of unincorporated firms, median income was just over half of that: $21,733.