OTTEN JOBS PLAN

A bold plan to create economic growth

and fix Maine’s economy.

• Overhaul Maine’s Tax System to Stimulate Business Growth

• Reform Welfare
• Lower Health Insurance Costs
• Cut Government Spending & Eliminate Regulatory Barriers
• Energy Independence
• Educate & Train Our Kids for the Jobs of Tomorrow
 “Jobs are essential to sustaining and growing our economy and communities in Maine.

When I took over Sunday River we had four full–time employees. We put Maine on the map for winter recreation-
al tourism. We created over 1,200 direct jobs as well as residual jobs from the businesses that sprouted up as
Sunday River grew and the tourism economy expanded on the Route 26 corridor from Gray to the Oxford Hills.
In the process, we transformed the western Maine economy.

I’ve spent the last 38 years creating jobs and opportunities in Maine and I know how hard it is for businesses to
survive with high taxes; energy costs out of our control; uncompetitive insurance laws; a deteriorating education
system; excessive regulations; and a government that gets in the way instead of paving the way for the success of
its citizens.

Let us not forget for one minute how strong Maine is and how resilient we are as a people. We built the nation’s
first totally privately funded turnpike north to south and we can do it in a privately funded effort east to west. We
were the first place that steel ships were built in America and we can grow our ship building industry back.

We have the best slow–growing soft wood in the world and we barely scratched the surface of its 21st century
uses. We can heat our homes from the forests; make our plastics from the oceans; raise and sell vegetables to the
world; and regain our title as the number one potato producer in America. We can become energy independent.
We can teach our children to be ready for the jobs of the future and we can attract small and large companies to
Maine with the best recreation and outdoor environment in America.

We have all the key ingredients necessary to rebuild our economy. We need to adopt a bold vision and elect a
strong leader. This is my vision. I am that leader.” – Les

My top priority as governor will be creating private sector jobs. The OTTEN JOBS PLAN contains
six bold moves to generate the business environment that will make Maine competitive again.
1. Overhaul Maine’s Tax System to Stimulate Business ple hold on to their assets. Money that could become part of the invest-
Growth ment pool for keeping capital modern and productive is locked in,
Maine’s high–taxes approach isn’t working. It is killing our jobs. High stalling our entrepreneurial efforts.
taxes don’t attract jobs and high taxes don’t create opportunity. As
governor, I pledge to oppose any tax increases on the working peo- Maine’s capital gains taxes drive investment away to states with low
ple and businesses of this state. or no capital gains taxes.

Mainers have one of the highest tax burdens in the country. Maine
ranks 1st in the United States with the highest combined tax burden
from capital gains and estate taxes. We’ve doubled state spending in
the last 15 years and have made no progress in raising the incomes
of Maine people. We cannot afford the size of the government we tax
for and we cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity.
Our tax policies must be overhauled and targeted to encourage invest-
ment in the state’s businesses and attract the capital and talent that
Maine needs to create jobs and the economy of the 21st century.
If Maine reduces and eliminates its capital gains tax over time, it will
free locked in capital and create jobs and opportunities throughout
the state.
Estate Tax
Maine is one of a rapidly decreasing number of states that continues
to have an estate tax.
The older the household, the more likely they are to face a choice: liq-
uidate and expatriate, or stay and pay.

We need to ratchet down our income, capital gains and inheritance Maine provides a very strong incentive for households to move assets
taxes while scaling back the size of state government so that we don’t away before they die. This capital flight takes large private businesses
force an increase in our property taxes. out of Maine and it lowers the pool of investable funds in Maine.

Income tax Estate taxes are an impediment to the survival of private business and
Lowering the state income tax will result in increased disposable that keeps new businesses from locating in Maine.
income for Mainers and will attract businesses and families to the
state. As Maine becomes more isolated as one of the most expensive places
to try to pass on business and investment capital to the next genera-
Maine needs to be known as a place where people come to work. tion, valuable capital is fleeing the state.
Maine’s working families and small businesses must be allowed to
keep more of their hard–earned tax dollars. If Maine is to create an environment for business creation and job
growth, it needs to include, as a part of a policy for jobs and growth,
Capital Gains Tax
We must lower and eventually eliminate Maine’s state capital gains
tax. Good wages and jobs are directly related to capital investment.
As the global economy grows and modernizes, investment in new cap-
ital is required if we are to be competitive.

Investments in research and development to generate new and better

ways of using physical capital and labor are essential to providing
opportunities for jobs that pay competitive wages.

Investments in new physical capital are necessary to replace what is

aging and outdated. That means that old assets must be liquidated and
the money released and reinvested in new assets.

Capital gets locked in when there is a tax on capital gains and peo-
 “As Governor, I’ll be Job Creator in Chief” – Les Otten
the elimination of the estate tax.
2. Reform Welfare
We must deal with our welfare system
– Maine cannot be known as a sanc-
tuary state. When people think of
Maine they must think of it as a place
to come and work.
Maine’s Medicaid enrollment, now at
23% of the state’s population, is
unsustainable. Maine is a low income
state. Incomes are further reduced by
high taxes collected largely to sup-
port spending on state welfare pro-
grams. If this does not change, Maine
will not have the business investment
and growth in private–sector incomes that are necessary to create jobs
and opportunities.
We cannot afford to continue allowing benefits beyond the federal
60–month limit. Nor can we afford to continue without residency
requirements.
We must develop a system where people on welfare aren’t punished
for trying to get back to work. People who return to work on a
part–time basis should be able to collect a pro–rated share of benefits
to provide incentives for people to re–enter the full–time workforce.
I believe that the best welfare program Maine can offer is the oppor-
tunity for a good paying job.
3. Lower Health Insurance Costs
Maine can act on its own to lower insurance premiums and increase
access to the health insurance system.
We essentially have only one major carrier of individual health insur-
ance left in Maine, Anthem. The individual insurance market in
Maine is not a profitable market for insurers for a number of reasons,
including:
• Regulations requiring insurance carriers to accept all applicants,
regardless of health status.
• Regulations limiting the amount of price variance between applicants.
• Younger, healthier people dropping coverage because it is unaf-
fordable, leaving a more expensive group in the insurance pool
which creates higher insurance rates.
We need to examine Maine’s requirement that insurers adhere to com-
munity rating and guaranteed issue – which requires that insurers
cover anyone who applies, regardless of their health condition and at
a uniform premium.
According to The Maine Heritage Policy Center, a healthy male in
Maine who is 30 and single pays a monthly premium of $762 in the
individual market. Next door in New Hampshire, he pays $222 a
month. One big reason: New Hampshire doesn’t have community rat-
ing and guaranteed issue.
Mainers also need better options for financing their own health care
expenses, such as Health Savings Accounts so that people can be intel-
ligent consumers of health care services.
We must also, finally, bring comprehensive tort reform to Maine.
In a Les Otten administration, reducing health care costs will also focus
on encouraging Mainers to take
personal responsibility for their
health. It is estimated that preventa-
ble illnesses make up 60% of med-
DID YOU
ical costs in the United States. We
need to eat better; exercise; get KNOW?
our children outside; and promote
wellness programs through our In 2009, Maine
schools and partner with organiza-
tions such as the YMCAs to encour- experienced a net
age good habits from childhood
on. out–migration. Maine
4. Cut Government Spending is one of only three
and Eliminate Regulatory
Barriers
states in the nation
Augusta hasn’t made a real com- to lose population
mitment to cutting expenses. We
must reduce government spending last year.
and stop hurting Maine taxpayers.
We must also face the reality of Maine’s growing debt burden, specif-
ically the $5 billion in unfunded obligations for health insurance pre-
miums for retired state employees and retired teachers. This issue con-
tinues to be ignored in Augusta.
Wasteful spending can be eliminated at all levels of government. It is
time to conduct a comprehensive audit at how Maine tax dollars are
being spent to encourage the areas that are working and eliminate
what isn’t working. Programs that waste taxpayer dollars, such as
Dirigo Health and the Maine Clean Election Act program, must be
eliminated.
We must identify and implement opportunities to privatize as many
government functions as possible.
There is an opportunity in the near term to achieve savings through
attrition; nearly 40% of our state employees are eligible for retirement
within the next 5 years. We can be strategic in replacing these depart-
ing employees if we make a serious effort to follow the lean govern-
ment principles, such as the Bend The Curve program, that are already
being utilized by many departments within state government.
Increasing the productivity of our state departments will be the highest
priority when I am governor and that ethic will be reflected from the
commissioners on down.
State agencies have added to the problem by the creation and imple-
mentation of unnecessarily burdensome and often nonsensical rules
and regulations. Over–regulation of Maine businesses and industries
has stood in the way of economic progress. Along with a commitment
to cut expenses, we must commit to reforming the power held by state
agencies and the types of regulations that they create.
High taxes are killing jobs and opportunity in Maine. Businesses con-
sider Maine a hostile environment and they look elsewhere to expand.
The businesses in Maine are constantly being enticed to leave for
states with better tax situations. Rather than raising revenues, we need
to do what it takes to increase the job base which will increase receipts
to assist in funding government.
In a Les Otten administration, state government will be committed to
ensuring that we are creating Maine jobs and promoting opportunities
in Maine. The days of a Maine government that gets in the way
instead of paving the way for the success of its citizens will be over.

5. Energy Independence
When it comes to energy we must think big and act
boldly.
DID YOU
Mainers are addicted to foreign oil, sending bil-
KNOW?
lions of dollars every year to foreign countries,
mostly to people who don’t like us. I want Maine to Recreational tourism
become the first energy independent state in
America. contributes about one
in five dollars of sales
We don’t need to be at the end of the old oil
pipeline anymore. Maine can be at the beginning to Maine’s economy and
of a renewable energy future.
supports the equivalent
Maine needs a long–term energy policy targeted at of about one in six
encouraging fuel switching for heating Maine
homes to create jobs and industries in the state. We Maine jobs.
need to create opportunities and let private enter-
prise lead the way out of Maine’s energy crisis to
build a model that will be emulated throughout the nation.
Maine needs a stated goal of energy independence. Ultimately, if
Maine declares energy independence, and takes meaningful steps in
that direction, the industry will follow.
$9.6 billion has been spent on heating Maine homes in the last
decade. Maine has the highest proportion of oil heated homes in the
nation with 80% of its housing stock dependent upon foreign oil for
heat in the fall and winter months.
A couple of years ago, as oil was skyrocketing to $4.70 per gallon,
Mainers were bracing for hard choices as they thought about heating
their homes. Oil prices are temporarily lower but they will rise again
to unacceptable levels.
The only way to keep oil prices down is if we don’t use it. Maine has
the natural resources and technologies available today to make renew-
able energy to heat our homes. Conservation coupled with energy sys-
tem replacement in Maine homes that are heating with fossil fuels
could be staggeringly positive to Maine’s economy.
At $2.75 per gallon of oil, $1.1 billion per year is spent heating the
440,000 of Maine’s 550,000 homes that use heating oil. 78% of this
money is leaving the state. If we could capture that 78% – $780 mil-
lion – the economic affect of that recaptured money (billions per year)
could generate gigantic tax revenues (hundreds of million per year)
and economic activity for Maine.
For example, every 100,000 tons of wood pellets produced and con-
sumed in Maine will create 500 jobs that pay $45,000 per year. The
Governor’s Wood–To–Energy Task Force, which I chaired, concluded
that switching from oil to wood to heat just 10% of Maine homes
would create 9,600 jobs. No jobs would be lost because oil compa-
nies could retrain workers to install pellet–fired boilers and deliver
wood pellets as well as install oil burners and deliver oil, as Heutz Oil
in Lewiston is doing today.
Maine has a world class portfolio of potential renewable energy
resources. Maine’s offshore wind resource is amongst the best in the
world. But the region also has a world class solar battery that is ready
to use.
We have an abundance of energy options – wood, LNG, the
Canadian power corridor, wind, solar and geothermal – but we need
to link these together in a long–term strategy so that they are all part
of the solution for Maine’s energy future.
In a Les Otten administration, we won’t just be talking about energy
independence. We will be doing it.
6. Educate & Train Our Kids for the Jobs of
Tomorrow
Maine spends 32% more per student than the
national average. Teacher salaries have increased
by 400% since 1970 and test scores have
declined.
Our school superintendents have all the responsibil-
ity for the success of our schools but not nearly
enough authority to ensure that result. Maine must
give towns, school superintendents and principals
the authority to hire and fire staff, so long as it is
based on demonstrated fair criteria such as clear
performance, test results and use of technology.
Tenure is the biggest detriment to public education.
We need to link promotion with performance in a
fair manner and take on the Maine Educational
Association on this issue.
A priority for me as governor will be putting Maine in a position where
we can explore the opportunities provided by alternative education
options such as charter schools and home schooling. Maine could be
in the running for as much as $75 million from the federal "Race to the
Top" program that favors innovative schools. We’ve known about it for
a year, and we’ve done nothing.
Maine is one of only 11 states without charter schools. The so-called
"innovative schools" being proposed in the Legislature barely meet the
criteria defined by the "Race to the Top" application. They are not
autonomous, as they are run exclusively by existing school districts,
and have no statutory authority over their own budgets. (See Testimony
regarding L.D.’s 1799, 1800, and 1801, The Maine Heritage Policy
Center http://www.mainepolicy.org/resources/media/237_1507417858.pdf)
Maine is building multi–million dollar school buildings, putting money
in bricks and mortar – we must address especially that part of the state
funding formula immediately.
We need to develop a process for assessing student achievement so
that our children will be competitive upon leaving the system. And we
must put the decision–making power for our children’s education back
where it belongs – in our local communities.
We should use new technology and innovation in our schools to make
effective and efficient use of our resources.
Jobs are directly affected by education. Our schools must produce
young people who are competitive in the global marketplace. And
businesses will come to Maine if we can promote an excellent educa-
tion system.
We are constantly adding to and improving the OTTEN JOBS PLAN at
every level of the economy as we travel through the state and talk to
Maine people about what needs to be done to create jobs and ensure
our prosperity for future generations. If we unify around these six
areas, we will bring jobs to Maine.
The Governor of Maine has the power to make things happen and cre-
ate the jobs we need. I will use the powers of the budget; building con-
sensus; the bully pulpit; and the veto to ensure that Maine is open for
business in the next eight years.
In a Les Otten administration the first thing that people will think about
when they think about Maine will be jobs.
Paid for and authorized by Les Otten for Governor, Bruce Chalmers, Treasurer.