Why Maine Should Say NO to Bonds!

TWEET THIS:  http://goo.gl/JrrQ3E
Bonds are one of the ways that the Corporation of Maine finances its perpetual expansion and dominance over the free enterprise system. As the corporation of Maine concentrates the bulk of available capital in Maine under its own control, it drives the collective socio-economic culture of Maine in the direction determined by a class of overlords- some elected (the legislature and administration) and some not (the tzars and private partners in "public-private relationships). Governor Lepage's recent comment that "$100,000.00 a year income is not that wealthy" reflects the age old character of those in pursuit of wealth for wealth's sake, it is never enough- the goal is perpetually moved- one can never reach it because there is always someone wealthier until one gets to the level of the George Soros's of the world, a man on record of saying it is fun to use his wealth to destroy nations. This attitude is also present of the constant PR for the advancement of Maine State Inc which perpetually emphasizes competition with other states and Maine achieving  "global" or "world class"distinction.

AND DON'T FORGET THAT MAIN'ES UNCONSTITUTION CORPORATE NETWORK IS SELF-AUTHORIZED TO ACCEPT MONEY FROM ANY SOURCE- SO THEY CAN LOOK ELSE WHERE  §969-A. Powers and duties of the authority: Receive and accept from any source allocations, appropriations, loans, grants and contributions of money or other things of value to be held, used or applied to carry out this chapter Legislative charter fro FAME corporation

Article IV.

Part Third. Legislative Power

Section 13.  Special legislation.  The Legislature shall, from time to time, provide, as far as practicable, by general laws, for all matters usually appertaining to special or private legislation.

Section 14.  Corporations, formed under general laws.  Corporations shall be formed under general laws, and shall not be created by special Acts of the Legislature, except for municipal purposes, and in cases where the objects of the corporation cannot otherwise be attained; and, however formed, they shall forever be subject to the general laws of the State.. Governor Seldon Connor's Speech is about this constitutional amendment !

Question 2:  Bond Issue

Do you favor an $8,000,000 bond issue to support Maine agriculture, facilitate economic growth in natural resources-based industries and monitor human health threats related to ticks, mosquitoes and bedbugs through the creation of an animal and plant disease and insect control laboratory administered by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service?

Link to legislation for Public Law 572 and Public Law 608 

Public Law 572 

Expended under direction of DECD corporation- A public private relationship with the University of Maine Inc (U of M is a corporate instrumentality of the state)  playing a key role. Public private relationships have been sold without criticism to Mainers for decades. My criticism of these relationships is that are hegemonic power and use taxpayer money to enrich private investors in exchange for which the public receives rhetoric about creating jobs, which the state refers to as "quality jobs" meaning above average income, which can be taxed at a higher percentage than jobs providing an average or below income, and bring a higher rate of return to the corporation of Maine. It is difficult to track the private investors due to tax privacy laws. The FAME corporation, also chartered by the Maine legislature by special act of legislation includes an exclusion from general law Title 17, section 3104, which  prohibits those in public service from profiting from their positions.

1995 Maine Employment Tax Increment Financing Act

§6752. PROGRAM ESTABLISHED; DECLARATION OF PUBLIC PURPOSE

The Maine Employment Tax Increment Financing Program is established to encourage the creation of net new quality jobs in this State, improve and broaden the tax base and improve the general economy of the State. The Legislature declares that the actions required to assist the implementation of development programs are a public purpose and that the execution and financing of these programs are a public purpose. [1995,c. 669, §5 (NEW).]ECTION HISTORY1995, c. 669, §5 (NEW). (emphasis mine)

Commentary-The legislature declares that it can use the people's resources to serve the upper crust of the economy exclusively- this was not decided with the consent of the governed but by the legislature acting In the interests of a for-profit corporation. Maine State Inc has no self benefit in supporting jobs below the upper crust. Upper crust jobs provide a higher employee income which the corporation can tax at a higher rate than the bottom half of the economy- it does not make bottom line sense for this corporation to serve anything but the upper crust of Maine's economy- bottom line being its own profit margin. In the new paradigm decreed by the legislature the people serve as instrumentalities of the Maine corporation's profits. Maine State, which serves the interests of the inhabitants of the state is marginalized. This amounts to  a state corporate gentrification process for Maine- which always implies inhabitant displacement.

Public Law 572 Expended under direction of University of Maine Corporation- which includes the Aqua Ventus- The state off shore wind mill project which established itself in the wake of the legislature's new regulations designed to drive foreign investor Statoil out of the Maine windmill picture. Statoil was expected to receive 47 million in funding from the federal government. Aqua Ventus was awarded only three million- so Aqua Ventus has to find a lot of funding . 

Mini Time Line Of Incremental-ism:State Control over Education & Publicly Funded Workforce

1977 Legislature deems centrally managing economy to be a new “essential government function"

1981  Legislature decrees University of Maine to be instrumentality of State

1995 Legislature grants itself jurisdiction over educational matters at University ofMaine

1999 MTI established as public charity for capitalists and granted ownership of intellectual property rights

2002 University of Maine claims ownership of Intellectual property rights


2002? Marxist and Socialist Studies established as a University of Maine minor.

2008 State manufacturing established at University of Maine

2011 Ownership of Intellectual property rights extended to Maine Economic Development Fund

2013 Taxpayers mandated to pay for marketing of Maine State Inc's Publicly Funded Work Force

2013 Bill passed to institute state management of relationships between private business

2013 legislature unanimously passed Expanded & Improved Seed Capital Tax Credit authorizing itself to escalate by eight fold the rate at which it can extract capital from the middle class and deposit it in targeted sector bank accounts

Question 3:  Bond Issue

Do you favor a bond issue to provide $4,000,000 in funds to insure portions of loans to small businesses to spur investment and innovation and to provide $8,000,000 in funds to make flexible loans to small businesses to create jobs, revitalize downtowns and strengthen the rural economy?

Link to legislation for Public Law 596

Dispersed Through THE FAME CORPORATION (Finance Authority of Maine), DECD CORPORATION,(Department of Economic and Community Development) MAINE TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE ( a non-profit public charity corporation that matches private investment funds) UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM  (multiple state campuses)

2. Eligible corporations. The fund is open to local, regional and statewide nonprofit or governmental economic development corporations or entities, that are capable of providing financial assistance to businesses in order to create and protect jobs, as well as revitalize downtowns and build strong communities and a sustainable economy, referred  to in this section as "corporations." In the case of loans to quality child care projects, the authority may also provide loans directly to eligible borrowers. To be eligible for assistance from the fund:

Note The statute chartering the DECD Corporation excludes the retail sector which is the mainstay of our downtowns- The legislative findings for the DECD corporation read like a treatise on global capitalism In 2013 , Mr Douglas Ray, taxpayer funded lobbyist for the DECD Corporation was neither for not against a bill in support of in-state manufacturing but strongly supported the expanded and Improved Seed Capital Tax credit which expanded by eight fold the rate at which the legislature can extract money from taxpayers and transfer it to private capitalists and corporations. The Seed Capital tax Credit was also expanded by opening it up to out of state investors which means that the 'tax credit" is a cash payout since out of state investors do not owe Maine taxes.

 As for your question regarding retail sector, retail is not an incentive priority primarily because retail is largely driven by demographics, they locate where there is a population that should be inclined to buy whatever they’re selling. Retail also has the highest failure rate of business sectors. Quoted from an email conversation with Mr Douglas Ray, lobbyist for DECD Corporation ( official name legislative liaison) One need only say the words LL Bean to deflate Excluded Retail Sector excuse #1. 

§13059. State agencies to cooperate (DECD CORPORATION)

All state agencies and any other organizations designated by the department to implement community and economic development programs and policies shall cooperate with and expeditiously respond to requests of the department. [1987, c. 534, Pt. A, §§ 17, 19 (NEW).]2. 

Definitions.  As used in this section the following terms have the following meanings

A. "Certified retained business" means any for-profit business in this State other than a public utility as defined by Title 35-A, section 102 that retains 100 or more qualified employees in this State and that meets all of the following criteria to the satisfaction of the commissioner::(emphasis mine)

Commentary it is a mystery to me what “Certified retained business” means according to the statute referenced above. The only applicable definition that I can locate in references statute is “3. Corporation.  "Corporation" includes municipal and quasi-municipal corporations. [ 1987, c. 141, Pt.A, §6 (NEW) .]

Quasi-corporationDefinition An entity, such as a county or school district, that has not been incorporated by a state, but that performs some functions of a corporation. Sometimes called a quasi-municipal corporation. Cornell University Law School 

In the case of Maine State Inc- that would also include the "quasi municipal corporations" chartered by act of special legislation by the Maine legislature which consist of the state courts at municipalities that call themselves The Loring Development Authority and The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority. Such a definition would not be found at the Cornell University Law School be cause the chartering of municipal corporations to serve state purposes defies not only the Maine Constitution Article IV Part Third, Section 14, but it also defies general law for which a municipality (local government) and a state or federal agency are mutually exclusive legal definitions. The merging of a municipality and the state is a move toward totalitarianism- add to that “public-private relationships” and it becomes the usurpation of a constitutional form of government by a hegemonic power representing the interests of the few. I conclude, speculatively, that the reference to the definition found in the utilities statute is meant to obscure that “Certified retained business" intends to include the quasi- municipal corporations governed by the state – ie, the towns that are called Loring Development and The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority. Unlike their neighboring municipalities these two municipalities have the gold dust of Maine and federal taxpayer dollars fueling their economic growth and they believe them selves to have the authority to design the economic development of surrounding municipalities despite the fact that the Home Rule Amendment assigns the home rule authority to economic development.

Article VIII.

Part Second.

Municipal Home Rule.

Section 1.  Power of municipalities to amend their charters.  The inhabitants of any municipality shall have the power to alter and amend their charters on all matters, not prohibited by Constitution or general law, which are local and municipal in character.  The Legislature shall prescribe the procedure by which the municipality may so act.

Section 2.  Construction of buildings for industrial use.  For the purposes of fostering, encouraging and assisting the physical location, settlement and resettlement of industrial and manufacturing enterprises within the physical boundaries of any municipality, the registered voters of that municipality may, by majority vote, authorize the issuance of notes or bonds in the name of the municipality for the purpose of purchasing land and interests therein or constructing buildings for industrial use, to be leased or sold by the municipality to any responsible industrial firm or corporation.

(1) The business is not engaged in retail operations; or, if it is engaged in retail operations, less than 50% of its total annual revenues from state-based operations are derived from sales taxable in this State or the business can demonstrate to the commissioner by a preponderance of the evidence that any increased sales will not include sales tax revenues derived from a transferring or shifting of retail sales from other businesses in this State; and

Question 4:  Bond Issue- Dispersed Through The DECD CORPORATION, The UNIVERSITY OF MAINE CORPORATION

Do you favor a $10,000,000 bond issue, to be awarded through a competitive process and to be matched by $11,000,000 in private and other funds, to build a research center and to discover genetic solutions for cancer and the diseases of aging, to promote job growth and private sector investment in this State, to attract and retain young professionals and make the State a global leader in genomic medicine?

Link to legislation for Public Law 574

Commentary 

• The DECD Corporation is authorized to take money form any source and so can find other funding in the private sector just as private sector businesses must do. 

• In the model of a communist system, The University of Maine Corporation is authorized by the Maine legislature to claim ownership of intellectual property. 

•  Any business in which the University of Maine Corporation is a partner is, at least partially, a state owned business (Marxist political system)

• In 1981 The Maine legislature declared the University of Maine to be a corporate Instrumentality of the State. 

• In 1995 the Maine legislature granted itself jurisdiction over the educational curriculum at the University Of Maine Corporation. 

• In or About 2002 , the Maine legislature established Marxist and Socialist Studies as a minor at the University of Southern Maine Corporation. 

• In 2002 the Maine legislature granted ownership of intellectual property rights to the University of Maine Corporation. 

How can the legislature of Maine, operating in violation of the Maine Constitution, Article IV part Third, Section 14, in every instance that it charters a corporation for state purposes, pretend not to be cognizant that a political system in which the state controls the means of production (capital) is Marxism and at the same time be the authority responsible for the entrenchment of Marxist and Socialist Studies as a minor at the University of Maine Corporation? If the Maine legislature is so uneducated and unaware about political philosophy- then what business does it have assigning itself jurisdiction over educational curriculum at the University of Maine corporation?

So with the corporation of Maine set up to take money from "any source" and to profit off of its investments, particularly in the ownership of intellectual property rights, why does this for-profit corporation need to raid the pockets of the general taxpayer every election season? Private corporations do  not have access to funds produced by the fruit of the labor of the general  public and so the corporation of Maine has set itself up to be in unfair competition with the (general) private sector. The corporation of Maine is a hegemonic power which can rewrite the rules of the game as needed in pursuit of its own agenda (as it did to drive our Norwegian company Statoil - re-writing  regulations midstream so the the University of Maine business consortium could claim ownership of windmill industry in Maine) 

Question 5:  Bond Issue

Do you favor a $3,000,000 bond issue, to be awarded through a competitive process and to be matched by $5,700,000 in private and public funds, to modernize and expand infrastructure in a biological laboratory specializing in tissue repair and regeneration located in the State in order to increase biotechnology workforce training, retain and recruit to the State multiple biomedical research and development groups and create a drug discovery and development facility that will improve human health and stimulate biotechnology job growth and economic activity?

Link to legislation for Public Law 568

Dispersed by The DECD Corporation and The Maine technology Institute

1999 §15302. Maine Technology Institute  

The Maine Technology Institute, as established in section 12004-G, subsection 33-D, is a nonprofit corporation with public and charitable purposes. The duties, activities and operations of the institute are within the provisions of the federal Internal Revenue Code, Section 501(c)(3). Governor Angus King ( and outside the power of the legislature as granted by The Maine Constitution- !

• Governed by a board of directors appointed by state. (technical definition of a tzar)
• The Maine technology institute is a non-profit public charity providing capital to for-profit investors by matching the private investment by 100%. I have not found anything in the package of gifts that  the corporation of Maine provides for private investors which prohibits the private investor from  then using the amount once doubled by Maine's public charity for investors to apply for Maine Seed Capital Tax credit - after first visiting Maine's Pine Tree Zone Gift Center for Capitalists to pick up their 100% tax exemption of corporate and personal income tax and to arrange for the general Maine taxpayer to cover up to 80% of its high end payroll taxes - thanks to the involuntary generosity of the general Maine taxpayer as so mandated by the legislative board of the corporation of Maine.
  
  Once the private for-profit investor has secured tax exempt status he can take the investment doubled by the Maine's charity for profiteers  to cash in on an up  to 60% refund of his investment - which is a 120% reimbursement of the starting point investment thanks once again to the involuntary generosity of the Maine taxpayer as so mandated by the legislative board of the corporation of Maine via the "Expanded and Improved Seed Capital Tax Credit" which is a "refundable tax credit" meaning that if no taxes are owed- the taxpayers owe the investor a cash refund on their investment.
  
  Last year in a move uncritically supported by Maine's media, the legislature increased by eight-fold the rate at which it can re-distribute the fruit of the general taxpayer's labor to capitalists and the owners of the means of production. This increase in the amount was not reported in the Maine media- neither was it reported that the "Expanded and Improved Seed Capital tax Credit" was expanded by opening up the gifts offered involuntarily by Maine taxpayers to out of state investors- transforming the tax credit- referred to as "reduced revenue" to an out and out cash payment to investors who never owed any taxes to the corporation of Maine to begin with, - this was heralded by the Maine media as a bill that we had to pass as Maine would probably fall into a very deep recession if we didn't (my words)
  
  While the taxpayer funded lobbyist for the DECD Corporation, Mr Douglas Ray, had no opinion about a bill attempting to support to manufacturing, agricultural and creative industries located in the State of Maine, Mr Douglas Ray strongly supported the Expanded and Improved Seed Capital Tax Credit- which easily passed out legislature with 100% vote in the Senate ( don't know roll call for House)
  
  So think about how this "public -private relationship" works- public funds matched by private funds but the private investment  is then reimbursed possibly in an amount greater than the original private investment, by the taxpayers - who have no percentage of ownership.
  

  •  . Do you really want to vote for bonds that support the continued manipulations of Maine State Inc?

  
  

Question 6:   Bond Issue

Do you favor a $10,000,000 bond issue to ensure clean water and safe communities across Maine; to protect drinking water sources; to restore wetlands; to create jobs and vital public infrastructure; and to strengthen the State’s long-term economic base and competitive advantage?

link to legislation for Public Law 589

This is the Only Bond that is NOT being distributed by the corporation of Maine. If any bonds are passed this one should be as it is hard for environmental issues to compete against the business interests of the corporation of Maine in a legislative vote- I will cover this in a separate blog post. 

Question 7: Bond Issue

Do you favor a $7,000,000 bond issue to facilitate the growth of marine businesses and commercial enterprises that create jobs and improve the sustainability of the State’s marine economy and related industries through capital investments, to be matched by at least $7,000,000 in private and other funds?”

Link to legislation for Public Law 592

Provides funds for the development of lobster processing capacity in the State.

This is another bond which will be dispersed through the DECD corporation- which I have written about in abundance here and so I will say that I think this is a good cause better financed through private means to assure that this does not become another Marxist styled state owned businesses or that a private investor ends up owning it when actually the investment has been paid for by the taxpayers.

This seems like a good candidate to finance through a private crowd-funder.