Preserving The American Political Philosophy

Supporters for the petition for MTI to offer fiscal sponsorship have now grown to 16 as our legacy business in East Boothbay faces foreclosure. Let it be said that MTI matching grants can be as small as 1000.00 but small grants do not go very far. Matching grants favor large established well financed companies, all at taxpayer expense. Fiscal sponsorship does not cost the tax payer since a fiscal sponsor can charge a fee to cover its costs and even a reasonable profit margin. Fiscal sponsorship draws upon volunteer giving. State matching grants mandate giving by the general public to special interests selected by the state. One example of special interests favored by the state is itself, in the Public-Public Relationship of MIT and The Advanced State Manufacturing Center at the University of Maine  In April 2 2013 MaineBiz published two articles. Quote from article 1: MTI grant to help manufacturing R&D “he Maine Technology Institute has given the University o...

TWEET THIS http://goo.gl/duRkRb Earnings on Investments: the Maine Micro-enterprise Initiative A few posts I ago I wrote about the Maine Micro enterprise Initiative , a state program that distributes funds to non-profit organizations to train micro-enterprise employees. Upon reading said statute, the question arose as to whether the funds granted to a non profit organization, previously written about here , were appropriated through the micro enterprise initiative. In search of an answer I submitted this Freedom Of Access Request to Mr Douglas Ray, the legislative liaison for the Maine department of Economic and Community Development: Subject: Freedom Of Access Request RE:§13063-O. Micro enterprise initiative fund program review I am formally requesting a copy of all the records kept pursuant to §13063-O. Micro enterprise initiative fund program review  The department shall submit to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction ov...

Recently in the news is the closure of TechMaine Tech Maine lobbied back in 1998 to bring about the legislative charter of the Maine Technology Institute , a non-profit corporation,which channels funds from the taxpayers and other funds available to non-profits to private sector technology companies. I am not sure why the legislature had to create the L3C to enable small businesses like MOO Milk to get in on foundation money while the same legislature created a non profit corporation to channel tax payer and non-profit funding to private high-tech companies. MTI's recent annual repor t shows that it is abundantly financed, and while participating in and lending "support" to the legislaures "targeted sector" and supported network, TechMaine,is not included among those receiving benefits from MTI. One wonders why MTI  does not  give needed support to the lobbying group that contributed so much to it's birth. Speculations arise of political in fighting am...