Base disgrace We’re focusing too much on saving bases instead of saving the state BY SHAY STEWART-BOULEY

Our recent Friday the 13th really was a bad-luck day throughout the state of Maine, as the Base Realignment and Closure Panel (BRAC) announced that Maine was pretty much on the Department of Defense’s hit list from Kittery and its Portsmouth Naval Shipyard all the way up to Limestone with its Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

According to news reports, Maine is looking at about 7000 jobs lost directly if everything goes through as currently proposed. Of course, that also could mean a loss of 5000 jobs indirectly associated with various military operations. At last count, it all amounted to more than $400 million dollars in potential lost revenue for the state of Maine.

Okay, I think it’s fair to say that’s a big hit. But it’s not the end of the world. Wait, let me take that back. It’s not the end of the world when people are planning ahead and diversifying their economy — something that Maine has been a bit sluggish in doing.

I’m not an economist. But I am a summer credit short of my master’s degree in organizational management and I’ve been in charge of organizations and large programs, so I know in general how organizations should run. And, from that standpoint, I consider Maine to be a rather inefficiently run organization.

Maine hasn’t been as forward-thinking as it needs to be. And it suffers from its young, educated residents fleeing to find their fortunes in such distant and exotic locales as Boston and New York City, never to return — except for yearly pilgrimages to visit family and a final return after they are ready to retire.

In other words, Maine is a great place to grow up and a great place to spend the golden years while waiting to beam out to the afterlife. It’s the stuff in-between that Maine isn’t equipped to handle.

The "brain drain" caused by our fleeing young’uns isn’t the same problem as the military closures and realignments. But both come from a common failing of not planning ahead. Our state leaders have had chances in the past to see the writing on the wall and begin to be proactive. They chose not to.

No, at last check, Governor Baldacci and other government officials were still talking about how they will save the bases and refuse to accept defeat. Rallies are being held to pump up the locals in the towns being affected and everyone is talking about how great our Maine workers are. After all, at the shipyard they had received commendations just before being told they were about to be put out of business.

It sucks to be told, "You’re good, but sorry, there’s no room for you." Yet in the world of business, this happens all the time. There may have been crooks leading the charge at Enron, but it was mostly just hard-working folks who got the shaft. Frankly, one doesn’t need to be a Las Vegas bookmaker or a Harvard-trained economist to know many people are going to lose their jobs and many towns are going to lose their bases. It’s just a matter of how bad the impact will be.

The likelihood of getting all the Maine installations off the list is pretty unlikely. And if the biggest argument that our officials can come up with is that the economic impact will crush us, then we can expect to get none of them off the list. Almost every community that has a base or military installation will feel serious economic heat if the military pulls out. We’re not special in that regard.

Traditionally, 85 percent of initial recommendations stay on that list. The odds are not with us, and we should already be thinking about what happens if and when we get the shaft.

Our leaders need to be strategic about their efforts and start thinking up a good contingency plan now. By all means, we should strive to get the shipyard and bases off the list. But also be realistic and be prepared now. If I’m in a company where I’ve been told they are going to lay off a lot of people who do my particular job, I don’t wait for the axe to take off my head or plead about how my family will suffer; I start looking for a new company.

For Maine to get beyond being a state where the locals are taxed out of their homes and the well-to-do come to play and retire, our economy must become more diverse. We have to start thinking outside the box if we are to grow and retain business. We also have to accept that many of the practices that have made Maine workers valuable are not necessary valuable in our new world economy.

Yes, we have high rates of high school graduation and more and more Mainers are receiving two-year degrees. But in order to play in the global world, the basic ticket of entry is a bachelor’s degree. At present, we seem to have just enough high-level positions in the state so that a select few can sit around and debate how to improve the state and how to save our bases and shipyard. Let’s strive for better than that. Let’s stop talking and start doing.

Shay Stewart-Bouley can be reached by email at shaybouley@msn.com.