A rank to remember

In the field of psychology, the “recency effect” refers to the tendency for a person to more easily recall items at the end of a list than those in the middle of the list.  If that’s the case, then the State of Maine should be on the minds of readers of Forbes Magazine. 

On Forbes’ annual Best States for Business list, Maine ranked in the bottom five at number 46.  Only Michigan, Alaska, Louisiana and West Virginia fared worse, in that order.  Virginia, Utah and Washington ranked first, second and third, respectively. 

With the exception of our neighbor, New Hampshire, which ranked 20, every other New England State was in the bottom half of Forbes’ list.  Connecticut ranked at 33, Massachusetts and Vermont tied for 36, and Rhode Island came in one spot above Maine at 45.  

Forbes ranks the states based on six indicators: business costs, labor, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.  Although Maine ranked fairly high for quality of life, low scores on the other 5 indicators made it clear that 45 other states in the country were more business friendly. 

For years, elected officials have been scratching their heads, trying to find a silver bullet to dramatically improve Maine’s business climate.  Pine Tree Zones, Research and Development bonds, and task forces have been created in an attempt to stimulate Maine’s business environment.  Success has clearly been limited.   

Maybe it’s time for a new strategy…