AmeriCorps will survive in Maine, badly wounded but alive.

Fears were running high during the political fight over the national volunteer initiative. State programs faced massive cuts, and predictions said that by the time all was said and done, Maine would have only 10 funded volunteers left. Turns out, the number will drop from 166 this year to 66 next year. Still a drastic cut, but not the doomsday scenario many of the program’s backers, including this page, had feared. Maine will receive about $620,000 to fund projects statewide. In 2002, the state received $1.5 million.

Supporters of the program sought $100 million in supplemental money from Congress last month to fully fund the popular and successful program that places volunteers into community programs around the country. Despite at least tacit support from President Bush, Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked the bailout. The president had promised to expand AmeriCorps, instead it is being scaled back.

Administrators at AmeriCorps are partially to blame for all these problems. They allowed overenrollment that threatened the program’s financial viability. And, in a move all-too-typical of big business and big government, the group’s leadership last week awarded bonuses to some of the very people who mismanaged the program into crisis. The bonuses were relatively small, a $1,000 here, $2,000 there, but they illustrate a political tin ear and misplaced priorities at a time when any misstep would be magnified.

We support AmeriCorps’ objectives and structure. Federal dollars are put to work one individual at a time in support of important local projects. Students earn money for school, youth are mentored, affordable housing is built and civic activities are supported.

Washington has disappointed us in its handling of AmeriCorps. But at least there’s still enough of the program left to build upon.


Mixed messages


Things could be worse, and they could be better.

Just in time for Labor Day, The Maine Center for Economic Policy released its annual “State of Working Maine” report Thursday, and that lukewarm assessment is what they came up with.

Unemployment in the state, at 4.9 percent, is up from last year, but remains well below the national average of 6.2 percent. And wages are up by 3.3 percent to an average of $27,744.

The bad news, there are fewer jobs in the state, manufacturing lost 7,300 jobs between July 2002 and June 2003 and almost 9 percent of the population is underemployed – meaning people have given up on finding a job, can only find a part-time job or work at a job for which they are overqualified. And while wages are up, they’re still short of what it takes for many families to get by.

Maine is suffering from the same jobless recovery as the rest of the country. Fueled by increases in military spending, the national economy grew by 3.1 percent in the second quarter, bettering expectations, even while the country lost jobs. The expansion follows two quarters of tepid growth.

Unfortunately, bigger paychecks and a growing economy only matter if you have a job. For the unemployed, the recession continues.


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