Maine faces significant economic hurdles, but it also has tremendous assets.

Before the state can figure out how to overcome the first and accentuate the latter, we need to identify which is which. That’s where the Brookings Institution comes in.

The debate about Maine’s economy is often dragged into predictable partisan territory. The right says taxes are too high and business regulation too stiff for the state to reach its full potential. The left says that government support for an improved education system, better infrastructure and reliable services translates into prosperity. Meanwhile, both sides hold onto myths about the state and its economy and argue past one another. Oftentimes, the basic facts of where the state stands are disputed. As an example, we’ve all heard the argument about Maine being one of the highest-taxed states in the country, but where it ranks all depends on what numbers you look at.

GrowSmart Maine, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Yarmouth, has contracted with the Brookings Institution to complete an analysis of the state that includes economic and tax policy, quality of life and governmental structure.

The Brookings Institution is a well-regarded Washington, D.C.-based think tank. A similar study conducted in Pennsylvania has become a playbook for government action. During a meeting with the Sun Journal’s editorial board last week, Alan Caron, GrowSmart’s president, and Bruce Katz, the director of the study, identified several areas that will be examined, including demographics, taxes, employment and self-perception. As part of the fact-gathering process, Brookings will hold public meetings in every Maine county.

The results of the study are scheduled for release after Labor Day 2006, right in the heart of the campaigns for governor and the Legislature. The timing is no mistake. GrowSmart would like to inject the findings of the study into the election, a risky proposition for politicians who could see their policy ideas and performance compared side by side with a $450,000 Brookings report.

GrowSmart hopes to develop an action plan for the state that diverse interests – business groups, environmentalists, foundations, Democrats and Republicans – can rally around. Perhaps the greatest contribution that the study can make is to get a set of facts on the table around which we can debate what needs to be done.