Economic critics have some regular talking points about Maine. It’s graying, for one. Too uneducated, for another. Its business landscape is too weak, as well, and fails to foster enough careers for young, ambitious people.

Say something enough times and people start to believe it. This pessimism about Maine’s youth work force has certainly been infectious, despite studies saying the state’s much-touted brain drain is overestimated, and Gov. John Baldacci’s continual and aggressive embrace of the “creative economy.”

Reduce taxes in Maine and the youth and businesses will come, some say. Such an answer is like grabbing a sledgehammer to drive a tenpenny nail; changing Maine’s tax structure will solve lots of problems, besides economic opportunity for youth. Smaller initiatives can pay more immediate dividends.

Such as LD 750, a bill to retain young workers in Maine, that earned an “ought to pass” by the Legislature’s Business, Research and Economic Development (BRED) Committee on March 22. The bill allocates $200,000 to Realize!Maine, through the Maine Development Foundation, to support young professional development.

Realize!Maine has a statewide reach accentuated by a smaller network of regional young professional groups, such as the Young Professionals of the Lewiston-Auburn Area, Fusion Bangor, and the Midcoast Magnet. Each group has a similar goal: empowering young professionals in directing Maine’s economy.

The BRED committee felt, as we do, that targeting state investment into innovative economic programs is wise. Young professionals seem a bargain at $200,000 for two years, especially since the startup capital for these groups was largely proffered privately, most notably by Bangor Savings Bank.

Which, for taxpayers, should be the selling point. State funds, according to Yellow Light Breen of Realize!Maine, are sought to provide momentum for the existing youth movement, not to support unproven programs. These youth organizations have proven their viability, and argue they need this infusion to thrive.

We believe they should be given the chance, and urge the Legislature to approve LD 750.