Angus King in Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King
On Technology:
Internet approaches economists' ideal of a perfect market
I don't know about you, but I feel kind of proud that I was present when a new verb--to google--was invented. Imagine being around when someone came up with "run" or "jump."And the Web is an amazing resource. It approaches the economists' ideal of a
perfect market, where buyers & sellers have almost total access to one another and information is unlimited, available and easily accessible. We are barely beginning to realize the potential this has for fundamental social, cultural, and economic change.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 16
Aug 16, 2011
On Principles & Values:
Learned lessons of retirement by travel after governorship
All of us face transitions from time to time. One of the hardest, however, is the transition many of us baby boomers currently face: retirement. It takes serious thought and planning. It also takes a mental shifting of gears. Looking back on the
experience, here's what I learned:- Have a life: before the transition hits. In other words, maintain some balance, anything outside of work, so that what you're transitioning to isn't wholly new.
- Start your planning before you leave the job
-
Have something to do the very first day.
- Whatever you do next should be engaging. Notice I didn't say "important" or "significant."
- Let go of the old job.
I didn't read any Maine newspapers at any point during the trip.
- While not mandatory, travel is a good idea.
- Take a chance; be a little crazy. This is your big opportunity to live a dream. Enjoy the trip!
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 28-29
Aug 16, 2011
On Civil Rights:
We piously judge slaveowners; would we endure peer censure?
One of our stops was the terrific Charleston museum, the oldest museum in the United States. It was very well done, with a lot of local history; I found the images of slavery on the rice plantations especially moving, and appalling.
Now, barely 150 years later, we are incredulous that such an institution could exist in our midst, and somewhat piously judge these benighted souls who maintained and fought for it.
I devoutly hope that we are, in fact, more enlightened; but which of us would brave the censure of our peers, given a different context? The vote for secession at the South Carolina convention of
December 1860 (the precipitating factor was Lincoln's election a month before), for example, was unanimous.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 39-40
Aug 16, 2011
On Government Reform:
States Rights: code for 1840s slavery; & 1950s segregation
In the 1840s, you'll find passages eerily similar to what we're hearing today, complete with references to the Second and Tenth Amendments, enumerated powers, the right of secession, and even the Boston Tea Party. I came of age in the South in the 1950s,
when exactly the same (and I mean EXACTLY THE SAME) arguments and impassioned rhetoric poured forth in response to the rising tide of the civil rights movement. Yes, the Civil War was about "states' rights," but not as an abstract principle, as some woul
argue. It was about a state's right to maintain slavery. Period. If you don't believe me, google "South Carolina Secession Declaration."By the same token, everyone (on both sides of the civil rights debate) understood that all the state's rights-Tenth
Amendment-tyranny of the 1950s federal government rhetoric wasn't being deployed in the service of some abstract principle of federalism: it was all about a state's right to maintain segregation. Period.
And now we're hearing it all again.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 47
Aug 16, 2011
On Principles & Values:
Greatest documentary ever: Ken Burns' "The Civil War"
Towns and country crossroads throughout the Deep South remind anyone passing that way of America's greatest tragedy--and its defining event--the Civil War.We started watching segments of Ken Burns' epic miniseries "The Civil War." (If you haven't
seen this lately, I urge you to buy it or rent it. In my view, it is the greatest documentary film ever made, enveloping the viewer in the sweep of the unfolding catastrophe in terms of both high-level strategy and its impact on individual men and women
not much different from ourselves.)
If you go back to the speeches and rhetoric of the secessionists from the 1840s through the outbreak of the war, you'll find passages eerily similar to what we're hearing today, complete with references to the
Second and Tenth Amendments, enumerated powers, the right of secession, and even the Boston Tea Party.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 47
Aug 16, 2011
On Budget & Economy:
How are deficits suddenly cause for mass demonstrations?
Federal deficits have been with us for 50 years, through Democratic and Republican administrations; in fact, the only balanced budgets in living memory were at the end of the Clinton administration. So it's hard to understand how deficits are suddenly
cause for mass demonstrations. And is a mandate to buy health insurance or cap carbon emissions really enough to justify talk of secession and "Second Amendment remedies"? No, something else is going on here whose outlines are not yet clear.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 48
Aug 16, 2011
On Environment:
River "amenities" have enormous economic & cultural value
San Antonio's special character flows (couldn't resist) from the river that meanders through its heart. It's a perfect example of how something the planner-types call "an amenity" (and hard-nosed but short-sighted businesspeople sometimes call a frill)
can have enormous economic, social, and cultural consequences. Texas as a whole takes in about $6 billion a year on tourism; San Antonio alone represents $4 billion of that total. And the River Walk, along with the Alamo, is what makes it happen.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 56-57
Aug 16, 2011
On Environment:
National parks are tax money well spent
A word is in order about our national parks. They're great--well maintained, impressive (each in its own way), and most particularly, staffed by courteous & dedicated people. From Kitty Hawk to Fort Sumter to Big Bend, we found really nice people who
were passionate about "their" place and who made us feel welcomed and valued as guests. People are always complaining about taxes, but whatever goes to these magnificent places is money well spent. We still don't need one in northern Maine, though.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p. 70
Aug 16, 2011
On Environment:
Two Maines: inexorable decline of rural areas
In Maine, one of our most persistent problems--dating back at least 100 years--is what we call the Two Maines: the more prosperous and economically diverse southern part of the state, centered on Portland and its proximity to
Boston, and the northern and eastern parts, whose economies have always been based on natural resources--farming, fishing, and forestry--all of which seem to be in a perpetual state of gradual decline.
Generations of leaders--governors, legislators, mayors, local citizens--have worked on this, trying everything from special tax incentives, infrastructure improvements, and educational centers to regional industrial parks and development authorities.
In fact, I spent the better part of my second term trying to slow, if not reverse, this seemingly inexorable trend.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p.102
Aug 16, 2011
On Environment:
Get cars out of the more crowded national parks
Tour buses, lines at the store, endless circling for a parking place. To its credit, the Park Service is wrestling with this issue on an ongoing basis and clearly understands the conflict inherent in its basic charge--to make
America's natural wonders accessible while at the same time preserving and protecting them for future generations.
There's no easy answer to this one, but some steps seem pretty obvious, like getting the cars out of at least some of the parks altogether and using shuttle buses or some other alternative.
It seems to me that something like this has to come--at least to the more crowded parks--in the pretty near future.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p.116-117
Aug 16, 2011
On Energy & Oil:
Windpower: everyone's for progress; no one's for change
San Francisco isn't that far from Yosemite and on the way, we saw an amazing sight--electricity producing windmills on all sides of the pass. We couldn't count them all, but there seemed like at least a thousand, all silently turning against the blue
of the sky. They looked cool.I thought the windmills were so cool, in fact, that after returning t Maine, I got into the windpower business, but it's tough; everybody's for progress, nobody's for change.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p.118
Aug 16, 2011
On Energy & Oil:
Oil & trees aren't ours to use up in our generation
We saw the giant redwoods of the northern California coast. Somehow the idea of cutting down something that took 500 years to grow (there are some more than 2,000 years old) just doesn't seem right. It's like we're taking something away in our one measly
generation that doesn't really belong to us. By the way, we're doing the same thing with oil. It took millions of years to make and we're going to use it up in about 150 years. Reminds me of the old saying--pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p.121
Aug 16, 2011
On Principles & Values:
Regret the things you did; rather than things you didn't do
When I was in college, I got a simple piece of advice from an old New Hampshire man that literally changed my life--and had a lot to do with our trip."When you get to be my age," he wheezed, "you're going to regret things about your life; see that you
regret the things that you did, rather than the things you didn't do."
Wow. What a profound observation. Err on the side of action.
I have found that it's always easier to summon a list of arguments against any particular course of action, especially if that action involves any change from the routine or expected.
How about this one--does it make sense to run for governor when
you've never even run for dogcatcher, have no affiliation to a political party, no organization, no staff, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% name recognition?
In the latter case, the final decision was explicitly based upon the old man's advice.
Source: Governor`s Travels, by Gov. Angus King, p.157-158
Aug 16, 2011
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