There they go again

The headline reveled exactly what angle WGME was taking with it's article "NYC Marketing Firm Gets Maine's Business"

There's a major decision and a big change in Maine's $7.5 billion per year tourism industry. Each year, the state spends millions of dollars marketing the state but after 20 years doing that job, a Maine-based company is out, and a New York City marketing firm is in. 

After promoting Maine's tourism industry 20 years straight, Augusta-based Nancy Marshall Communications is out. The state has instead retained the Dilenschneider Group, a New York City marketing agency. 

Economics commissioner George Gervais says a formal, competitive process, one dictated by state law, decided the winning proposal. "I did talk to the review team afterwards and they did indicate that this was a clear winner."

OK, so far so good. Everything is positive so far, but we know what has to come next. After a sad reflection from a representative of the out going firm the reporter decides to bring in a silly elected state official to show off his guess-based economic theories:

Senator Seth Goodall (D) adds, "It's just disappointing that we will be exporting some of Maine's dollars to New York. We should be promoting our own. We have very talented marketing and advertising agencies here in the state."

What Goodall is saying is that this is Maine, not a meritocracy. We don't need to use fair bidding processes and a cost-benefit analysis when we dish out taxpayer money for the state's largest and most important industry. Instead, we need cronyism and favoritism because Maine firms are too weak for fair competition.

But don't worry folks, with the very next paragraph the writer turns everything around. A Maine firm will get a piece of the action:

In fact, one of those Maine agencies, Burgess Advertising and Marketing, will work with the Dilenshneider Group. 

Meredith Strang Burgess of Burgess Marketing and Advertising says, "I'm a huge fan of keeping my business as local as you possibly can. And I think at the same time, they have an opportunity now to work with an international and national public relations firm who daily operates in a very different sphere."

If you were worried that the writer has a fair understanding of basic macroeconomics the final paragraph was wedged in with no transition just to calm that fear.

Burgess Advertising and Marketing does not know yet if there will be any new marketing positions opening up at its firm as a result of this new contract.

Remember dear readers, when you do business in the state of Maine the rules of economics go out the window. Certain people in power want you to believe that businesses exist for the purpose of providing jobs, not to accomplish tasks, provide services or create products.