On April 28, Gov. Paul LePage spoke to a crowd of about 200 people in the gymnasium at Great Salt Bay School in Damariscotta, as part of his “town hall” meeting series. It was rescheduled from an event that had been postponed two weeks before at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle.

One of the topics LePage addressed was energy.  Earlier that day, he had vetoed a solar energy bill that had bipartisan support, claiming during the town hall meeting that it would increase the price of energy in Maine from 14 cents per kilowatt hour to 22 cents. Solar advocates denied this, and said that LePage was attempting to decrease the price of net metering, the price the utility pays to homeowners for excess energy, to a point where homeowners would not be able to afford to install solar panels.

LePage also said that he considered the state business-unfriendly, owing to high energy costs, high taxes, and high welfare costs. He said that paper companies, especially, are leaving the state in droves because of high energy costs — the industry is energy-intensive — and because they can get better tax rates in other states. “Most of the states where the companies are going are right-to-work states,” he said, referring to non-union shops. “They can make a better profit margin in those states.”

LePage said that 600 high-paying jobs in the paper industry have left the state, and that low-wage service industry jobs, such as call centers, are replacing those jobs.

Because of that, he said, he is also opposed to increasing the minimum wage to $12 per hour, a proposal that is going to be on November’s ballot. “What will happen with a $12 minimum wage is owners work harder and longer and someone loses a job,” he warned.

LePage has long been in favor of ending the income tax and increasing the sales tax, although he acknowledges that states he considers models for Maine, like New Hampshire, have neither income nor sales tax. New Hampshire pays its bills with its double property tax. The state collects property tax, as do municipalities. New Hampshire’s property tax rate is the third highest in the country.

LePage also outlined an idea for supporting students and making sure they don’t leave school with massive debt. “Every student who goes to school in Maine will get interest-free loans, and if employers pay the loans, the employer gets a tax break and the employee gets to put money into buying a house or a business, stimulating the economy,” he said.