Increase in Fees: Still a Wicked
Good Deal
by Regis Trembly
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I spend my
money on these days. An economic crisis can make that
happen. I think about and watch every penny I spend.
So, when Governor Baldacci included a license
fee increase in his budget, my first reaction was, “Oh my,
this is going to upset a lot of people.” At the time of this
writing, I have no idea whether a license increase will
actually occur. But, I started to think about recreational
and entertainment pursuits we spend money on. My first
thoughts were on newspaper reports of how much the
Yankees were going to pay free-agent Mark Teixeira.
Teixeira toyed with the Red Sox before signing on
with the Yankees for $22.5 million a year for eight years.
The total Red Sox payroll for 2008 was $133.3 million. I
thought, “In a time of world-wide recession, this doesn’t
make sense.”
By comparison, the Maine Department of Inland
Fisheries and Wildlife needs approximately $37 Million
a year to protect and preserve the natural resources, the
lifeblood of our economy. The impact of hunting, fishing,
wildlife watching, boating, snowmobiling, ATV riding,
and whitewater rafting, all industries the Department has
a major hand in, have a combined $2.4 Billion impact on
the economy. That’s an incredible return on the investment
that far exceeds the RTI of the Red Sox and Yankees
combined! Compared to the Sox and Yankees, IF&W is a
“wicked good deal for Maine.”
- a family of four for 2 days and 2 nights at
Disneyworld $2,000
- dinner and drinks for a couple - $60 and $75
- dinner for a family of four at Applebee’s - $60
- a movie for a family of four - $50.
- one day skiing - $135 per person with a lift
ticket, food, and ski rental
- one composite hockey stick $190
- a pair of hockey skates - $500
Here’s what a license fee increase of, say, $9 dollars
would mean for people who hunt and fish. In 2009 a
combination hunting and fishing license cost $38.00 plus
a $2.00 agent fee. In other words, for a person to be in the
outdoors to hunt and fish 365 days costs 11 cents per day!
($40/365). After a fee increase of $9.00, it would still cost
less than 14 cents per day. The value of the opportunity
and experience far exceeds this modest cost.
A $9.00 fee increase is still less than a pack of
cigarettes ($10), two six packs of the least expensive brew
($13), and a pound of coffee ($10). Since the last license
fee increase in 2004, everything else from milk and eggs
to clothes and cars has steadily gone up. Gas went from
$1.25 to more than $4 a gallon in just one year.
If the Maine