The turning of the calendar to October also begins the fourth quarter of 2021, and what a wild year it’s been. The new year rang in with massive uncertainty with a change in the Federal government, COVID-19 vaccines just weeks into their emergency use authorizations and not even knowing who had control of the Senate. What followed was the Georgia runoffs, followed by an insurrection the next day, and inauguration two weeks later. January was quite a month.

After that, change came quickly. Vaccines started being administered broadly in the late winter and by March and April, COVID-19 cases and numbers began to drop. Hope grew for a normal summer, while the CARES Act and other major funding bills, like continuing the PPP, the Shuttered Venues grants and more, got released to try and make businesses whole again.

By late spring we had our first major chamber event at Brunswick Golf Club with our golf tournament and a pared-down Awards Dinner. Then most businesses ramped up for a much-needed busy summer tourism season. Thoughts and concerns for COVID trailed off, even as a new Delta variant began to grow. We were all so happy to have some normalcy and to have visitors traveling again, that collectively we tried to pack in as much as we could into our summer months.

Then, unfortunately, the cracks began to show. As you drove down the road, hiring signs popped up at every other business, and soon you saw fewer businesses without a sign, than with one. Existing staffs got stretched thin and business owners dealt with the frustrations of having the ability to make more revenue if they only had the staff to stay open to make the revenue. Some lodging properties shut down blocks of rooms for not having the staff to clean and service them. Some restaurants shut sections of their dining rooms down and stopped taking large parties, because they couldn’t handle the load on their short staffs.

From there — predictably because it is 2021 after all — people began looking for scapegoats. Many turned to their favorite political pundits for the reasons for the short staffs, and often those pundits are all too ready to tell people who to blame. One side said blame the lazy employees on enhanced unemployment programs, the government handouts to employees and socialism, unironically not recognizing the government handouts they just received through the PPP, Shuttered Venue grants and other federal funding programs. The other side blamed wages not being high enough, moderates not pushing for more in employee subsidies and a need for universal basic income, ignoring that many businesses were doing all they could just to stay open.

The real reason for the hiring issues, is much more nuanced and complex than just these political talking points, as these answers always seem to be. The blaming of others who don’t share your political beliefs is, in itself lazy, but it’s easier than doing the hard work of looking at what is actually happening.

What is actually happening, is that all of the things listed above are issues and potential solutions, but not nearly to the broad degree they are being promoted as. Did some people take advantage of the enhanced unemployment program? Sure, some people did. There’s not a system in existence someone hasn’t tried to take advantage of. If you don’t believe that, remember how you try to take advantage of a system annually to pay as little taxes as possible.

Do wages need to increase? Sure, in some industries they do, but not necessarily across the board- some people are doing very well. In other places, wage raises genuinely could hurt what the business can afford, whether some of us want to admit that or not. We need to recognize that in the communities in Maine where the businesses can afford to raise the wage to get workers, that is exactly what is happening- and if these businesses choose not to, their competitors are doing so. However, we still need to recognize that a small business in downtown Portland may be able to afford a higher wage than a small shop in Cherryfield, and that the same rules for those businesses can be tough for those in Cherryfield.

Those are just two examples, but the point is this, no solution is the sole answer to hiring shortages, nor do these points cover all unemployed. We still have people scared to bring home COVID-19 to their newborns, and immuno-compromised family members. There are people that are just tired of working and are reaching retirement age- neither of those groups should be blamed for not seeking employment. Some people want to work from home so they can do elder care. Some people can’t find jobs willing to pay them more than what their childcare costs would be, or can’t find childcare at all. The reasons for hiring shortages are numerous.

So, what’s our fourth quarter comeback going to look like? Are we going to continue the partisan bantering while ignoring the things that don’t fit our narrative, or are we finally going to discuss the issues to try and find solutions?

Here’s the good news: I’m seeing signs of a comeback and by that, I mean real solutions to help. The comeback begins with events like the one our chamber and the town of Brunswick held two weeks ago on making inclusive workspaces for New Mainers. It begins with a virtual workforce center announced by Governor Mills, former governor McKernan and the Maine Community College System yesterday.

It starts with our local chambers, like LA/Metro and Portland Regional Chamber initiating new workforce programs recently. It begins with our Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber unveiling 2-5 new workforce programs this November. It begins with making solutions rather than just complaining about problems. The signs for hope, growth and change are out there. We just need to be willing to support them when they come along.

Cory King is the executive director of the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber.

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