Between the Governor and a hyperactive Legislature, it seems likely that Maine voters will be inundated with bond opportunities to vote for come the next election.

If history is any indicator, just about any harebrained scheme has a good chance of coming to fruition if its originator can manage to get it formulated as a bond issue and presented to the voting public festooned with ribbons and bows such as, "We owe it to our children", "the environment", "our health-care future", etc., etc.

I am flummoxed as to why the voters will continue to authorize borrowing more and more money when State revenues consistently fall short of being able to make required payments on our current indebtedness despite massive infusions of Federal tax money in addition to our own crushing tax burden. The very first step in escaping the deep hole that we are engineering is to STOP DIGGING!

Augusta's rejoinder is always that this is a perfect time to borrow money because the interest rates are so low and future savings will pay for the loan many times over.

Bull!

Borrowing more and more money and then trying to repay it, plus interest, has never saved the taxpayers of Maine a penny. All it does is raise taxes and fees and to sink us deeper into debt and with the reluctance of the ruling lords of Augusta to rein in spending to at least balance with revenues coming in, the projected "savings" have never materialized.

Democrats, of course are Democrats and the majority of them have no concept of fiscal responsibility. Washington, in their view, can simply print more money to cover its (our) indebtedness. Maine does not have that luxury, although our state ruling political class is doing its best to emulate the indefensible spending splurge engineered by Obama, Pelosi, and Reid under the guise of "stimulus" and a new "budget" that effectively doubles the national deficit.

And it really ticks me off when some Republicans, both in Washington and Augusta, sign off on this foolish, irresponsible path to destruction.

Government does nothing to create wealth; it is simply in the business of its redistribution while enhancing the lifestyle of elected officials and selected acolytes

At least Augusta is not whining about how they inherited all of the economic woes plaguing Maine, unlike the new national administration (who conveniently ignores the fact that Democrats have effectively controlled Congress for over two years and that the Democratic leadership, including the new President, voted for all of the same policies that they now castigate).

Can anyone say with a straight face that profligate spending and continuing to recklessly borrow money that you know that you will not be able to pay back would not result in utter disaster if you applied this concept to your personal finances?

Maine cannot print money; Augusta can only raise taxes and fees in order to meet the financial obligations that they assume in our name. Augusta has a long history of promoting bond issues for "vital" projects to replace money siphoned off to pay for social agendas advanced by special interest groups who depend upon taxpayer funding for their existence.

Washington is discovering that the bonds and other promissory instruments that they are attempting to peddle are beginning to be viewed with some suspicion and buyer's reluctance by other nations. Maine's bond rating has recently been subject to skepticism on the part of prospective purchasers.

The next time that you are in a voting booth deciding upon a bond issue, one might apply the same standards that you would utilize in making a personal purchase. Is this something that you really need? Should money for this particular item be instead supplied through the money that you already pay in taxes and fees? An additional bond means that the money to pay for it is going to be coming out of your pocket for years to come. Do you really want to reduce your income for this particular expenditure?

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical" - Thomas Jefferson

Then again, if you are not a taxpayer, my argument has little meaning for you, does it?

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