Some of the recent Legislative news from Augusta convinces me that a dearth of common sense is not limited to Washington.

First, we have the current promotion for "tax relief" trumpeted by the State's Democratic leadership, a "revenue neutral" proposal that promises a boon for Maine's income tax payees.

Let me state without reservation that I do not believe anything that this group says, particularly when they insist that the public will benefit. I base this antagonistic viewpoint upon the multitude of broken past promises that for decades have been the hallmark of the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

Their plan is to make eligible for Maine's sales tax a multitude of heretofore exempt service activities such as food, lodging, ski lifts, movies, concerts, auto repairs, hair dressers, attorneys, accountants and on and on. The emphasis is placed on new taxes for the "entertainment" sector where supposedly the burden will mostly fall upon tourists. Considering that the tourist season is active for only a part of the year and the majority of people subject to the new taxes all year long will be Maine residents, presentation is specious from its inception. An additional inherent danger is that such taxes will encourage out-of-state visitors to take their business to more tourist-friendly environments such as New Hampshire.

Supposedly the revenues from all of these new taxes will make up the difference from reducing the State Income Tax from 8.5% to 6.5%; thereby the "revenue neutral" claim. The Legislature envisions basking in the accolades generated by their implementation of "tax reform".

Can anyone really swallow this malarkey? Since when has any Legislative meddling in the tax structure ever resulted in a true "revenue neutral" result, let alone a real benefit for the tax payers?

All of the projected savings and revenues are purely speculative at this point, subject to the variances of a declining economy. The numbers can be cooked in the usual Augusta fashion to provide any results that the government needs to bolster its actions. My suspicion is that careful examination of this proposal, particular attention being paid to the large increase in the number of goods and services subject to the sales tax, will reveal that Maine residents who can least afford increases in their cost of living will be affected the most. Keep in mind that one out of every four people in our state is collecting welfare and will not benefit from any decrease in the income tax obligation.

This proposal is a poster child for the law of unintended consequences, the most harmful of which is an increase in the overall tax obligations of our citizens. "Revenue neutral" is the same old cloak that the Legislature has employed for years to cover their insatiable thirst for spending to cover their social engineering agenda. It is even more disturbing to see Legislators who should know better, such as R-Peter Mills, supporting this travesty.

Second, we have a truly mind-boggling proposal by Rep. Alfond (D-Portland) to allow non-citizens to vote in our elections under the guise of "community participation". I find the motivation behind this concept truly difficult to understand. The constitutionality of such a law is highly questionable, but the utter disregard of the value of citizenship is for me the most disturbing aspect of this asinine idea.

How can someone be part of a community if they have shown flagrant disregard for the laws of the nation that they have selected to live in? Admittedly there are those who have followed the rules and immigrated legally, but for the majority of them their goal is eventual citizenship and they work hard to obtain that benefit. Without the status of citizenship an immigrant has made no true commitment to their new country and their status is therefore temporary.

I submit that such an individual has no right to be part of the decision-making process that will affect the lives of legal residents of any community, local or national. What is to prevent any individual or group, immigrants legal or illegal, potentially or actively subversive, from undermining the rights of our American citizens?

Rep. Alfond, unfortunately, is an active participant in the movement engineered by members of the radical Left to denigrate the laws, values, mores and social structure that have built and supported America.

I doubt that his actions reflect the feelings of the majority of his constituents. They would do well to remember this intransigence come time for re-election.

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