I was amazed the other day to hear an opponent of the Question 4 ballot initiative suggest that Maine does not have a government spending problem. Really?
When I look in the Maine Heritage Policy Center's Piglet Book on state spending, I see plenty of money being wasted.
How about Dirigo Health? That boondoggle, which the press never reports about, has cost taxpayers $155 million, and there are more people without health insurance today than there were before Dirigo Health was created. What a waste!
What about the money we've been wasting on so-called "clean elections" campaigns? Every two years we spend $3 million on welfare for politicians running for the Legislature. We'll probably spend $10 million on next year's governor's race. Does any other state in the country have a program like this?
Even the little things cost too much. Why was $82,000 spent on bottled water?
All we hear about is how state spending has been cut and cut, but there are plenty more places to be cut, for sure.
Mark Turek, Randolph
With the emergence of yet another TABOR debate and vote, I bet many Mainers don't realize that a Tax and Expenditures Limit law (TEL) is in effect. It's called LD 1 and it was enacted by the Legislature in January 2005.
After voters defeated the Palesky tax cap referendum in November 2004, the Legislature reacted to public pressure and passed LD 1 to control spending, in addition to requiring the state to implement the 55 percent K-12 education funding that was passed by voters in June 2004.
LD 1 is a comprehensive and complex law that uses widely accepted formulas. As of December 2008, 23 states had spending limits, including Maine's LD 1, four had tax limits and three had a combination of both, including Colorado's, which most experts agree is the most restrictive in the country.
In 2006 Maine voters defeated the original TABOR proposal that was modeled after the now-suspended Colorado plan. The latest version, TABOR II, has been slightly modified, but still very restrictive, to make it more acceptable.
Because of revenue shortfalls in recent years, LD 1's limits have never been reached. So we don't know whether or not it's a workable model. I question the need, wisdom and advisability of instituting a more restrictive model, especially when it will establish as a baseline the budgets realized during this severe recession.
Again, most knowledgeable experts agree that for our state to experience meaningful economic growth, our workforce must be educated, our infrastructure must be maintained and our vulnerable citizens can't be shunted aside.
During these difficult economic times, why do we want to put our state in a financial straitjacket when we know we have needs to be met?
Therefore, I urge voters to give LD 1 a chance to prove its worth. Vote "no" on TABOR.
Roger Beeley, Scarborough
Once again, Maine voters have a chance to put state and local government on a budget by voting "yes" on Question 4.
In 2006 TABOR was narrowly defeated. Immediately, the governor and the Legislature promised to fix Maine's tax burden.
Promises, promises: Taxes haven't been cut, spending has continued to skyrocket and Maine's economy is worse than ever:
- From July 2000 to 2009, government jobs increased by 3,400, but the private sector lost 13,000 jobs.
- From 2000 to 2008, state spending has increased at twice the rate of inflation.
- Between 2008 and 2009, more than half the towns in Maine have lost a combined 3,056 people, but those same towns raised property taxes by $45 million.
And according to the Maine Department of Labor and the Maine Legislature, there will be $300 million in new state tax increases in fiscal year 2008-2011.
The well-funded associations opposing TABOR are looking out for their own interests,...
