It has already been established that enacting the fiscal stranglehold called for by TABOR II during a recession is a shortsighted and irresponsible form of budgetary decision making.
Passing TABOR II virtually ensures deep cuts to essential programs and services for decades to come. This experiment failed miserably in Colorado, where the governor is currently contemplating which felons can be "safely" released from the state's woefully underfunded prison system.
But what's often overlooked is that TABOR II, a bill touted by its supporters as "a taxpayer bill of rights" is, at its core, anti-democratic. It's less a boon to citizens than it is to special interest groups.
It takes big money to get referendums past the petition phase and on the ballot. That big money comes from out-of-state groups, like the ones funding TABOR's hydra and Question 1 this year.
As is evident this year, referendums are more marketing warfare than democratic tradition. In addition, relying on voter referendum to approve budgetary needs is a very untimely process.
State governments require flexibility to respond to both emergencies and annual changes in tax revenue, flexibility that growth formulas never allow for.
TABOR also undermines our elected officials by making fiscal decisions for them. The originators of TABOR would have you believe that their formulaic spending caps are better than our representatives at making provisions for Maine's present and future.
We feel best served by a budgeting process that includes discussion between elected representatives of varied interests, one that carefully evaluates program outcomes, and one that thoughtfully allots funds.
Instituting TABOR is like handing the state government an ax when it really needs a scalpel. Don't let Grover Norquist and his government-drowning ideologues use their political ax on one of our most cherished American institutions – representative democracy.
Cassandra Baker
Anthony Foianini
South Portland
As another campaign season heats up, it's interesting to listen to each side of the debate over Question 4 on this year's ballot.
This citizen initiative is aimed at reducing taxes by limiting the amount that government spending can grow each year. Question 4 also would require voter approval on excess spending increases and unfair tax hikes.
The opponents of this tax-saving measure talk constantly about how, when it passes, the local and state governments will be "devastated." They talk about how programs might suffer, or government might not have enough. We guess we expect these arguments from government officials, always the champions of the status quo.
Most disturbing to us is that you hear nothing, and we mean not one single word, from the opponents of these tax-saving measures about you and us – the taxpayers and citizens of Maine. We are worried we don't have enough, and we have to work hard to keep our own spending down in these tough times, so it's pretty difficult for us to feel bad for government when they cry poverty.
I wish the opponents of Question 4 would stop talking about themselves, and how they think it will hurt government, and start talking about us, the taxpayers of Maine and the good it will do for us. Vote "yes" on 4. We need the tax relief.
Karen and Robert Dickinson
Raymond
