Trickle-down tax
If Mainers think Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed state tax plan sounds familiar, they’re right. Something similar has already been tried in Kansas, reddest of the red states. Since 2012, Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and a tea party legislature have implemented a radical tax-cutting program designed by the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council, which also has been active in Augusta. It’s the largest tax cut ever enacted by an individual state.
The results are in, and the Kansas economy, far from booming as promised, is a basket case and a national laughing stock. Brownback and company lowered the state’s top income-tax bracket by 25 percent (LePage proposes a more modest 13 percent cut) and eliminated all taxes on business profits reported on individual tax returns. State tax revenue fell by half, necessitating drastic budget cuts across the board, especially to the Kansas educational system, which has lost $500 million in funding since Brownback took office.
Other good tidings included a worsening state job market, a shrinkage in the number of state businesses and a decline in average state earnings. Kansas became one of only five states to actually lose employment outright in the first six months of 2014. Topping it off, Moody’s Investor Service, citing concerns over tax cuts and state financial management, downgraded the Kansas credit rating last spring.
Given this record of futility, it’s a wonder Maine’s political leadership would even consider discredited, Kansas-style trickle-down tax cuts geared to the top income earners.
Wayne O’Leary
Orono
Death penalty for cop killers
A Jan. 18 BDN article explained that Sen. Bill Diamond was proposing to restore capital punishment for a crime against children. I applaud this initiative by the senator.
However, I would like to see him extend his thinking to capital punishment for anyone killing a state law enforcement officer to include: town and city cops, county sheriffs, state police, state game wardens and forest rangers.
Gary Osgood
Carroll Plantation
Local food benefits
Mario Moretto’s Jan. 16 article on Maine’s food activists presents a balanced picture of food sovereignty issues in the state. Maine’s local foods movement is about many things, not just one or two: community — the importance of personal knowledge and reciprocal relationships in buying and selling food; democracy — making decisions closest to the points of impact; food sovereignty — the rights of individuals and families to decide what to grow and what to eat.
It also is about nutrition — local, especially organic, food is better food; sustainability of agriculture — broadly decentralized and smaller-scale farming addresses coming climate destabilization and Big Ag’s dependence on petrochemicals and herbicides; and economic development — young people’s aspirations for farming can reverse the long decline in agricultural occupations and livelihoods.
Another aspect is lessening risk to consumers — local food passes through far fewer hands and travels far fewer miles, very critical variables in the incidence of foodborne illnesses (most often linked with Big Ag, not small), and the accountability of producers and processors of local food is more closely linked to their customers.
It also is about appropriate regulation and government support — taking into account farm size and circumstance and achieving much more substantial equity in the form and purposes of public subsidy for big farms and small.
Newspapers cover struggles, potential winners and losers. Advocates of food sovereignty, though, see ourselves not as fighting but as seeking support for husbanding and growing sound principles and practices long in place. It is a policy conversation with many facets. It will take time to unfold to its successful conclusion.
Hendrik D. Gideonse
Brooklin
Shame on Penn State
As reported in the BDN of Jan. 17/18, Joe Paterno is again “the winningest coach in major college history.” Shame on Penn State, on the NCAA, and on the Pennsylvania lawmakers for honoring an individual who knowingly allowed Jerry Sandusky, a convicted pedophile in prison, to sexually assault children.
Robert Gossart
Salisbury Cove
Climate moral imperative
I am writing in reference to the Jan. 13 column by Bloomberg View columnist Albert R. Hunt, “Pope Francis rattles political conservatives in U.S.” As a Catholic, lifetime Mainer and mother of five girls and grandmother of six wonderful young adults, I am compelled to reply with delight to Francis’ courage and demonstrated great strength that he has shown through his position on climate change. I fully concur that it is our moral imperative to address climate change.
I am an active member of the Bangor Chapter of the Citizen’s Climate Lobby and urge others to become involved. This is a nonpartisan group working to gain support of a neutral carbon fee and dividend policy. It is a straightforward policy that mobilizes people to reduce the carbon footprint.
I am driven by my feelings that it is our responsibility to our children, grandchildren and future generations. This very serious issue needs to be addressed by the public both young and old. It is our obligation to preserve this beautiful world. Please become involved and visit https://citizensclimatelobby.org.
Beth Martin
Bangor
Maine’s gift
Maine’s natural resources are our most valuable currency. From the lobster we pull from the ocean to the forests we manage, Mainer’s livelihoods are dependent on the Earth that surrounds us. Maine’s natural beauty, what we see, smell and feel when we walk out our front doors every morning, is a part of that currency. It’s what inspires people to move, or to stay, here. It’s what brings hundreds of thousands of tourists into the state every year.
A new national park and national recreation area, as proposed by Elliotsville Plantation Inc., would help to capitalize on our amazing resource. The park would showcase Maine’s North Woods, as only the National Park Service can. A park would attract people to move to, visit or stay in the area.
A modest area would be preserved in perpetuity, leaving room for economic development. It’s time for Maine’s delegation to accept Elliotsville Plantation’s gift on behalf of all Mainers.
Len Clarke
Port Clyde