LePage’s tax shift
Essentially, Gov.Paul Lepage’s new budget is offering me a small savings in Maine income tax in exchange for a huge cost-of-living increase in the form of sales tax and an exorbitant property tax increase.
This is supposed to be an incentive for me to retire in Washington County, despite the fact that it’s hundreds of miles from anywhere, has six months of winter, a crumbling infrastructure, poor health care and a rampant substance abuse problem.
Likewise, the lack of state income tax should bring investors flocking to Machias, a place connected to the rest of the world by two roads, a place with a small rural college, no trained workforce, no first-class theaters, restaurants, and no beaches available seven months out of the year.
The budget is cronyism in its worst form. Friends of LePage will get big tax reductions while the poor and working class will foot the bill.
Jim Alciere
East Machias
Winter war sniper
While American Chris Kyle is no doubt the unchallenged leading sniper in our history, his total of 160 confirmed kills with more probables pales by comparison with Finnish soldier Simo Hayha who during Finland’s Winter war with Russian troops (1939-1940) had 505 confirmed kills with perhaps another hundred probables. Hayha did this during a northern winter with temperatures as low as 40 below.
Ron Jarvella
Northport
Pellet failures
I should start out by saying we love our pellet stoves. We heat a 114-year-old Maine farmhouse to a toasty temperature for less than $1,000 per year. We’ve used less than 50 gallons of fuel oil in the past three years. All good, right? Not so much when suppliers, who receive government grants, local tax breaks and enjoy bountiful wood supplies, fail miserably.
As of today, I am unable to locate a single bag of wood pellets in Bangor, Brewer, Searsport or Belfast. The excuses I heard varied widely. “Gee whiz, the weather has been bad.” ”Our supplier can’t produce at night because they’re too noisy.” ”Our supplier is running at 60 percent capacity because the CMP power supply lines won’t support their equipment.” ”My dog ate my homework.” Sorry, the last one was my adolescent child.
Considering the number of boarded-up paper mills and unemployed workers we have in this state, how can we possibly lack the capacity to provide a reliable supply of wood products?
A Feb. 14 BDN article quoted industry representatives as saying consumers failed to prepare by purchasing their annual supply this summer. The audacity to blame consumers floored me. We don’t stockpile a whole years worth of a fragile, bulky and expensive commodity for the same reason you don’t. We can’t. They need to figure out a solution to peak demand challenges or lose their government subsidies and get out of the way for a competent provider who will meet expectations.
My pellet stove just gave its last gasp. I guess I should go call the oil company.
Paul Caron
Stockton Springs
Beebe-Center for House
Residents of Rockland and Owls Head have an opportunity on March 10 to pick a new state representative. I met Anne “Pinny” Beebe-Center when I was a representative in the 1990s. It is not difficult to run into her around Rockland. She is active meeting folks and working to help our community.
Anne was elected Knox County commissioner in 2002. She worked hard for eight years to coordinate services and eliminate duplication at county programs such as the courthouse, jail and airport. During five years working with Penquis Community Action, Anne had regular contact with our area problems. She worked to craft solutions that do not always require taxpayer dollars. Seeing a need for a larger and more diverse group to solve area homeless problems, she helped found Knox County Homeless Coalition, mobilizing various groups to take on the problem together.
Anne continues to work on these issues because she cares. She approaches problems with a practical and inclusive outlook. This outlook and her hard work would serve us well. Anne will continue to serve this area, both at home and in Augusta, if we elect her now.
I encourage you to vote Anne Beebe-Center for state representative on March 10. Don’t take this race for granted, though we just voted in November. We need to elect someone who will do her utmost to work with other legislators and the governor, making sure Rockland and Owls Head are not taken for granted in Augusta.
Paul Chartrand
Rockland