Trump budget lacks forethought
I wonder if many of President Donald Trump’s supporters are aware that his proposed budget is bent on dismantling the government agencies that were created to make sure our systems, including our environment, are monitored and that we are protected. Although the cuts affect many agencies that support citizens, one of those most vital to Maine is the cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Trump proposes to cut NOAA’s funding by 17 percent. NOAA is responsible for monitoring the weather and the climate. NOAA collects data, builds forecasting models that support farming and fisheries. NOAA supports 33 universities that do research. It monitors and collects data on space. These cuts are not money savers. They will cost us dearly and place citizens and businesses in jeopardy. How can we be at peace when we don’t know about serious rain and wind storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and ice storms beforehand?
Many of Trump’s actions show a lack of forethought, depth of knowledge or a willingness to research or listen to those who have knowledge regarding the wide range effects of his cuts. He is bent on the sacrifice of government agencies in order to push his agenda forward. A determination to increase military spending should not supersede or replace consideration for the people and the environment upon which they depend.
Every citizen should be concerned about this administration’s cuts and moves to eliminate the governmental agencies that have been designed to protect this country and its citizens.
Nancy Gilbert
Durham
Time change solution
Larry Merrill’s March 11 BDN letter to the editor was super.
He suggested that instead of moving the time ahead an hour for daylight saving time, we should change the time by a half-hour and make that the change permanent so we don’t have to go through the disruption twice per year any more. The current system is not disruptive, but it is inconvenient and does cause some people to be off schedule if they forget to make the change.
A number of nations use nonstandard time settings, and they get along just fine. Publications, sources of public information and writers to their representatives who give this idea publicity will gather great respect.
Roy Martin
Glenburn
Military a bloated bureaucracy
President Donald Trump wants to increase the budget of what may be the most wasteful organization on earth, the U.S. Department of Defense. With well over 3 million employees, it is the largest employer in the world. Its budget accounted for 54 percent of all discretionary spending in 2015. The Defense Business Board, a federal advisory panel of corporate executives and consultants from McKinsey and Company, produced a report revealing that the Pentagon was wasting $125 billion. But the report was suppressed to save it from Congressional cuts.
The total Pentagon budget approaches $600 billion per year, much larger than any government agency related to the health, education and welfare of the American people. Where does all that money go? It goes to weapon systems that might be obsolete but create jobs in states, such as Maine at the Bath Iron Works, which makes the Zumwalt class destroyers, and congressional districts throughout the country; the nearly 800 military bases across the world whose necessity has not been re-evaluated in decades; and of course the military contractors who are supposed to save the Pentagon money but profit from government outsourcing.
So instead of being starved as Trump would have us believe, the U.S. military is a bloated bureaucracy that will do little to protect us from terrorism, which is in any event the official task of some 17 other government agencies.
Robert LeVine
Surry
Solar a boon for farmers
I was disappointed Rep. MaryAnne Kinney of Limington and other Republican representatives failed to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of last year’s solar bill. I hope she will see more clearly this year the opportunities expanding solar offers her constituents and vote yes for Rep. Seth Berry’s proposed bill, An Act to Protect and Expand Access to Solar Power in Maine.
It’s time to solarize Maine. Maine farmers like Kinney’s family understand the pinch of high electricity costs all too well. From refrigeration to cultivation to processing, a farm’s energy needs are vast. Enacting sensible solar policy would empower farmers to capitalize on the cost savings associated with generating their own power while making them less vulnerable to volatile electricity rates. It also would open up opportunities to use fallow land for community solar farms.
It just makes economic sense. In the meantime, many of the state’s farmers have had to hit pause on embracing solar because of the attack on net metering from the Maine Public Utilities Commission that rolls back net metering over time, creating barriers to solar expansion.
The Legislature should do all it can to support clean energy jobs in solar firms and create more of them. Let’s not fail to act again this year. We Mainers need to signal our legislators that it’s time to take advantage of the economic benefits connected to solar expansion.
Deb Avalone-King
Brooks
Conceal carry concern
As a former federal firearms license holder, I noticed a glaring omission in the March 20 BDN article about a bill under consideration in the Legislature to allow 18-year-olds to carry concealed weapons.
Under federal law, you have to be 21 to buy a handgun. You can buy a long gun at 18, but 21 is the legal age to buy a handgun. Obviously, the representative proposing this bill does not know the federal laws pertaining to gun buying.
I do not agree with the change in Maine’s law that did away with the need for a concealed carry permit, allowing people to conceal carry without having to undergo any training or licensing process. As a veteran, I underwent considerable training in the military on weapons use and responsibility. And I thought the Maine concealed carry process did a good job of vetting any person who wanted to carry a concealed weapon in public.
I would hope that those who do will at least attend some training on responsible care and use.
Larry Ferrell
Newport