Skeptical of Collins
I’m sure we’ll hear praise for Sen. Susan Collins thanking her for the vote for the resolution rejecting Trump’s national emergency declaration. An act of courage and principal. Color me skeptical.
It was a give away vote. Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Collins knew it would be vetoed by Trump and the veto will be sustained. They’ve counted votes. After all, only enough Republicans will vote against Trump to assure that his veto is safe. I’ll be more impressed when the senator actually casts a vote with meaning ( Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation) or where she doesn’t get “played” by McConnell or the former House Speaker Paul Ryan (tax vote).
Jeffrey Hartnett
Deer Isle
I miss Non Sequitur
I read the comics starting with Mark Trail, going “backwards” all the way through and ending up at the top of the previous page, which used to be Non Sequitur.
I could almost always count on being able to laugh quietly. The content might poke fun via a religious theme (the gates of heaven and hell were favorites), a political theme, or a commentary that focused on a social theme. No matter which, it usually challenged me to think about the state of our culture in some way.
I miss that engagement.
I hope that you will consider restoring it after printing the apology from cartoonist Wiley Miller. Perhaps you could suggest that he make such an apology in the form of one of his weekday strips.
Bruce Burnham
Old Town
Sickening drug prices
The cost of prescription drugs is literally making people sick. For those of us who take multiple medications, it’s getting harder to keep up with cost increases. Even if you take generics, they still add up.
I take 10 medications. Some I take twice a day because I have a heart condition. I also have diabetes. I’m doing my best to stay ahead of the costs and keep my health in line, but I spend 10 percent of my income on my medications. At the end of each month, there isn’t anything left. There are many other people just like me who are struggling to afford their medications. The worry and the stress of it all is overwhelming.
The drug companies can do better. They charge Americans more for prescription drugs than any other country in the world. They seem to care more about their bottom line than they do about helping people stay healthy. Let’s face it: the sicker we get, the more money they make.
We need our legislators to stand up for us. We need the pharmaceutical companies to stop overcharging us. It won’t happen unless we get involved. So I’m calling my legislators today. Are you?
Chuck Stanley
Ellsworth
Facts show progress in Maine university system
The Bangor Daily News accurately reported that the University of Maine System budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 includes a $3.2 million deficit. However, the facts show the system has indeed made the progress Chancellor James Page reported on in his March 14 address to the Legislature.
The system has steadily lowered projected deficits under the One University initiative from $7.1 million in FY 2016 to a starting point shortfall of $3.2 million for FY 2020. Next year’s deficit, which is 0.56 percent of the university’s proposed $573 million spending plan, will be covered by campus reserves and system budget stabilization funds.
As part of next year’s spending plan the universities will continue to make progress on the priority setting and resource alignment that achieved $80 million in annual savings throughout the system and sustained a six-year tuition freeze that actually lowered inflation-adjusted tuition for Maine families.
Financial stability creates new opportunities the system is using to invest in Maine students with adult degree completion, early college and workforce-focused programs that are contributing to the highest enrollment growth of any public university system in New England.
The universities are also proposing to invest an additional $6.6 million in financial aid next year. The $93.2 million in scholarships and tuition waivers planned for next year would be the most ever available to help lower the cost of attendance and to lower student debt so university graduates can afford to live and work in Maine’s rural communities.
Dan Demeritt
Director of public affairs
University of Maine System
Augusta