Last week, the Maine Supreme Court unanimously overturned a ruling by a superior court judge that said petitions for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) were turned in too late. By doing so, TABOR will now be on the ballet for this November.
Very simply, the higher court determined Maine’s Constitution took priority over statutes that conflict with it. Will the statutes pertaining to petition drives in Maine be rewritten? I have no idea but did hear some legislators discussing that very issue last Friday at the Republican Convention in Augusta. It was a shame I didn’t attend Saturday but at least I know that TABOR was mentioned as a good thing for Maine.
I support TABOR for many reasons, and the most important reason is that we must begin the process of turning Maine around to a state with fiscal responsibility. I am sure many of you already realize that Maine has our country’s worse tax burden which is at 13.5 percent. We are number 49 as far as being business friendly, and also rank low because of income levels.
Having the highest tax burden with lower income is not a good thing. Maine has also lost more jobs than have been created, though our governor said he has created something like 5,000 more jobs.
I also support TABOR because it is not a smoke screen like the piece of legislation known as LD1, which our governor and others tout as true tax relief for Maine. Spending was actually increased under LD1 to increase funding for local schools. Where did this money come? Do you remember all the fees that our governor increased that are paid for by us? They certainly don’t have a money tree in Augusta but they certainly have a big enough hole to throw our money in!
Simply put, one cannot have tax relief if more money is being spent by our state government than ever before.
For those of you still not familiar with TABOR, it is a proposed change to Maine’s Constitution that will limit increases of growth of government at all levels to a rate the same as inflation with a factor for growth of population. Surpluses must be returned to people but government must use 20 percent for a rainy day fund. If increased spending is needed, a legislative body must pass the request by a two-thirds majority and then it can be approved when a majority of citizens approve. It does not call for a reduction of government spending (local, county or state) like the opponents of TABOR are clamoring about in the press.
The opponents of TABOR will declare all-out war on its supporters. Advertisements from the Gang of 75 non-profits will tout this as another Tax Cap campaign where your babies will die, your houses will burn and all your government services will disappear. Nothing is further from the truth. TABOR simply controls the growth of increase in government spending.
So why are the opponents so vocal about defeating TABOR? I feel it is for one main reason. Your money is what they want. They depend on handouts from our government in order for them to continue. It appears that they want all your money so that they can take care of you and isn’t that just sweet of them? Maybe what they are truly saying is that we are too dumb to handle our own money and they would love to do it for us. Well, that’s bovine scatology!
We cannot tax ourselves into prosperity. Let’s make Maine a better place to live and do business by passing the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. It makes Maine a government by the people instead of the teachers’ union, Maine Municipal Association and non-profits. It’s your money!
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