No matter how Sen. Susan Collins spins it, the Senate version of tax reform will hurt many Maine families for many Christmases to come.
Sen. Angus King condemned it. Maine’s largest newspaper reported on its negative impact on our citizens. The Congressional Budget Office scored it poorly. Every Senate Democrat refused to vote “yes” on this bill, which offers the most to the wealthiest and raises taxes over time on families with annual incomes below $75,000. To control our ballooning national debt, the measure is expected to open the floodgates to slash Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for those most in need.
Why did Susan Collins vote “yes”? Is she just another “good old boy”? Did Sen. Collins not understand the bill? Is she unaware that nearly 1 in 5 Maine children lives in poverty? Is Susan Collins so naive that she believes that record-setting business incentives will lead to substantial wage increases, or does she not genuinely care about the real working class?
Most upper-income Americans are substantially invested in the stock market; returns on investments in 2017 have been historically spectacular. These men and women do not need federal income tax reductions; they are doing just fine! Wage earners (according to our own government measures) have seen only small increases in hourly pay in a country with a minimum wage that can leave many hardworking American families below the poverty level.
Yes, Susan Collins voted with Donald Trump this Christmas. As one Mainer who truly loves this state, I will not wish either one of them “Merry Christmas,” but will drop onto both knees and pray that Sen. Collins has a change of heart and fights once again for the real people of Maine.
Jim Storer
Westbrook
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