To the editor:
Again I write to extend my thoughts to you about this year’s mid-term election. Scrutinize the ballots well and try to make some common sense decisions. Some info that will be on the ballot to think about real hard are:
• A vote “Yes” on the charter commission in the local arena will give the citizens of Caribou a chance to choose from a selection of responsible citizens that will be on the ballot in November to be on the charter commission. Also it will give every citizen in this city a chance to provide input to these individuals about what they would like to change or add to the city charter that will enhance the justification for living in this community. This is a very important issue and should not be taken lightly. This will also enhance the life and well being of all the citizens of Caribou and it’s imperative that we get this right.
• Bond issues on the state level. Bond issues are nothing more than another debt load on the back of the citizens of this state under the guise that it will provide jobs and make life in the state of Maine a utopia. Nothing could be farther from the truth, Utopia is hell when it comes to payback time.
The dilemma with bond issues is that when you take a rational look at what you get for your money is that, historically speaking, after you pay the interest on the loan, add the bloated management of the funds and government waste in general because of this easy money, most bond issues have 0 benefits, long-term debt and commitments that you can bequeath to your children and grandchildren you leave behind while the fat cats in government have job security and job creation just to solve the problems they’ve incurred with bond issues.
Also you can rest assured that they in government will not aspire to any blame for these spending programs funded by bond money but will lay it right on the backs of the very citizens for voting for them and rightly so — stupid decisions are made by stupid people and they deserve what they get. Too bad we all end up paying for their mistakes.
I challenge anyone in government to provide documentation where bond money was used that provided long-term benefits or employment in the private sector which provides the payback for these bonds. Oh yes they’ve created government jobs but also burdened us with programs that we could have possibly lived without and not committed us with forever funding of useless programs.
Take a long hard look at question no. 3 on bond issues and make note that the transportation bond approved in 2009 and make note again on how they can take $4 million and use it for the capital rail purpose in 2010. When this bond money was voted on in 2009 was the capital rail issue part of that bond issue back then? If not what was it supposed to be for and why was this voted on in 2009.
I’m confused here — are we just placing bond issues on the ballot before we know what we need it for? This isn’t chump change here, we’re talking about four million dollars. This proves a point that bond issues are voted on with no clear understanding beforehand as to whether or not we need it or what it’s going to be used for at the time it’s approved by the vote of the people. Please do yourself a favor if you go to the polls and exercise your right to vote and vote “No” on all bond issues.
• New sales or value added taxes. New value added taxes have been talked about for years to take the place of all the oppressive taxes now in place as a means for everyone to pay his or her fair share of taxes that fund public service and social benefits. Now it’s in the arena not to replace oppressive taxation of the past and present but to embellish what is already in place because they’ve taxed everything including the air we breath and can’t come up with any justifiable ideas on how to take us to the cleaners.
Let’s let the powers to be know that we want fair and responsible government. Vote “Yes” on the charter commission, vote “Yes” to reject the new law to lower Maine’s income tax — it’s an uncontrollable scam, and vote “No” on bond issues we gain nothing by going farther in debt at the expense of a few.
Caribou
