Question 4: is the answer to politicians’ overspending

To the editor:
    Miscellaneous Professional Fees and Special Services: $127,007,694; Miscellaneous Supplies: $2,453,185;Bottled Water: $82,533
    The items listed above are actual examples of Maine government spending in 2008, found on MaineOpenGov.org. The state of Maine spent over $125 million in taxpayer money on one miscellaneous category. Take a minute for that to sink in. Our hard-earned dollars are spent by the tens of millions by politicians and bureaucrats for “miscellaneous” purposes… like sparing themselves the long and treacherous walk to the water fountain for a drink.
    Augusta has a spending problem. It’s time to put a stop to politicians and bureaucrats treating Maine taxpayers like their own personal ATM. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Question 4 on the ballot this November, is the answer. Question 4 gives us the final say on large increases in government spending and future tax hikes.
    Since 2000, Maine state government spending has increased an incredible 46 percent. Over that same period of time, inflation grew by just 25 percent. If you had a say in Maine government’s spending decisions, would you have spent almost twice as much as Mainers’ ability to pay? Especially during tough economic times? Would you agree that hundreds of millions of tax dollars can be spent on “miscellaneous” items, without bothering to explain what was purchased? Politicians and bureaucrats did, and they spent our money to pay for it.
    Passing Question 4 will put an end to the hijacking of our tax dollars. TABOR lets us say “NO” when politicians want to spend our money on pet projects and political paybacks. It gives us the ability to decide whether government is spending too much, or we can approve additional spending for Maine’s highest priorities. Question 4 lets us decide.
    TABOR is a game changer, and that makes Augusta’s political class scared. They haven’t had to answer to taxpayers in a long time. Their “miscellaneous” spending has reached unprecedented and unsustainable levels, and the politicians and big government spenders are afraid that when TABOR passes, responsible taxpayers will force priorities in government spending, and eliminate their pet spending projects.
    Question 4 not only reins in Augusta’s tax-and-spend political class, it controls spending at the town level as well. Local governments, like Augusta, have been spending our money at an unprecedented and unsustainable rate. In fact, between 2000 and 2008, property taxes have increased a staggering 58 percent to fund overspending by town politicians.
    When TABOR passes, town politicians will have to ask us to raise property taxes by more than about 4 percent. No longer will property taxes skyrocket at the whims of unaccountable, tax-and-spend town politicians. If we, the local taxpayers, decide we want to pay more in property taxes to fund additional government programs, that’s how we will vote. If not, then those town politicians will have to reprioritize local government spending to fund their projects. Again, TABOR lets us decide.
    TABOR will let you decide if government should spend even more to hire new taxpayer-paid government employees. In the last decade, Maine has lost 13,000 private jobs. During this time when private companies were forced to lay off Maine workers because of high taxes and a tough economy, state government added 3,400 jobs to the public payroll. Should politicians have increased spending to fund these new taxpayer-paid positions, or should that extra money have gone back to the taxpayers? TABOR lets us decide.
    A total of $130 million for “miscellaneous” spending, 58 percent increase in property taxes, 3,400 new taxpayer-paid government positions. It’s time for Maine taxpayers and citizens to decide, can we afford to continue this trend?
Sam Adolphsen, coordinator
MaineOpenGov.org