The president’s so-called growth package will stimulate unemployment and higher local taxes.

Despite the election season rhetoric and the partisan posturing, we in the Maine Legislature are truly united behind one goal: running a responsive and responsible government. We are all here to answer the call of public service and to be the voice of the people we represent.

This legislative session will provide us with another unifying factor: the well-publicized budget shortfall.

I am committed to believing that there are many areas in which we can make a difference, both large and small, to many Mainers. We are here to promote opportunity and secure the future in a number of arenas. The prospect of meaningful advances in tax reform, investment in education and the cost of health care is very real. This vision, of course, is clouded by the deficit and the action that will be necessary to correct it.

I am proud and eager to join my colleagues in this session as we try to lead Maine with both prudence and optimism.

With this feeling in mind, last week’s economic proposals put forward by President Bush are particularly disheartening. A government that is genuinely for the people would act in unison toward the best interests of the citizens. Unfortunately, this president has cast federal policy in an adversarial role.

The goals that we have in our sights here in Maine are jeopardized by a reckless and shortsighted “stimulus” plan from Washington.

For instance, our short-term challenge of filling the shortfall will be $40 million more difficult if this plan becomes law. Maine’s tax code is linked to federal tax code, so in the absence of creating our own IRS – something nobody wants – we will lose millions.

The “spending-is-out-of-control” crowd will surely applaud any shrinking of our revenue, but I am here with a guarantee that we will feel the impact in our most essential services. Everything from aid for K-12 education to health services could be subjected to cuts in the coming year. This reduction, in many instances, will be made up with increases in local taxes.

The Bush plan might do even greater damage to Maine’s long-term finances.

Tax-free dividend paying stocks would directly compete with the state issued bonds we rely on to pay for critical capital projects. It will be harder for Maine to renovate schools and repair roads if it has to raise interests rates in order to prevent investors from shifting money to the stock market. The full trickle down effect of this policy will be felt by the contractors and construction workers who don’t get hired to do these jobs.

When the president speaks of this plan as a growth package, he must mean the growth of Maine’s unemployed and growth of our future deficits.

The people of Maine continue to value and demand flourishing schools, affordable health care, a vibrant economy and pristine natural resources. All of these goals require, in part, a government that is willing and able to be an active partner with citizens and businesses alike.

So, at this moment of budgetary strife that threatens our good works, it is painfully discouraging to hear the president so willing to put us in more financial jeopardy.

Sen. Peggy Rotundo of Lewiston is Senate Chairwoman of the State and Local Government Committee and serves on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.

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