Our nation was founded to have a government “of the people, for the people and by the people.” It has evolved to “of the wealthy, for the privileged and by the upper crust.”

Locally, Auburn has force-fed us one extravagance after another. The latest is a proposed second multimillion dollar parking garage. I have never noticed a lack of parking spaces downtown. Meanwhile, the fire, police and school departments must fight tooth and nail for every penny. Then, senseless cuts are made anyway.

Statewide, our governor claims to be opposed to gambling. He railed against allowing a casino resort, which would have offered many jobs to replace those lost, and has thrown up roadblocks to hinder the racino. Then he welcomes Powerball, which offers not one new job. He has really insulted his citizens’ intelligence, and then borrows from future revenues to balance the budget.

On the national level, we are the forgotten North. President Bush and his cronies propose to move thousands of well-paying jobs down to Florida. What an outrage.

A drowning man can’t quibble about the color of his life raft. We Mainers are drowning in a sea of arrogant fiscal extravagance. It’s time to lower our noses from the sky and stop worrying about “undesirable elements.” The casino resort must be revisited. It’s not a pretty life raft, but it can still save us.

We deserve better. “Maine: The Way Life Should Be” cannot become a legacy of overwhelming debt to future generations.

Anne S. Ceplikas, Auburn

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