In his guest column June 4, Jim Wellehan made a clear and moral case for why the estate tax must not be repealed, despite the claims of the Bush administration that doing so would help spur economic growth.

If our nation were to repeal the estate tax now, it would result in $1 trillion lost in federal tax revenue during the next decade. That is $1 trillion that can be spent on improving public education, roads and infrastructure, affordable housing, renewable energy research and the health care system. Leveraging financial resources to address these critical challenges will have a far greater benefit for the public and the economy than a tax break that only fattens the pockets of a few wealthy individuals.

It should also be mentioned that Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who supports complete repeal of the estate tax, has put forward a reform proposal that is only the faade of a compromise. It is estate tax repeal in reform’s clothing. Kyl’s plan would drastically reduce the estate tax, costing nearly as much as a full repeal.

At a time when our nation faces such a huge spending deficit, tax cuts of this enormity do not make ethical or even mathematical sense.

I would urge our own Sens. Snowe and Collins to oppose the repeal or reduction of the estate tax, a means for the wealthiest to pay their fair share of taxes.

Craig Saddlemire, Lewiston