Most of us do not have the resources to school our children by ourselves. Employers are reducing or divesting themselves entirely of health care and retirement obligations. The one agency of community that we have to protect ourselves and our posterity is our government.

Our effective state and local tax rate in 2004 was the same as it was in 1996, and was lower every year in between. Meanwhile, health insurance premiums have risen by double digits for the past five years, and we are all familiar with the dramatic rise in gas and oil prices. Health insurance, pharmaceutical and oil companies are all posting record profits. We should be very honest about who is actually “picking our pockets.”

The proportion of elders in our society is going to rise for some years to come. The question we face as a community is whether to honor our fathers and mothers. It is no coincidence that AARP is actively working against the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

TABOR is a bad idea because it does not address the root causes of the rise in the cost of our government. Children need schools, schools need buses, buses need fuel. Schools need oil for heat. Schools need teachers, and teachers need health insurance, more than everyone else. It is no coincidence that the Maine Education Association is actively working against TABOR.

TABOR is a proven failure. After 10 years of structural deterioration, Coloradans suspended theirs. Let’s take care of our responsibilities and not waste 10 years.

John Henderson, Auburn