The Feb. 11 letter “Wake Up,” criticizes liberals and Maine’s taxes.

Cut Maine taxes? Yes, but let’s not ignore federal spending. We have the largest deficit in history: we owe money to China and Japan. We spend more on the military than any other country. Over $366 billion has been spent on the Iraq war, with millions of our tax dollars reportedly stolen by Iraqi officials and dishonest contractors. Maine’s share of that war is $989 million, according to the National Priorities Project.

The richest 1 percent of Americans get billions in tax cuts while many workers lack health insurance. Many working people can’t make ends meet. White House budget priorities should match the priorities of ordinary taxpayers. National spending is out of control, and out of balance.

Maine taxes could be cut by following some suggestions in the Brookings Institution study. We could lower our large number of school administrators to nearer the national average. We have the lowest number of prisoners per capita in America, but we spend $62,200 per inmate. The report has many suggestions to save money, but good ideas are worthless if we fail to act.

Instead of stubbornly clinging to “liberal” and “conservative” labels and arguing endlessly over past events, we need to stop whining. Arguments and name-calling don’t work. Compromise is the only way to get national and state spending and taxes prioritized and under control.

Ellen Field, New Gloucester