This is in response to the March 12 letter from Daniel Lalonde Sr., who pointed out that the state wants to issue bonds worth $306 million. The total cost of those bonds would be about $1 billion. Such expenditures are the greatest reason why Maine is one of the most taxed states in the nation.

How many other bonds, plus interest, are taxpayers already paying for? That is why the state is always broke. Voters keep sending legislators to Augusta who never ran a business.

The governor wants to buy some 100,000 laptop computers for high school students. I’ll bet most teenagers already have a computer at home, and video game systems, so why should taxpayers foot the cost? If you can’t afford to pay cash, don’t buy it.

My recommendations: No new projects for the next 10 years; fix only the necessities, such as potholes; repair only the worst bridges; and pay off the bonds with federal stimulus funds. It would take a few years, but there would be a surplus of cash every year. Also: Cut departments by a third and let employees learn to do a day’s work, like it used to be.

The population would support such measures, but, sad to say, it won’t happen because elected officials don’t have the know-how. If they did, they would all be in business themselves. A debt-free business and household is never in trouble, even with a bad economy.

Norm Boulay, Lewiston