The greedy Augusta Legislature has struck again. This time it is the Transportation Committee that has approved an 11-cent tax increase on gasoline.
Are they nuts? The country is in the midst of a recession and many people can’t afford gasoline even when it’s $1.25 per gallon. Now it is more than $2.50. By the time the increase gets approved, people will probably be paying at least $3 per gallon. What are they thinking?
I hear their complaints that they don’t have enough money to keep the roads and bridges repaired. Officials should stop stealing DOT funds to balance the state budget. More than that, DOT workers need to be told to stop loafing and shovel-leaning in plain sight of the traveling public.
Maine’s infrastructure is bad because officials allowed it to get bad while the governor and Legislature played loose with the budgets. Perhaps part of the problem might be that many public workers are paid better than private workers.
And why does a road, resurfaced less than a year ago, now show excessive cracking? Is the quality of the material suitable, and if not, why not? Makes me wonder who is running the farm.
It appears to me that the public can no longer afford the government that exists in Augusta and, for that matter, in most cities and towns as well.
We get the government we allow. The public must demand changes before it is too late.
George A. Fogg, North Yarmouth

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