Gov. Paul LePage speaks with a forked tongue. He said he wants young people to stay in Maine, yet his actions are telling bright, young teachers to leave. Currently, Maine is 44th in teacher compensation. If LePage has his way, Maine will become 49th.

LePage wants to freeze retirement benefits for retired teachers for three more years, making a total of five years. Is that fair? Do he and legislators realize that many of those benefits are based on wages earned in the 1980s and ’90s? Teachers were paid much less then, making their benefits already low.

LePage said he wants to improve education in Maine.

Is forcing bright, young teachers to work outside Maine, and making teacher retirement more difficult going to improve education?

LePage wants to make Maine the most teacher-unfriendly state in the country.

To add insult to injury, the state borrowed millions of dollars from the retirement system with a promise to repay it. Now LePage is asking teachers to pay off the loan because the state cannot afford it. Wait, I have to think about that. You owe me millions of dollars, yet you want me to pay you what you owe me?

Legislators should beware. New elections will come and there is a lot of anger. After the next election, many of them may be looking for a new job, along with LePage, if they are agreeing with the governor’s proposals regarding the retirement system.

William Riggs, Wilton