The wealthy have renewed their tax breaks, for investment in more Chinese jobs. We can settle down to gridlock for two more years.

Paul LePage is an excellent manager. He can sort out some of Maine’s problems. He cannot provide “affordable” health care. An excellent book titled “The Healing of America,” by J. R. Reid explains how other developed nations get better medical results at about half the cost.

Sens. Snowe and Collins do not want my family to have affordable health care. They favor no “head-to-head competition,” with insurance company profits. Our economy can’t recover under the burden of health care costs that consume nearly 20 percent of GDP. I consider this to be a moral issue.

America ranks low in math scores. The tea party plans to balance the budget, pay off the national debt, and give massive tax breaks to the wealthy. Since they are in violation of fourth-grade arithmetic, perhaps it makes no difference whether our young people learn arithmetic.

Our journalists have been replaced by trivia mongers. Sarah Palin is really cute with her moose gun and dry powder. Her silly antics seem to fit right into the program, and perhaps help sell certain pharmaceuticals. We seem to have many dysfunctions, including political dysfunction.

We are encouraged to cheer for the nastiest of those Democrats and Republicans who spit at each other. I hope Paul LePage will be an exception.

I think he will.

Bruce Hayden, Otisfield