I have read much about Carol Palesky’s tax cap proposal, both pro and con. Now let us see it for what it is.
It is the fruit of our desperation with the tax system of the state of Maine. If it is a meat ax approach, as the governor has said, then so be it.
We, the people, have been painfully patient while our elected officials have, for decades, promised real tax relief. We wait still. Government officials have fiddled while this state’s economy has been reduced to ashes. They filled their budget gaps by taking more and more from property owners.
There is no more to take. People are losing their homes. It is not enough to stem the rising tide of property taxes; they must be cut.
We left it to our government and it has failed us.
What Carol Palesky has done is nothing short of revolutionary. If we want tax reform, then we must obviously do it ourselves. We must pass this initiative and shut off the revenue stream at the source. Let government live within its means as we must.
The responsibility for any hardship or privation caused by this proposal falls squarely on the shoulders of our lawmakers. Had they done what needed to be done, they would not have this forced upon them.
I applaud Ms. Palesky for her intrepidity. Such mettle is to be admired.
Long live citizen-mandated tax reform. Vivre la revolution.
Glenn Berube, Lisbon
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