Dear Editor:

There are two kinds of "Think tanks" - Conservative, like the Cato Institute, and Liberal, like the Brookings Institution.

Taking advice from a recent Brookings study entitled "Charting Maine's Future," Gov. Baldacci and the legislature are attempting to solve our fiscal problems with plans like School Consolidation (rich grist for later letter) and "investments." Investments usually come in the form of bond issues of course, and this year is no exception. On November 6 we will vote on one for $55 million for "research and technological development." The payoff we are told, "will come down the line" when companies will hire skilled researchers and engineers. My question is what companies? Maine, being one of the most unfriendly states for business, has scant few of these. It's interesting that one never sees studies that go back and measure the results of previous "investments."

The second will be for $35.5 million for the "Land for Maine's Future Fund" to purchase "scenic and outdoor recreation" land, thus protecting it from future development (also protecting it from much needed property taxes). This we are told is an investment in Maine's "brand" i.e. "The Way Life Should Be."

Recognizing that the Maine voter never saw a bond issue it couldn't pass up, it is worth noting a few facts.

The debt owed to state hospitals because of low reimbursement or outright non-reimbursement for Medicaid services is more than $350 million. Because since our Medicaid population is the highest in the country (per capita) and growing, this debt is going to be tough to ever retire.

Our debt from previous bond issues is nearly $550 million. The payment for this debt is close to $100 million a year, or about four percent of the general fund budget.

As bad as the conventional debt and the hospital debt may appear, they are dwarfed by the debt incurred from pensions to retired teachers and state workers. We have about $8 billion in pension liabilities but only $5 billion invested to pay for them. This gap of $3 billion must be made up and we are on a schedule to pay it by the year 2028. Originally, this debt was to be retired by the year 2018. But it was discovered that by "refinancing" we could stretch out the payments another 10 years. This gave the state more money to meet current expenses, but it saddled future taxpayers with the payments. Just like with a home mortgage, the longer you stretch out the payments, the more in interest you will pay. By adding 10 more years of interest, Maine taxpayers will be paying an additional $2.5 BILLION.

And here's the sad part: The original repayment plan would have been complete by 2018. With this plan, our unfunded liability will still be $3 billion in 2018, the same as today. The state's annual payments balloon in the later years, growing from $186 million now to $574 million in 2028!

There's more. Our unfunded liability for health insurance for retired state workers and teachers—a separate account—now stands at $3.2 billion. It has nearly tripled in four years and doubtless will grow rapidly. Paying off this massive debt over 20 years will cost at least another $212 million a year—about seven percent of the budget. These staggering numbers don't even include health benefits to firefighters and police officers. There should be another $80 million in the fund to cover those new obligations, but of course there isn't. All told, our unfunded liabilities and conventional debt amount to $6.8 billion or around $14,000 for every Maine household. The payments to get out from under this debt will absorb more than 16 percent of all tax revenues in Maine for at least the next two decades, yet the Brookings report made no mention of these huge unfunded liabilities, cheerfully recommending that we borrow another $304.5 million beyond the above mentioned bonds. The governor himself cites the report as "a blueprint to improve our economy."

The United States birth replacement rate is 2.1, which is exactly the rate necessary to maintain a stable population. The states of Maine and Vermont have the lowest birth replacement rates of all states at about 1.6, since there are few young people having children. They've piled their sofas and washing machines in the back of their Silverados and gone down the Maine Turnpike (Portland to Kittery, $2.35 a whack) to find work (passing the sign that will soon read "Maine - The Way Life Used To Be"). That's also why our per capita income is low even though there is plenty of money here. Well actually, it's in clearing houses in the form of stocks and bonds, but we're doing our best to pick our senior citizens' pockets with our onerous tax rates.

Ever hear of the term "Native?" Write it down, because soon there might not be any. Those Silverados are Native owner/operated. Of course for PFAs who are embarrassed to admit that they are not native, they won't have to live with the shame.

A disproportionate amount of personal income of Mainers is not from work, but from dividends and interest, as well as governmental transfer payments - federal and state pensions, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the like (not that I personally have anything against dividends and pensions).

The average age of Mainers is 41.3 versus 37.3 nationally. The national median income in 2004 was $44,473. (Median defined as there are as many above as below) compared to $39,395 here and $57,352 in N.H. Maine is the 48th worst state in the nation to do business (and down two spots from 2006, according to Forbes); is the highest taxed state; owes $6.8 billion; has an aging population; and now we hear that State revenues are already down making balancing next year's budget even more difficult. Do you really think this is the time we ought to be borrowing $35.5 million to "invest in our brand?"

Bob Jacobson

Boothbay Harbor

P.S. Readers who agree with me and would like to send this letter to friends around the state, e-mail me at phoebe19@Verizon.net and I'll send you a copy.

Dear Editor:

After 50 years of failed efforts, the Maine Department of Transportation is determined to build a bypass for Wiscasset this time around, no matter what!

Only one problem, the routes they're insisting on are vigorously opposed by the people. Why? All kinds of valid reasons: the bypass MDOT wants is a misnomer -- because it wouldn't bypass the town at all… it would plow right through it , effectively cutting the village in half. It would mutilate the countryside… confiscate miles and miles of private property… destroy homes and businesses… and bring noisy, ugly, smelly traffic roaring through neighborhoods night and day! In short, it would destroy the tranquil way of life in the community forever.

Fortunately, there is a viable alternative: build the bypass over water instead of land. It's so simple. For northbound traffic, begin at Pottle Cove Road (where the Mason Station power lines cross Route 1), and follow it down to the water… then onto a causeway running out across the Sheepscot River - passing between the northern tip of Westport Island and the south shore of Davis Island - then cross the Eddy Road and Cod Cove to rejoin Route 1. (The ideal location for the causeway, to protect navigation, can best be left to the Army Corps of Engineers.)

Not surprisingly, MDOT is balking - presumable because they're already so heavily invested in their three infernal routes.

Fortunately, there are certain people in a position to block MDOT's efforts - the adversely affected property owners themselves. How come? Because there exists a perfectly viable alternative - with which they can take the DOT to court, and hopefully stop them in their tracks.

And that's precisely what the property owners must be prepared to do, to save both the town and their land.

John VanOrsdell

Boothbay

Dear Editor,

The Halloween Dance at the Opera House last Saturday night had some pretty tough competition - the RED SOX in the World Series. You just can't beat the RED SOX!!

The hearty souls that came out to play and dance on that rainy night got to enjoy some great musicians from Boston rock the House and take in some amazing Halloween decorations.

The Friends of the Opera House had a blast putting it all together and want to send out a huge thank you to all that helped make it a great Halloween event -

The late night decorating crew, the bakers, the poster designers, the patient office staff, the ticket maker and the ticket taker, the chef for the band, the judge for the costume contest, the costume and make up crew, the friends that housed the musicians, the photographer and the resident spirits of the Opera House that reminded us all that they are still there and happy that the place was filled with music and Halloween fun.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Susan Brackett, Kevin Kiley, Suzanne Jones, Elise Anderson, Carrie Langlois, Florence Rosen-berg, Mikell Perry, Lindy Bragg, Steve Shema, Morgan Mitchell, Bob Eisele, Darla Parker, Cathy Sherrill, Doug Gimbel, Linda Allen, Kim and Philippe Villard, Dominic Garvey, Robert Mitchell and Smokey.

We hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween. Thank you one and all.

Dear Editor:

St. Andrews Hospital leaves me sad… very sad that I had to leave after six days of phenomenal care.

I had a total knee replacement done at St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston in October. Where to go for rehabilitation was an easy decision due to past experiences my family has had right here in the harbor at our very own facility. They say that the devil you know is better than the one that you don't know, well, it is so very true and especially when you get such marvelous care.

The Nursing staff went above and beyond their call to duty allowing my every move to be not only comforting but extremely comfortable. From the lab Technicians to the Rehabilitation staff on to the Kitchen help and the Housekeeping personnel whose sparkle in their eyes reflected through the cleanliness they kept of the surfaces. How many times has anyone been traveling, lodged down at bedtime and couldn't control their own heat or just wanted a hot cup of liquid to settle them down? Before I could blink an eye, in cam a Maintenance personnel at 8:15 p.m. to make sure I was comfortably warm and then the Nursing staff to offer me that "just hit the spot drink!" The constant question asked from everyone was, "Is there anything we might get for you?"

Folks, you can keep those large medical institutions where a patient is an object, where care is just a subject, where comfort is but an underlined word. St. Andrews Hospital affords one the gift of renewed life above and beyond. One gently feels in the "pink" largely due to the wonderful leader who has instilled all of these great values into a staff that truly cares about one's well-being.

I am certainly delighted to know that our hospital is to remain here on the peninsula and hope that current and future directors know which direction to follow to ensure that leadership isn't allowed to wander away. One will have to go many, many "miles" to find any other St. Andrews.

Dear Editor:

I'm aware that the Boston "Tea Party" started our quest for independence from England. I also know that England was taxing us to death, much like the liberal Democrats are trying to do now. With Bush's tax cuts coming to an end, watch out. Just this week they tried to slide the "Dream Act" in the back door again, along with another health care bill for children with a family income of up to 82K and children up to 25 years old. They also tried to get a trillion dollar tax increase passed. Maybe it's time for another "tea party."

Anyway, getting back to the Constitution that everyone likes to quote, I do believe our forefathers shed a lot of blood and lost quite a few lives before the Constitution was written. They realized that talking was out of the question and that they had to fight for their freedom, which they did.

Picketing and protesting in my opinion just causes more hate and discontent. When you're in a mess, you're in a mess and running away doesn't solve a thing. Showing a little support for our guys would at least give them a little moral support.

People are crying that Bush lied to us, but with a biased news media that has the same agenda as the far "left" Democrats, how do we know what the truth is?

Like it or not, Bush didn't get us into this mess all by himself. You can also thank your senators and congressmen. Hillary Clinton comes to mind, along with Kennedy, Kerry and many others. They all agreed to going into Afghanistan and Iraq.

We didn't just jump into this mess either. We pussyfooted around with Saddam Hussein long enough for him to get rid of most of his W.M.D.s. Contrary to popular belief however, we have found caches of warheads filled with mustard and other deadly gases, along with mobile chemical labs and huge caches of weapons and arms.

Hussein was a murderer, he was letting al Qaeda train in Iraq and he was backing and financing them. He thumbed his nose at the U.N. and everyone else who challenged him. If he had let U.N. inspectors do their job, things might have turned out differently.

Like it or not, we are at war with an enemy that wants to see us dead and will do what it takes to achieve that goal. It doesn't really matter now, how we got into it. It does, however, matter to our troops, who along with the rest of the world, are watching how we're not supporting them back here.

In comparing Vietnam with Iraq, I really can't find two many similarities other than the fact that we encouraged the Vietcong and hurt our troops in the process, much the same as we're doing now.

As a Vietnam veteran I've witnessed first-hand the bigotry and hatred that was shown towards us when we came home. We were called murderers, baby killers and many more things that I'd rather not repeat.

I'm glad that our soldiers are getting a little better reception than we did, but at the same time, I can't understand why people are protesting at funerals for our fallen heroes.

Our whole country is in turmoil and it's only getting worse. Our children are being brainwashed by liberal garbage in schools, on T.V. and even in new textbooks. No one wants to teach our history and inform our children how we became the great nation that we are. No one wants to tell them how many wars we've fought to keep ourselves and many other people around the world free. They're quick to teach them how many "rights" they have, when they should be teaching them that those rights should be earned. Our kids can't be exposed to religion, but are still expected to know the difference between right and wrong. They teach them pacifism and to ignore what's happening around them. They can't play games because they might get hurt, a teacher or school nurse can't give a kid an aspirin, but they can give an 11-year-old birth control pills. What's happened to our priorities?

Anyway, getting back to Veterans Day. Maybe I'm crazy to feel that Veterans Day is a day that we should honor our veterans, not condemn them for doing what they think is right. I still think that we should take this day to thank them, not slap them across the face.

Remember 9-1-1

Dennis Andrews

Boothbay