MPA Budget Statement
Submitted by Mike on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 13:53
Today (Wednesday, February 8th) the Appropriations Committee of the Maine Legislature announced a budget plan for 2012 that eliminates all health care for more than 14,000 Mainers and cuts important preventative care measures for hundreds of thousands more. It also allows for more possible cuts in the yet-unresolved budget for 2013.
This proposal only makes sense to those firmly embedded in the politics of Augusta. In the statehouse, legislative Republicans who want deep cuts to health care are negotiating with a Governor who wants to cut care almost entirely and Democrats have struggled to have any voice at all.
Governor LePage has successfully polarized and distorted the debate on this issue and pushed it towards a single extreme.
A real compromise, as almost every newspaper in the state has editorialized, would involve LePage and Republicans at the very least cancelling some of the new tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthiest individuals and corporations in the state.
For the burden of the budget to fall entirely on those who can least afford it is callous, cruel and absolutely counter to the values of the people of Maine.
To speak out for a responsible solution on the budget, visit www.responsiblesolution.com.