Tax cuts and out-of-whack budgets
To the editor:
Improved health care is just one of the benefits we could enjoy if our state and federal governments collected enough revenue to properly serve our needs as a people.
Instead, our already insufficient health-care system is being further diminished in Augusta and Washington by spending cuts — cuts only made necessary by out-of-whack budgets that don’t ask enough of those best able to contribute to the common good.
As a pharmacist, I come into contact every day with heart-breaking stories of suffering caused by inadequate medical insurance. While I believe the best ultimate solution is a single-payer system, even incremental change such as is represented by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) takes increased public investments — though, in the long run, having more Americans insured is not only more humane but will save money as well.
What stands in the way of those smart investments? One impediment comes from the state’s and nation’s wealthiest citizens and most profitable corporations not paying their fair share in taxes. The percentage of national revenue provided by them is at a 60-year low.
We can start to reverse that troubling trend by allowing tax cuts to expire at the end of this year on household income above a quarter million dollars. This return to more reasonable rates for the rich would raise nearly a trillion dollars over the next decade, allowing us to reduce debt and invest in ourselves. Senators Snowe and Collins should support this rational tax measure as part of any budget deal.
Darrell Adams
Mars Hill
