After Maine lawmakers spend all the money they project will be raised by taxes over the next two years, the legislative session usually ends with a vigorous discussion about how much the state can borrow.

That’s how it’s usually done, but not this year. At this point it looks as if the bond package that might have been assembled will be held over until next year, meaning there will not be any borrowing on the November ballot.

There are good arguments in favor of bonding: Maine’s infrastructure needs are great and low interest rates and construction costs make this a good time to invest in projects with long life expectancies. We did not share Gov. LePage’s aversion to any and all borrowing, and encouraged him to be more open-minded about the state’s future when assembling his budget.

But legislative leaders are right to put off another round of borrowing, at least for a year.

The nation is coming off a period when high debt on several levels — personal, corporate, governmental — was tolerated, if not actually encouraged.

Now people are faced with the daunting task of paying off those debts, and are understandably cautious about going deeper in the hole, even if it enables them to take advantage of a really good bargain.

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Maine Treasurer Bruce Poliquin summed it up simply in a blog entry titled: “What’s wrong with the economy?” His answer: no confidence.

Americans don’t believe that their federal government knows how to fix what’s wrong, or would have the political will to make changes if they did. As a result, consumers are uneasy and businesses are cautious.

That mood would not bode well for a bond vote. It’s the mood that may have been in play in the decisions of voters this week in several Maine communities that rejected plans to spend on civic projects or their local school budget.

These issues tend to turn on very specific local circumstances, but there must have been something in the air that led voters in Falmouth, Gorham, Regional School Unit 5 (Freeport, Durham and Pownal), Moscow and Sheepscot Valley Regional School District to all respond to their local circumstances with the same answer.

Carrying the bills over until next year, especially since there is a backlog of already approved bonds, is a good response to the public’s anxiety about borrowing and spending. This is a time that calls for restraint, and a one-year break from new borrowing makes sense.

 


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