I would like to express how proud I am of the Portland City Council. In reaction to the decision by the state of Maine to deny aid to individuals fleeing persecution, the City Council chose to provide food, shelter, clothing and housing to an estimated 900 asylum seekers.

What is remarkable is that, based on the motions and the votes, it was never a question of whether Portland would do this; it was a question of for how long. Portland can truly call itself a compassionate city.

May I also say that, as a citizen of Portland, I am happy to pay the approximately $150 that I will owe due to this decision.

In contrast to this beautiful action, the state Legislature chose to do nothing about the “one-day loans” that are permissible in the Maine New Markets Capital Investment program. This loophole is responsible for the “sham transaction” that cost the citizens of Maine $16 million.

The city expects to spend $2.6 million on aid to asylum seekers in the next 12 months. In other words, the state squandered a little over six years’ worth of money that could have been used for aid in a shell game with Cate Street Capital.

Painful as that is, it’s incomprehensible that the Legislature would leave this loophole in the law. It’s nothing but an invitation to get taken again.

I am very proud to be a citizen of Portland; of Maine – not so much.

John Schaberg

Portland

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