How disappointing that Dana Dow, minority leader in the Maine Senate, could only offer a tired refrain in response to Gov. Mills’ budget address: essentially, “Lower taxes and prosperity will follow.” Even a cursory review of some literature on the topic would call that belief into question. Or he could just Google “Kansas Governor Brownback’s (Republican) experiment with tax cuts.”

Tax and spending cuts in Kansas in 2012 and 2013 were supposed to fuel “an explosion of economic growth.” Not so much. Four years of subsequent below-average growth and deepening deficits were the result, and the Republican-led legislature then pushed through tax increases, Forbes magazine reported June 7, 2017, in “The great Kansas tax cut experiment crashes and burns.”

The title of an Oct. 1, 2017, Wall Street Journal article says it all: “The link between economic growth and tax cuts is tenuous.” No one would accuse the Journal of being left-leaning.

Finally, from the Brookings Institute in April 2015, a report titled “The relationship between taxes and growth at the state level: New evidence” states that “the effects of different taxes – income, corporate, property and sales – vary dramatically within and across studies.”

Apparently, many variables affect the outcome. Every state is unique.

Maine has no choice but to “go bold” now. We face great challenges, and we must begin to make prudent investments that help us thrive and compete. Gov. Mills’ budget is a pragmatic step in that direction.

The minority leader in the Maine Senate needs to do his homework.

Mary Ann Larson

Portland


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.