Not enough ventilators. Muddled communication about quarantines. A federal bailout that provides unfettered billions to large corporations.

The federal mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic clearly demonstrates that Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins harbor a political philosophy that is woefully unsuited for the crisis before us. It is not corporations and the free market that will save us, much less Susan Collins’ Big Pharma donors like Eli Lilly and the Sackler family.

The marketplace fails to motivate the sustained research necessary to deal with current and future pandemics. Corporate welfare found in the stimulus package will do little to motivate better behavior among large corporations that are “too big to fail.” Susan Collins’ consistent advocacy for these corporations over everyday Mainers, as most egregiously displayed in her Senate vote for the Republican tax scam in 2017, reveals her true priorities. Her efforts to remove over $800 million in pandemic preparation funding from the 2009 stimulus are directly linked to Trump’s current mismanagement of the virus response.

Tax cuts to corporations benefit those with stock in the companies, not the nation and definitely not Maine. Maine deserves leadership that is looking out for Maine people and Maine businesses, particularly the small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat. A $1,200 stimulus check only goes so far when Mainers pay among the highest health insurance deductibles in the country.

We must replace Susan Collins with someone who has Maine’s real interests at heart.

Doug Lynch

Portland

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