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MAIN
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A Joint Project of the Maine
Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods |
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Volume 10 No. 3 |
September 2006 |
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MAIN
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A Joint Project of the Maine
Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods |
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Volume 10 No. 3 |
September 2006 |
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Don't Get Tricked by TABOR
Vote NO on Question 1!
On November 7th, Maine People will vote on the so-called Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights or TABOR. TABOR makes a lot of promises, but it didn’t work in Colorado and the version in Maine is worse! TABOR is a one-size-fits all formula that will hurt Maine’s schools, seniors, and families.
What is TABOR?
TABOR is a dangerous idea. It threatens the future of many government-funded programs that help low-income individuals and families in Maine. TABOR puts harsh limits on how much state and local budgets can grow each year. Any spending increases are tied to changes in population and inflation.
There is a big problem with TABOR. Costs for programs like health care and education grow each year. These costs grow faster than TABOR allows. If TABOR were put in place, spending limits would be set too low. Services, especially education and health care, would face more and more cuts.
Can The Limits in TABOR be changed?
TABOR makes it hard to change spending limits when hard times hit. First, it requires a two-thirds vote of the 'legislative body' (which in many communities is a town meeting) to raise fees or taxes, or change the spending limits. Then, the proposed change has to be approved by a majority vote of the people in a referendum. The requirement for both legislative and voter approval makes it difficult to respond to budget problems when they occur.Will TABOR Harm Low-Income Seniors and Families?
Yes. The state of Maine has a good history of supporting programs for the state’s most vulnerable people. Maine steps in when the federal government or others fail to help. TABOR makes it almost impossible for local governments and the legislature to do their most important job - to respond to the needs of Maine’s people.
The following two examples show how TABOR could hurt low-income families and seniors, if it had been in place in 2006:
Low-Income Energy and Heating Assistance Program
The cost of heating oil skyrocketed this past winter. Even though oil costs went up, federal funding for the Low-income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LiHEAP) did not go up. In January, the Governor and the legislature put $5 million in state funding for the LiHEAP program. This was the first time that state funds went to the LiHEAP program. They knew that having enough fuel to stay warm was an issue of life or death for some families.
If TABOR had been in place, the legislature would not have had the flexibility to deal with this immediate need. The health and safety of thousands of low-income seniors and families would have been in danger.
Medicare Part D
The new Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D) began on January 1, 2006. There were problems with the new program for low-income people. Part D meant higher co-payments for prescription drugs. Also, the Medicare Part D drug plans didn’t have to cover the same prescription drugs as Medicaid or Maine’s Drugs for the Elderly (DEL) program. This meant that thousands of low-income seniors and people with disabilities faced losing access to drugs.
Thankfully, the state made sure that people had access to their prescription drugs as they went into the Medicare Part D program. The state would not have been able to step in with this safety net if TABOR had been in place.
State governments need to be able to respond to meet emergency needs of its citizens, in order to protect its most vulnerable residents from harm.
We need to stop TABOR so that it doesn’t hurt Maine families.
What you can do!
- Vote ‘NO’ on Question 1 on Nov. 7th
- Help get out the vote
- Help MAIN with:
- Mailings
- Phone calls
- Letters to the editor
- Going door-to-door to tell people about TABOR and registering voters.
If you can help, please contact Ana Hicks at 626-7058 ext 210.
Get more information on TABOR
