I remember when growing up there were many sawmills on the St. Croix River, and at least one at Prince’s Cove in Eastport. These were adding value to our forest resource harvest. Plank, boards, studs, and even finished ships, furniture, cabinets, and other wooden products were manufactured locally, providing many jobs. Even the sardine industry had its shipping cartons made locally and smoked herring was packed in locally made boxes.

Today, I watch the trucks drive on our breakwater with their loads of pine or other logs and see them loaded on cargo ships. I am happy to see the port activity, but wouldn’t there be many more jobs and a greater boost to our economy to add value to our forest products here? Well, why don’t we?

Obtaining capital to start a small business is difficult, if not impossible, or too costly. Taxes prevent reinvestment, health, and other insurance prevents hiring sufficient help, and the government creates roadblocks. We must get rid of the red tape, reduce the size of our Legislature, eliminate boards and commissions we do not elect.

Get rid of the so-called experts who strictly administer environmental regulations by erroneous interpretations, who require elimination of harmless, time-proven procedures and substitution of impossibly difficult or costly new methods of manufacturing.

Maine’s small businesses need relief. Every new unfunded mandate of the federal or state government creates a burden business cannot continue to shoulder, nor can any business continue to exist in a climate of daily changes in rules, imposition of new taxes, or requirements for unnecessary periodic reports.

Let’s downsize government from the top down.

Let’s release business from regulatory shackles, excessive taxation, questionable environmental impact decisions, and high health and insurance costs. We need to create jobs, not smother them before birth. Charles A. Lewis Eastport