Our federal deficit is double the projection of just a few months ago. In April 2001, the administration projected a budget surplus of $334 billion for this year. More tellingly, in its second budget, released in February 2002, the Bush administration projected a deficit of “only” $80 billion this year, and an almost balanced budget next year. Just six months ago, it was projecting deficits of about $300 billion this year and next.

The new federal debt numbers are $488 billion, a discrepancy of $822 billion from the first estimates. This is a record deficit in the history of this nation. The second highest was in the years of trickle-down economics in the Reagan years. That trickle-down philosophy has proved, once again, to benefit the richest and trickle down the deficits to those that remain.

In spite of the federal deficit getting larger and the economy stagnating, President Bush wants to add yet another huge tax break which benefits only the very rich, but affects us all. He proposes to permanently repeal the estate tax, now levied only on extremely rich multi-millionaires when they die. This next crippling tax cut will hit hardest when we need the revenue the most: when baby boomers reach retirement, putting the largest strain on Social Security and Medicare that we have ever experienced.

That’s if we get to retirement. Since Bush’s first tax cuts in 2001 we have lost a record 2.6 million jobs and, rather than CEOs creating new jobs with their windfall tax cuts, they’re putting that cash in their pockets. In Maine, just in this recent round of tax cuts, 53 percent of us will get less than $100 and 31 percent of us get no tax cut at all. The top 1 percent of income in Maine will get more than $15,000 each in tax breaks this year alone.

Why should this matter to you … or any of us? Because the reality of the last two Bush tax cuts, the evaporation of the surplus that might have carried us through these tough economic times, and an expensive war, are being felt on our city streets, schools, post offices, local property taxes … that which affects our daily lives.

Good schools, police and fire protection, and roads are an expectation we have for the common good of our communities. We must also respect our veterans, and our senior citizens. We know there is a cost and, in the past, that cost has been shared by all within the community, the state and the nation. But no longer is everyone paying their fair share, and those most able to pay are shifting the burden of shared services onto those least able. We blame our mayors, town managers, and select boards for our property tax woes.

But where does the blame really lay? And how does everyone pay their fair share?

There is a shift-and-shaft economic policy currently at the federal level. Shift the burden off the wealthiest individuals and corporations, shift the burden of essential services to already overburdened states and shaft local communities and individuals where the red ink stops.

President Bush has proclaimed “No Child Left Behind,” but did not fund the program. President Bush said we need a strong homeland security program, mandated states provide many of those services, but hasn’t fully funded the initiative. The president has praised our armed forces one minute and slashed veterans’ services the next, shifting the burden and shafting the states. These are unfunded mandates and abdicate responsibility at a core level.

This is where the blame should lie. Our federal government is slashing essential services and funding so the wealthiest can get huge tax breaks.

We cannot afford another huge tax break for the richest by permanently repealing the estate tax. Not only is it unwise, not only is it fiscally irresponsible, it is unfair. And whatever small tax benefit we may get from the last round of tax cuts, in all probability our property taxes will go up by substantially more than what we receive.

So, when we look to the source of red ink that has overtaken our towns, and rushes through our state, remember that it is coming in torrents from the Bush administration … shift and shaft. Citizens of Maine should thank Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud for voting against the previous $350 billion tax break in May, as well as the estate tax repeal.

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins voted to repeal the estate tax. However, Sen. Snowe must be commended for taking a strong position to halve the latest [across the board] tax cut the president wanted. She also worked to assure relief to some of those most in need. Sen. Collins continues voting to benefit the wealthy and has not responded to her constituency in Maine.

Contact Sen. Collins particularly and our congressional delegation to put a tourniquet on the federal deficit, to oppose repeal of the estate tax, and other tax breaks for the rich being considered in Congress over the next year. We simply cannot afford it.

David A. White is president of MDI Imported Car Service Inc. in Bar Harbor.