What cry for tax relief?

What did the TABOR vote really mean? The editorial, “After TABOR” (BDN, Nov. 9) along with the political cartoon implies it is a cry from the people for real property tax relief.

Maybe we should consider it from a different perspective. Fifty-eight percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Of that, only 45.6 percent voted in favor of TABOR. Simple math tells us that more than 73 percent of the eligible voters were either adamantly or tacitly opposed to the restrictions of TABOR.

Additionally, the voters of this state voted against the Republicans and their message of fiscal conservativism. John Baldacci overwhelmed Chandler Woodcock, Barbara Merrill and Pat LaMarche. House Democrats appear to hold 60 percent of the seats in the House and a majority in the Senate.

None of this equates to a call for tax reform. Whether you call it 46 percent of the votes cast or 26 percent of the eligible voters, the voters of this state defeated TABOR and fiscal restraint. The arguments made by the Republicans of Maine being the highest taxed state didn’t resonate and the voters told Augusta they don’t want spending constrained.

Voters sent an overwhelming message that they want what the Democratic Party of Maine has to offer: a strong social security net that will provide security for the weakest among us: children, the elderly, the unemployed and the disadvantaged.

And, the voters expect the wage earners, the shop owners, the farmers, the business people, the college students – those looking for opportunities and the self-reliant – to foot the bill regardless of their willingness or ability to pay.

William Chapman

Rockport