As a citizen of this great country and the great state of Maine, a religious voter and the mother of four young adult children who are struggling financially, I have a few points I would like to make.

First, Obama’s plan to put 2.5 million people to work on the infrastructure across the country cannot possibly work. As long as the government is the nation’s largest employer, we never can hope to get out of debt. We pay the government, the government pays them. World War II got our economy booming after the Depression, not Roosevelt’s “New Deal” and neither will Obama’s “New Deal.”

Second, all the cuts in our state government are on the backs of the most needy, disabled and the children of Maine. It also will virtually put the shellfish industry out of business with the cuts to testing programs. The people of Maine should not be made to suffer because the governor and Legislature have been chronically fiscally irresponsible. Third, Maine counties should be independent of one another. We of northern Maine (everything above Skowhegan) should not be governed by the larger population of southern Maine. If Greenville wants the Plum Creek project, they should have it. If Washington County wants a casino, they should have it. We up here in the real Maine will look out for our own backyards, you down there in southern Maine look out for your own.

Debbie Allen

Parkman