This letter is in response to Rep. Mark Bryant’s response to my response, ah heck, you get it. I commend Rep Bryant for a well-written letter.

What floating bonds boils down to is whether one’s political/social philosophy is either conservative or socialist. I personally, without a doubt, am a conservative who firmly believes that borrowing money for the future is a definite oxymoron. Why? Because Maine already has a serious debt problem coupled with the fact that our bond rating has dropped because of poor fiscal performance. I have not heard one politician say how much these proposed bonds will cost us in the end. Remember we are borrowing $83 million so what will the interest be on the loan? I certainly don’t know but one can certainly speculate it will be high. Please remember that the matching federal dollars came out of our pockets, too.

Are some of these projects important for Maine? I certainly agree that bridges and roads in Maine need repair, some immediately. Thank God we are receiving much-needed funds for such repairs from Washington but unfortunately that piece of legislation was probably one of the largest pieces of pork to come out of our Congress.

What Maine citizens musk ask of our governor and legislators is why they sweep so much money from Maine Department of Transportation, Maine Turnpike Authority and others. If these funds could be used for their original purpose then Maine wouldn’t have to borrow anything. And, really, I have to question if the bond money is used for what it was intended. If those projects are so vital to Maine, why weren’t they funded in the state budget? I would love to see an answer for that question.

What really raises my hackles is our state government’s totally poor performance with fiscal responsibility. Did someone ever locate the missing $100 million from the Department of Health and Human Resources? Will they ever successfully repair their computer glitch that has prevented however many thousands of payments to our state’s medical providers? A friend of mine has been waiting for his new driver’s license from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles – SINCE MAY! Just think, if we could locate just the money missing from DHHS we wouldn’t have to float bonds for anything.

In conclusion, what will be the cost for our children?