“Our government is too big, and it spends too much.” -Ronald Reagan.

Lane: With Tommy still away on vacation, I have to ask a question. What level of government can we, the people, cut first? I can hear the screaming already as over-paid government workers with benefits that far exceed ours spit forth the lies that the world around us will collapse, our houses will burn and our children will become idiots. My opinion is that the federal and local governments will always be needed, so is the cut going to be at the state or county level?

The need for state government far surpasses that of the county government. Maine has 16 counties of which some are sparsely populated. Ten of Maine’s counties have a population of around 50,000 or less. Texas has 254 counties while Alaska, our largest state, has no counties but 16 loosely formed boroughs only for populated areas.

When one looks at Germany which has 16 states (equivalent to our counties to some degree) encompassing approximately 138,000 square miles, one must ask why Maine has 16 counties in an area of about 31,000 square miles.

Maine has a population around 1.3 million people while Germany has a population of about 82.5 million people. California is approximately 156,000 square miles with 58 counties and a population of about 36 million people. It would make sense to me that if Germany can do more with less government, why can’t we do the same?

There are several reasons why county government can be done away with. Gov. Baldacci has called for the state of Maine to take over the entire prison system that is currently being run by county governments. I agree. Why do we have duplicate jail systems while citizens complain how expensive county jails have become?

I have no complaints at all if the Cumberland County Jail becomes part of the state jail system because it makes no difference to me who runs the system. What makes sense is that a consolidated system can make the best use of all assets rather than multiple users fighting over tax dollars for their own benefit. Another factor to consider is that the cost of county jails is rising twice as fast as state prisons.

As I have stated in the past, why does Maine have three levels of primary law enforcement while most countries around the world have one? Having three levels like the state police, county sheriffs and local police makes no sense at all unless one wants to justify their own employment. And therein lies the problem. When one complains that our taxes are too high, why does the majority of complaints about government cutbacks come from government employees? I certainly have not seen multiple letters from government employees when a privately owned business collapses.

It is time for a change in the way Maine does its government business. The old excuse of “it has always been done that way” has to change. At the same time, the taxpayers of Maine must take a closer look at how government can be reduced and many of its tasks be privatized in order to reduce the tax burden on Maine citizens.

The town of Windham is a prime example of government gone crazy. We have more and more highly paid town employees while we are losing services. I am sure the same problem lies with Cumberland County and other counties across our great state of Maine.

Lane and Tommy, of Windham, recently won first prize in the Space Race Lottery. The prize was two very valuable tickets which guarantee them seats on the next lunar landing. As such a trip could be hazardous to their health, they are donating the tickets to presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, who will look for land deals, and undeclared candidate Al Gore, who will report on the effects on global warming on the moon.