“No one has ever complained about his parachute not opening.” – anonymous.

We conclude that it is time for our elected officials to stop playing ostrich, pull their heads out of the sand and start working for the taxpayers. Aren’t you fed up with unproductive politicians putting band-aids on broken legs by passing feel good legislation instead of solving real problems?

Some elected leaders state that we are in an economic slowdown while financial experts believe we are already in a recession. It is easy to see that prices are skyrocketing forcing many Americans to wonder where their next meal or gallon of heating oil is going to come from.

Tommy: Here is a perfect example of what’s wrong in Maine. One article in a paper will state that there are thousands of children in Maine that are food-deprived (malnourished for us older folks) while Beavis and Butthead in Augusta declare that everything in Maine is just like life should be. I can see the same continuous message coming out of Augusta. Don’t worry, be happy!

Don’t worry we suffer under one of the heaviest tax burdens. Be happy that Maine has an excellent work ethic although we are ranked 39th for personal income. Someone stated that thousands of new businesses sprang up in Maine in the past year. It makes me wonder why revenues are falling instead of increasing. I ask, can anyone explain that?

Lane: It is time for government to set priorities. While the United States suffers under a massive debt, isn’t it amazing that in our nation’s capital Goofy and other characters from Disneyland are worried about steroid use among professional baseball players?

The Republicans and Democrats spend more time attacking each other than Willey Coyote and the Road Runner. While Maine has a significant deficit in its budget, we have legislators who want to force us to have only one option for light bulbs and that option means a light bulb with mercury. It also means many light fixtures will have to be changed at our cost. Maybe the taxpayers will eventually notice that the light is on in Augusta but nobody’s home. Actually, the light might also be burned out.

Lane/Tommy: In response to Bob Wehmeyer’s letter in last week’s edition of this paper, we don’t know where you got your wires crossed because we harbor no ill feelings towards Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

It is sad to say such an association is necessary to help the needy when our elected officials are wasting our tax dollars. What we do have a problem with is candidates seeking higher political office riding on your back for their own political gain. Perhaps it is possible that some of the politicians you mentioned should have spent more time creating solutions instead of problems like higher taxes.

We do support our community. We have raised funds, food and donated our own vehicles. We do not seek publicity for that. We do differ from Neighbors Helping Neighbors in one way because we look to help those who feel embarrassed to ask for help, which we all know is prevalent in Maine.

We sincerely hope that the community will support Neighbors Helping Neighbors but the ultimate solution is our elected officials getting off their keisters and leading us into prosperity instead of poverty.