I found Jim Fossel’s Jan. 12 column very disappointing (“Gov. Mills’ long-term plan short on vision”), because it set a course Maine can’t follow.

We live amid an ever-aging population with an ever-increasing need for services, in part because even a two-job income may not pay enough to put food on the table, as noted by the Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Kristen Miale in her Maine Voices column in your Jan. 13 paper.

Instead of grappling with that very challenging situation, Mr. Fossel concludes that the Republicans’ job is to keep state spending in check.

I am not an economist and my view is surely simplistic; but I think jobs must pay more than they do in Maine so Mainers can pay with their own money for services they need; or taxes must cover the costs.

I would welcome Mr. Fossel’s serious attempt to crack that nut.

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