| I don't believe in a 'no new tax pledge.' It's too simplistic, it's pandering, and given the track record of most politicians who take a 'no new tax pledge,' I don't think the public even believes it. It's one of the reasons why the public has become so cynical and distrusting of its government.
Does that mean I want to raise taxes? Absolutely not, especially not during a recession when so many people I've talked to across the state are hurting, when too many people are out of work or struggling to pay their bills, and so many small businesses are closing their doors.
We can't continually raise taxes to pay for services, as one of my opponents has proposed, but neither can we be fooled into thinking that we can just cut our way to prosperity. What we need is a change in the way Augusta does business because the old ways aren't working.
As for a 'no new tax pledge,' frankly, I'm more concerned with the old taxes, the ones we're paying right now - how do we lower Maine's overall tax burden, raise the incomes of hard hit Mainers, make Maine more competitive and create more jobs? Who is holding Augusta accountable for making sure every penny of taxpayers' money is being well spent today? Does anybody really know if we're getting the most bang for the buck?
Why aren't all the candidates taking that pledge?
I think Maine voters deserve more than cheap political gimmicks. I've heard over and over from folks that they're sick and tired of politics as usual and they are ready for real reform. I am too. People want to hear serious ideas for a change from each candidate, and they're looking for someone with the experience and courage to carry them out. That's why I'm running for Governor.
Instead of an empty pledge, I will give voters a real commitment - a clear set of goals for my first term in office. And if after four years they think I haven't made enough progress in achieving these goals, they can vote me out.
We impose learning results on our students; it's time to require results from our elected officials too.
So here's my pledge:
• I pledge to create 50,000 new jobs throughout Maine, across all 16 counties. I'll do that by taking effective steps to lower the cost of energy; to dramatically expand and make affordable health care coverage available to all Maine people; to vastly improve our education system with greater use of technology and innovation; to bolster our small family businesses that are the backbone of Maine's economy.
• I pledge to turn around this state. To make sure every taxpayer dime is being spent wisely and is fully accounted for.
• I pledge to end the era blue ribbon commissions and task force studies that go nowhere in Augusta. I will hold a summit at the beginning of my term to map out the strategy, priorities and direction of our state government - and then take decisive action, with proper structures in place to assure accountability, monitoring and transparency as we move forward.
• I pledge to hire only qualified, capable, experienced people in my cabinet - no political payoffs, no cronyism.
These are not empty promises made for a 30 second TV commercial. I've begun to lay out my specific and detailed plans to achieve every one of these very serious commitments, and will continue to expand on them in the months ahead as I continue to campaign across the state. (See Maine Rising at www.RosaForMaine.com)
To only address the issue of new taxes in Maine completely misses the point. We will breathe new life into our economy by making Maine a more attractive and affordable place to live and do business by growing jobs, lowering the cost of doing business and making sure we have an efficient, well-managed state government. And I pledge to never use tired campaign gimmicks because Maine people deserve better -much better.
---Rosa Scarcelli |
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