Dear Editor:

Let’s say that a working couple earned $104,800 last year. Their federal taxes, not including Social Security, would be $9,208. Now let’s compare that to another couple who hold stocks paying dividends in the same amount as the first couple. Their federal tax bill is zero.

Working people who earn their money the hard way ought to be outraged, I know I am. If politicians who promise tax cuts were honest with wage earners, they would be proposing expanding the standard deduction instead of making cuts that benefit only the rich and leaving the rest of us with crumbs from their table.

What did we get for these overly generous tax breaks? Enormous national debt for one thing. More expensive higher education for another, and a general erosion of the quality of services provided by our government in areas such as veterans care and the degradation of our national infrastructure accompanied by a general decline in the standard of living compared to that of other industrialized countries. The claim that these tax cuts actually trickled down some benefit to wage earners has simply not materialized.

Another big difference between the wage earning public and the minority who reap the greatest benefits from tax cuts is that wage earners have their taxes deducted directly from their paycheck while rich people make quarterly estimated payments. This leads to the problem of under reporting that the Commissioner of the IRS estimates costs one trillion lost tax dollars annually.

China has spent trillions on its infrastructure, the so called “belt and road initiative” projecting its power globally. In the face of this our Senator Collins pretends fiscal responsibility instead of putting America back on track with our own infrastructure projects.

It is clear that tax cuts for the rich is counterproductive. It concentrates our national wealth in the hands of a few and hamstrings our ability to respond to global challenges. We now have an opportunity to end this failed experiment and put our country back on track to serving the people.

Please tell Senator Collins to support The American Jobs Plan and tax reform.

Fred W. Nehring

Boothbay