Regarding taxation, how much should someone who has prospered greatly return to the society that enabled that prosperity? This is a conversation Maine needs to have. A July 27 column, “Budget big win for all sides,” is an absolute deception. Maine State Chamber of Commerce president Dana Connors is a lobbyist paid to promote the priorities of Maine’s wealthiest business owners. Corporations lie to Americans millions of times a day as a standard business practice.

For example, Connors states that the 3 percent surcharge applied to businesses but actually applies only to household income. Income taxes on personal income do not hurt companies, but how much the boss takes home does. We are not stupid.

Deceptions include the omission that Maine’s wealthiest got their third big tax break. Have you noticed any tax breaks for your wallet? Only higher sales taxes and property taxes. Also not mentioned is that to reach the 10 percent tax a household would have to make millions in income. Only Maine’s wealthiest business owners make that much, unknown to their underpaid employees.

A $162 million increase in school funding over two years is minuscule when you consider that Waterville’s slashed education budget is $40 million.

The only “big” winners with this budget deal are Maine’s big shots that don’t want to give back to the society that enabled their prosperity. There will be many losers as LePage continues to slash programs for the truly needy, cuts support for programs that maintain our social fabric, refuses to invest in the future, our stagnant economy once again loses the spending that consumers provide to local businesses. Government spending and salaries are a large multiplier stimulant while wealthy people spend a tiny fraction of their income here. Trickle down won again; the rest of us lost.

Brad Sherwood

Waterville