Congratulations to Maine’s mayors, who have spoken out against the budget policies of the current administration.

There is indeed a “war” going on in Augusta against those with low incomes. It’s hard to understand why those who had no hand in the current economic hardships need to be punished for poor decision-making in Augusta and unethical behavior on Wall Street.

Given the price of housing, transportation, heating, clothing, food and child care, it’s extremely hard to make ends meet. Just one major illness puts many people at risk of losing everything. If the assault by the LePage administration continues, those who are one step away from disaster will have nowhere to turn.

Ironically, it is the poor decision-making and lack of understanding of the complexities of the health care system by this administration that created part of the budget shortfall.

Before Paul LePage took office, the state was close to the creation of a better managed health care system that would have saved millions of dollars, as seen by similar systems in other states. That system was wiped out.

Now, it seems the best approach is to cut off thousands of the most vulnerable, including the elderly and people working at low-wage jobs, from much-needed services by slashing MaineCare and general assistance budgets.

Tax cuts to the most wealthy also have contributed to the budget shortfall. As Theo Kalikow pointed out in a recent column, incomes have risen by 73 percent for the most wealthy (those earning over $200,000) since 1979, while incomes have dropped by 7 percent for those making less than $27,000 per year. Middle incomes have risen by only 4 percent. It’s hard to justify the actions of the administration, given the price thousands of Maine people will have to pay.

Kathy Moore, Waterville