The big budget bill is a fait accompli. Maine is in a challenging situation. What can be done to meet this challenge so our neighbors don’t suffer while waiting for an administration change? In the 1800s, the rich (Carnegie, Rockefeller, etc.) donated to hospitals. By 1900, one-third of successful businessmen made philanthropic donations.

Communities grew their own small hospitals, which have been closing, and more will close. In the 1960s, tax deductions were created for charitable giving. The Gates-Buffett Pledge challenged the wealthy to donate half of their assets. The Republican Party platform has emphasized charitable giving rather than government aid. The enacted tax deduction for households having over $400,000 in gross income will affect roughly 3% of households in Maine. We have about 600,000 households, which will amount to approximately 18,000 receiving large tax breaks.

These households need to ante up in an organized manner to meet the needs of the populations most at risk. The challenge is for the Republican Mainers, who helped elect this administration, to take on the task and fund hospices in rural Maine so assisted suicide does not become the go-to option, fund birth doulas so our childbirth and neonatal statistics don’t plummet, fund small hospitals so travel for care does not close doors to care and feed those who have lost their SNAP benefits. There is a long list of needs and they must be triaged. Our nation is based on volunteerism and mutual aid and I am sure Mainers are up to the task.

Deborah de Rivera
Brunswick