Ellsworth American Editorial

Back in the spring, majority Democrats in the Maine Legislature, with little or no public discussion, pushed through legislation doubling the tax on beer and wine, creating a new tax on soft drinks and imposing a 1.8-percent surcharge on all claims paid by health insurrance companies and self-insured businesses. The estimated $75 million in revenue generated by those changes was earmarked to keep alive Dirigo Health, a subsidized insurance program that never has fulfilled expectations and should have been allowed to die a natural death

It didn’t take long for opponents to mount a people’s veto petition drive aimed at repealing the new and increased taxes and the surcharge on paid insurance claims. In relatively short order, the Fed Up with Taxes Coalition collected and filed more than 90,000 signatures, thus forcing a statewide vote at the upcoming election on Nov. 4.

Question 1 on the referendum election ballot asks: “Do you want to reject the parts of a new law that change the method of funding Maine’s Dirigo Health Program through charging health insurance companies a fixed fee on paid claims and adding taxes to malt liquor, wine and soft drinks?”

The answer from Maine voters, we believe, should be a resounding “yes.”

The economy, not just in Maine but across the United States, is struggling to avoid a full-fledged depression, or worse. Mainers have seen prices for necessities such as food and fuel increase dramatically in recent months. Those who have even modest retirement account investments have watched them shrink in value as the stock market has plunged downward. This is no time to be raising taxes on beverages, health care or anything else.

It’s unfortunate that the beverage tax repeal effort didn’t go further and set its sights on the Dirigo Health program itself. As a cornerstone of Governor John Baldacci’s administration, Dirigo has been an abysmal failure. The next Legislature, when it convenes in January, would be well advised to put Dirigo out of its misery.