An Open Letter to the Maine Congressional Delegation

12 May 2007

Dear Olympia, Susan and Mike,

Almost a month has passed since tax day and I still have not filed my taxes for 2006. Unless you can provide me with a compelling reason for doing so, I have decided not to file my taxes this year. I do not believe in taxation without representation and I most certainly do not approve of what the US Government has done with my tax dollars in the past, so why should I continue to send you money?

The ILLEGAL war in Iraq is a massive money pit into which the federal government continues to dump tax dollars by the BILLIONS. A majority of Americans think we should extricate ourselves from this ILLEGAL war, yet Congress keeps passing bills to continue funding it.

A majority of Americans believe that we should not be torturing our prisoners, yet Congress refuses to close the torture centers and continues to fund the agencies doing the torturing.

A majority of Americans believe that George Bush should be impeached if he lied to drag the country into the Iraq war. Well, the evidence is in and he undisputedly did lie, yet Congress refuses to move towards impeachment.

A majority of Americans want fair elections, but after two stolen presidential elections, Congress has still failed to pass meaningful reforms that will restore integrity to the process. Until we have fair elections, we should stop pretending we live in a democracy.

A majority of Americans want strong environmental protections, yet the tax-funded Environmental Protection Agency seems to be dedicated to protecting polluters, the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service seem dedicated to giving away our natural resources to logging, mining and ranching concerns, and the US Fish & Wildlife Service seems dedicated to fighting the listing of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

A majority of Americans want to be able to trust in the safety of the food we eat and pharmaceutical products we need, yet the tax-funded Food & Drug Administration and (again) the Environmental Protection Agency seem dedicated not to protecting consumers, but to protecting the profits of the pesticide manufacturers, large agribusiness corporations, and pharmaceutical corporations.

A majority of Americans want significant action on global warming, yet Congress will not even ratify the hopelessly inadequate Kyoto Protocol.

A majority of Americans believe the federal government should be making substantial investments in safe, alternative energy sources, yet Congress woefully under-funds the needed research and continues handing out the bulk of the tax subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

A majority of Americans are in favor of single-payer national health insurance, yet the best Congress can do is to debate seriously-flawed bills that maintain the reign of the private health insurance corporations.

A majority of Americans want improved education for their children, but rather than provide money for schools and teachers, Congress gives the money to the Lockheed Martins, Raytheons, Halliburtons, and Blackwaters.

I could go on, but I am sure you get the idea. If Congress insists on running a government of, by and for the large corporations, then I believe the corporations should be picking up the tab. I promise I’ll get back to the IRS just as soon as I see a see a government worthy of my financial support.

Sincerely,

Paul Donahue
Machias, Maine