Vote vs. TABOR was no endorsement of status quo
Portland Press Herald, November 8, 2006

(excerpt) Question 1, the most contentious item on Tuesday's ballot, wasn't just about a mechanism for controlling government spending. For many voters, the proposal known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights presented a more fundamental question about the nature of democracy.

While supporters argued that voters must take matters into their own hands because Maine's elected officials have failed them, many opponents believed that elected officials should be the ones to wrestle with complex tax and budgetary matters.

So the Legislature should not be too pleased that Question 1, also known as TABOR, went down to defeatTuesday night. Despite the divisiveness of the issue, there was wide agreement among voters that Maine's tax burden is too high, according to interviews at the polls. And many of those who rejected Question 1 now expect the Legislature to take bold action to lower the state's highest-in-the-nation tax burden.

Daniel Davis, a 27-year-old Portland man who voted against TABOR, said the issue is too complicated for voters. But he said high taxes are a real problem and elected officials are better equipped to create measures that will really work.

Click on the title to get to the whole article!