A Question of Priorities

With the recent news that Maine must reduce its budget by an additional $400 million, legislators should make the economic stability of our state their first, and perhaps only, priority.  The Governor’s budget plan, released on Friday, should give legislators plenty to chew on as the state debates the future of how our government is run.

However, it appears not all of our legislators are so focused on the economic mess in front of us.  Instead, some would rather distract the attention of our State Legislature to discuss the need for warning labels on cell phones.  Even if we assume that there is some connection between cell phone radiation levels and cancer – and the research on this is, apparently, far from settled – it is a frustrating reminder that Augusta rarely has its priorities in order. 

According to the AP, legislative leaders have allowed this proposal to come before the legislature despite the fact that the January session is “usually reserved for emergency bills and governor’s bills”.  An “emergency”, of course, would be something like mounting job loss, enormous budget deficits, and major reductions in education and health care expenses.  Cancer-causing cell phones seem an odd thing to put on the docket during a real economic emergency.  But that’s Augusta for you. 

In a recent news report on the budget crisis, one high-ranking politician responded with, “there’s no way to ignore this.”  That’s the sad truth.  Augusta has been ignoring the problem for decades and now things have gotten so bad they can no longer be covered up with budget gimmicks.  But if they can’t ignore it, perhaps the issue of killer cell phones can get their mind off our real problems for a few days. 

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