Staff Writer
In conjunction with a series of ‘tea party’ protests across the country demonstrating objections to reportedly ‘out of control’ government spending, Caribou, Presque Isle, and Houlton each saw tea parties of their own as around 50 people got together in protest on tax day.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
PROTESTERS held a ‘tea party’ along Main St. in Presque Isle April 15 — the day taxes are due — expressing concern over rising taxes at the local, state and federal level and seeking to raise awareness of government’s accountability in controlling spending, as the nation stands at the crossroads between financial responsibility and financial ruin during these tough economic times. Using tea bags, symbolizing the Boston Tea Party event, the group left boxes of the brew at Congressman Mike Michaud’s office, as well as Senator Susan Collin’s and Senator Olympia Snowe’s.
“We’ve received a lot of horns, a lot of thumbs up, and only one person who vocalized a different point of view,” said Jim Cyr at the afternoon protest in Caribou; Cyr attended all three local protests on Wednesday.
“This has been a grassroots effort, and by that I mean just a few people calling and e-mailing and saying ‘let’s get together’ kind of at the last moment; at the last minute, we heard that there were going to be tea parties across the country and wanted to have some up here,” Cyr explained, “so I’m pretty happy that we got a turnout at all, based on how little we did.”
Most of the protestors had different ideas of where the spending should be reduced, including spending on welfare, foreign aid, and various government organizations.
“I would like to see the government operate on the same principles that every household and every business tries to operate on, which is when times are tough, you tighten your belt a little bit; if you don’t have the money, then you cut back,” Cyr explained. “Our government seems to be operating the opposite way, which is when times are tight, spend twice as much.”
“I think government basically just needs to tighten its belt,” he added. “I’m not saying that it shouldn’t spend money, but it should do so wisely and not just spend money that our kids are going to have to pay off someday. As a parent, I look at my little son who’s almost 1 year old and he already owes $10,000, and he hasn’t done anything to deserve it,” Cyr laughingly stated, “and I think it’s really criminal to make it so that we can get by today at the expense of our kids and grandkids; I think it’s criminal to do business that way.
Toward the end of the estimated hour-long protest, concerned citizens planned on signing tea bags to drop off at the offices of U.S. Sens. Collins and Snowe.
Though the weather cooperated wonderfully, Cyr stated that many who wanted to take part in the tea party were not able to attend.
”I heard that there were a lot of people who wanted to be here, but in order to pay taxes, people have to work,” he said. “A lot of people couldn’t be here in the middle of the day because they’re working.”
