Dear Readers,

I am not going to write about winter this week. Been there, done that. Can't do much about it, except shovel the walk, sand the driveway and rake the roof. It is time to move on.

I note from our friends in Augusta that Gov. Paul LePage wants to redo the tax system by eliminating some revenue sharing with the towns, expanding the sales tax to include other items, and eliminating the tax exempt status for certain nonprofits.

Well, I am for cutting taxes. I don't know anybody who likes paying taxes. Up here in New England, the cradle of the American Revolution, folks once dressed up like Indians and pitched a whole bunch of tea into Boston harbor to protest a British imposed tax on tea.

But, I wonder what happens when you cut some revenue sharing to the towns? How would they make up the difference? By cutting some services (like snow plowing?), or raising property taxes?

Sales tax expansion is another of his proposals. Unless my memory has gone south, it seems the last governor, a Democrat, tried to do this, but it was defeated by a whole bunch of anti-tax folks, including lots of Republicans.

Eliminating the tax exempt status of nonprofits sounds good too, but don't hold your breath on that one either.

After Maine Health made our beloved local hospital, St. Andrews, vanish into the fog, I am not their biggest cheerleader.

Still, revoking its tax status would open a huge can of worms. Not only would it add to our already sky-high healthcare costs, between $10 and $20 million, some say, it would trigger major league changes to the way Maine’s critical access hospitals are reimbursed.

LePage also wants to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates. The last time I checked, a huge percentage of our state's hospital bills are covered by Medicaid.

What would happen if all Maine hospitals are faced with shrinking Medicaid revenues and are forced to pay property taxes?

Wait until Maine Health, the Maine Hospital Association, and other big nonprofits weigh in on this one.

Cutting taxes is a great idea, but it seems to me it should be done with great care and cooperation. Recent news stories tell us in Kansas and Wisconsin, home of two prominent tax-cutting governors, they are facing huge budget shortfalls. Many blame the shortfalls on their governor's tax cuts.

It seems to me that Gov. LePage will have to clear lots of legislative hurdles if he is to get his tax plan through the Legislature. This should be a fun battle to watch. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, back at the State house, school testing is again on the agenda.

Our friends at the Portland Press Herald tell us some want to require schools to let parents know they have the right to opt out of standardized tests. Already, parents are allowed to opt their children out of testing, but this proposal would require schools let them know they can opt out.

It is all part of a national battle over educational testing, a battle too complex to explain, and to resolve, in this space.

One thing about educational testing seems clear to me. If you are concerned about the lack of prayer in schools, you should be all for testing. I'll bet as long as you have math tests, you will always have prayer in schools.

On a personal note, this week is special as it is the 70th anniversary of one of the most iconic moments of World War II, the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima.

Some mark the U.S. Marine Corps battle for the 8 square miles of this little Pacific island as their bloodiest. Over the course of the war, as many as a third of all the casualties suffered by he entire Marine Corps were inflicted at Iwo. Statistics vary, but most agree that during the 36-day conflict, Marines suffered 26,000 casualties while the Japanese defenders suffered as many as 22,000.

Semper Fi.