By Cindy Smith-Putnam, Stevensville
Senator Steve Daines repeatedly pats himself on the back for being a fiscal conservative. Come again?
Since he joined the Senate, the national debt skyrocketed by trillions. In 2017, when the economy was booming, Daines hyped the corporate welfare tax scam giveaway to millionaires, saddling my kids and grandchild with debt, all to line the pockets of his wealthy donors, while providing virtually no tax relief for ordinary Montanans. And now we are broke at a time we need that money to get through COVID.
Each time I call or write Senator Daines to find out why he thinks I should pay more taxes than Amazon, Netflix or his pet insurance companies, the most I ever get back is a canned email mouthing debunked platitudes about trickle down.
News flash, Senator Daines: your handouts to your rich contributors didn’t trickle. Your wealthy buddies didn’t make capital reinvestments or raise wages with the massive windfall you gifted them by looting the Treasury at a time they were already doing well. They banked it.
That’s one of many reasons Steve Daines is too cowardly to face Montana constituents at Town Halls.
Daines is the worst kind of politician — a hypocrite who says one thing and does the exact opposite. He isn’t a fiscal conservative; just a sell-out to those who line his pockets.
I will be voting for Governor Steve Bullock to represent Montana in the Senate. I can count on him to transcend partisan bickering to take a long view and get sensible fiscal policy enacted. I urge you to vote for him, too.