The financial crisis of local governments has reached alarming levels and could lead to bankruptcy of government credit and undermine social stability.

Maine is just coming out of a severe budget crisis, and government services remain below their levels before the 2001 recession. Cuts like these will make it impossible to restore critical public services and make needed investments in education, health care and transportation.

You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.

Since last Tuesday, the government was looking for a solution out of the crisis. It was obvious that the people had massively made a choice, and that we needed to make sure that choice was respected.

During an economic crisis, what matters is that the government keeps its foot on the accelerator.

But for its misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, America could have avoided the debt crisis.