"Lawmakers debate toll, gas hikes; Hearings elicit calls for solution other than raising road, tunnel rates" by Noah Bierman and Julia Rappaport, Globe Correspondent | December 18, 2008
.... Legislators from the western suburbs and North Shore, who would be hit hardest by the toll increases, mostly favored taking down tolls and replacing them with a gas tax geared toward resolving the turnpike's problems. Environmental groups suggested raising the gas tax by as much as 30 cents, to take care of all the needs of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as well. Some political leaders suggested open road tolling or tolled express lanes along Interstate 93, a proposal considered a deal-killer to others.
Representative Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat who cochairs the Transportation Committee, said his Western Massachusetts constituents are fine with paying tolls, but would resent a gas tax increase. Still, Wagner has called the current toll hike proposal excessive.
--more--""Grudging support for gas tax hike in poll; Funding option favored over increase in tolls" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | December 21, 2008
Massachusetts residents are more willing to embrace higher gas taxes to repair the state's crumbling transportation system than any other proposed solution, including higher tolls or more booths at the state's borders, a Boston Globe poll shows.
I'm tired of rigged MSM polls. The voters in this state are fed up with taxes and the lying looters who steal them.
In fact, higher tolls - as recently proposed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority with Governor Deval Patrick's support - are by far the least popular among an array of suggestions that have been floated to fix the state's transportation woes.
Patrick has called it a bad time, with the economy sagging, to raise the gas tax. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi has said he would prefer a tax hike, which affects motorists generally, to toll hikes that burden only some....
Residents - by a more than 2 to 1 ratio - say the final product was not worth the time and money invested in it. Sixty-five percent said the Big Dig has had no impact on their travel time, and some said it has even made trips longer. Fifty-four percent said they were at least somewhat nervous driving through the tunnels, which claimed a life in 2006 when a ceiling panel collapsed.Related: Pulling a Fast One on Big Dig Death
"You've got two-thirds of the people who say it wasn't worth it, but they're going to have to pay for it," said Andrew E. Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the Globe's poll. "That makes a political problem."
.... Another statewide issue, casino gambling, has grown slightly in popularity since last year's Globe poll, even as its chances appear slimmer in the Legislature. Fifty-seven percent of those polled favor it, while 40 percent oppose it, compared with 53 percent who supported it last year....
We don't want that either! Don't Gamble on Massachusetts
Many politicians have been loath to endorse raising the state's gas tax, even though a key government commission recommended doing so last year. But the Globe poll suggests that a gas tax increase may be the most palatable.
I just puked it up!
Not one of the available options drew more than 40 percent approval when those polled were asked for an up or down vote. "None of them are popular," Smith said, "but it's the least unpopular option. It's the medicine that people know that may taste the best going down."
I told you! WE DON'T WANT MORE TAXES! Go get it from Hollywood and biotech!
Residents in the poll roundly oppose leasing out the turnpike to a private company - a proposal that has been floated by the state Senate - or charging drivers by the mile by putting a computer chip in inspection stickers - an idea recently raised by Patrick. Placed head to head against other money-raising options, a higher gas tax wins in every case....
You HAVE REPEATEDLY BEEN WARNED, Mass. residents!
The preferences on the gas tax and tolls reflected geographic biases. Residents of Greater Boston, who are most likely to use toll roads, prefer a gas tax. Residents of Central, Western and Southern Massachusetts, who are less apt to pay tolls, would rather not raise the gas tax.
Damn right! And is that a case of everybody looting everybody or what?
"When you raise the gas tax for those of us who live off of Route 2, how fair is that?" said Beth Atwood, a 43-year-old fitness center owner from Orange. "It only goes back into Boston. We never see it out here."
Yup!
That schism is also reflected in the political debate. Legislators from Boston, the North Shore, and the western suburbs - whose constituents most frequently use the turnpike and airport tunnels - have led the charge against toll hikes and proposed replacing them with a higher gas tax.
The poll also indicated geographical differences in how people perceive the Big Dig's beneficiaries. The farther people live from Boston, the more likely they are to think the project benefited Boston residents. Boston residents themselves were less likely to believe the project helped their city than others who responded to the poll.
"When I'm on the motorcycle, I can see every crack," said Marie Salami, a 72-year-old Dorchester resident who reluctantly rides her
And we are still paying INTEREST on the LOANS for that shit -- and Patrick brought back the dick that drew up the contracts!
While the poll suggests that political leaders might be able to sell a gas tax increase to Massachusetts residents, they would not have carte blanche. A plurality of those who responded, 47 percent, said they would accept an increase of only 5 cents per gallon. Support dropped as the increase got higher. A 5-cent increase might head off the current toll increase, but it would not allow officials to take down existing tolls or forestall an MBTA fare hike.
I told you, folks: WE DON'T WANT TAX INCREASES of ANY KIND!
--more--"
Here's the drill, Mass resident....
1. Pull up to pump
2. Get out of car
3. Drop pants
4. Insert gas pump into ass
5. Pump gas
O.K, get set, ready, go!!!!
Oh, yeah, here is what you are paying for:
"Mining vacation gold at Massport; Benefit is used to increase salaries, pensions of workers" by Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | December 22, 2008
As the year ends, many employees at the public agency that runs Logan International Airport once again can expect a little extra cheer in their paychecks.
In an arrangement that is extremely rare throughout the rest of state and local government, officials at the Port Authority of Massachusetts can take advantage of a little-known benefit to add as much as 6 percent to their paychecks by "selling back" up to three weeks of unused vacation time.
About 300 Massport employees cash in some vacation time each year, including both management and union workers, costing the agency about $750,000 annually. And it is a benefit popular among those contemplating retirement, because by boosting their income, they also increase their pensions.
In the case of its highest-paid administrator, executive director Thomas Kinton Jr., the perk was worth $15,875 this year. As a longtime employee, he gets five weeks of vacation. This year, he took two and sold back the rest. That payment came on top of Kinton's $295,000 annual salary.
Kinton declined to comment, but Danny Levy, a spokeswoman for Massport, defended the benefit. "We operate as a business and we compete for the best talent with those in the private industry," said Levy. "And to compete with the private industry in attracting and retaining talented employees, we strive to provide a competitive benefit package."
Yeah, too bad the state is swimming in debt, you disgusting pigs!
"If someone chooses not to take vacation time they have rightfully earned, we believe they should be compensated for it," she added. Some specialists, however, say it is unwarranted.
"It's an abuse - it's not right and the public deserves better," said Fred Foulkes, a Boston University professor and director of the university's Human Resources Policy Institute. "You would be hard-pressed to find any examples like it anywhere in the workplace."
Foulkes said one danger is that managers will sell their vacation time and find other ways to string together enough days off to be the equivalent of a vacation. "It's easy to keep track of lower-level folks, but at higher levels, there often isn't adequate record-keeping," he said. "Nobody asks a top manager for a doctor's note when he's out sick, for example. There's a high level of trust. You assume a lot. And that's risky."
Oh, so it is the RICHER MANAGERS not the grunts that are BILKING and MILKING the TAXPAYERS of my (not-so-fair) state!
*******************
Like Kinton, other top managers regularly take advantage of the opportunity. Thomas Butler, Massport director of external affairs, this year received $9,300 for the three weeks he did not use (salary, $169,000); Massport Fire Chief Robert Donahue, $9,075 (salary, $157,000); and maritime director Dennis Kay, $8,660 (salary, $150,000).
I'm appalled! Do you know how long $9,000 dollars would last me?
The bump in employees' projected pension benefits is also substantial. Public employees generally receive 80 percent of their "regular pay" as pensions, which includes the vacation sell-back. So for Kinton, a 32-year veteran of the agency who rose to executive director in 2006, the $15,875 in vacation sell-back pay he received this year would boost his projected pension by about $12,700 a year, up to about $248,700 a year, based on his current salary and the 80 percent formula.
And then they are going to DOUBLE-DIP and BILK our BANKRUPT STATE PENSION FUN, too! What SLOP!!!!
Fewer than 30 percent of Massport's approximately 1,200 employees sell vacation. Among the 20 employees with the longest tenures at Massport, and most likely to retire, 70 percent sell vacation.
Massport is an independent authority established by the Legislature. Kinton answers to a board of directors, whose members are appointed by the governor. The agency is supported by fees it charges airlines to operate at Logan, parking fees, and tolls collected on the Tobin Bridge, but no direct state tax dollars. Revenues at Massport are off by 4 percent this year.
Massport is Patrick's choice to take over the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which is collapsing under the weight of the debt it took on for the Big Dig....
Oh, great!
Massport has run into turbulence in the past over what some considered its overly generous benefits packages. Two years ago, the agency was strongly criticized for another little-noticed perk - the sale of unused sick leave. Under that benefit, retiring employees were paid 100 percent of the value of their unused sick time, compared to only 20 percent under the state system. Some Massport payments exceeded $200,000.
Under pressure from former governor Mitt Romney and others, the Massport board of directors in 2006 scaled back the unused sick time buyback benefit to bring it in line with the state....
Yeah, do WE EVER MISS ROMNEY around here! Never thought I'd say that, but it is true!
--more--"Oh, I wouldn't want to leave out our scum speaker, either.
"DiMasi ally indicted in lobbying case; Vitale alleged to trade on his ties to speaker" by Andrea Estes and Matt Viser, Globe Staff | December 19, 2008
House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi's personal accountant and close friend, Richard Vitale, was indicted by a state grand jury yesterday in an investigation of allegations that he used his connections to repeatedly lobby DiMasi on behalf of Massachusetts ticket brokers without disclosing his activities.
The 10-count indictment brought by Attorney General Martha Coakley was the strongest public action to date in an influence-peddling controversy that has dogged DiMasi, whose associates are the subject of state and federal investigations over their roles in helping businesses to secure favors on Beacon Hill....
--more--"
I mean, it's okay to be "flushing . . . millions of dollars away supporting a highly profitable industry" when it comes to $300 million in taxpayer dollars for Hollywood is o.k., even as the price of a school lunch rises; paying $13 million for a computer software system that could have cost less than $3 million is all right because the winner was a close friend of the House speaker, even as my poorer-than-dirt district "has been struggling to close a $2 million budget gap."; the lottery shelling out "millions of dollars" for sports tickets for "lottery officials, their family members, and friends" is fine, even as schools are closing; making interest payments to banks to the tune of "a staggering $22 billion" for the Big Pit, as we call it around here, is required, even as bridges are neglected across the state; and again, paying off banks like UBS, who can "demand repayment of an additional $2 million a month beginning in January" while also receiving a "$179 million payment," while the state pension fund loses $1 billion dollars -- which still didn't stop the executive director from carving himself a nice "$64,000 bonus on top of his $322,000 annual salary."
Yup, the BILLION DOLLAR GIVEAWAY to the pharmaceutical corporations was a GOOD THING, even though "it's never been easy to turn a profit in biotech?" Flush that money away, too, taxpayer.
And look whose backs they are balancing the budget with: the blind, mentally ill, kids, and cripples!!
Of course, "one of the governor's pet projects, the $3 million Commonwealth Corporation, is only taking a 5 percent trim."
And that is not counting the troubles at the Turnpike!
"The authority was attempting to renegotiate terms of a complex financial deal with the banking giant UBS. Known as a swaption, the arrangement could force the authority to pay out a $450 million lump sum"
Of course, the war looters were next in line for a handout. And should the state be appropriating money for a "multimillion-dollar reconstruction" of golf courses?
Nor is it RECKLESS to BORROW the STATE INTO OBLIVION so they can PAY INTEREST to BANKS while SITTING ON $2 BILLION DOLLARS!
Need one final insult, Mass. taxpayers?
"Town officials... are trying to decide how much of a property tax break to offer and how they can secure state funding for infrastructure improvements.... although it could take several years for the studio to realize its potential"
Also see: Hollywood, Massachusetts
Hollywood (East) Disses Veterans
More Mass. $$$ to Movie Makers
Sorry, that wasn't it:
"$5m in tax breaks going to IBM for Littleton project
The Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council approved $5 million in state and local tax breaks for IBM Corp., which recently began a $63 million expansion in Littleton. IBM vice president Bob McDonald said the company plans to create 42 jobs at the site over the next decade. McDonald said the computer giant, based in Armonk, N.Y., has already begun renovating a building and hopes to move into it next month. McDonald said the tax incentives were important, but the company would have gone forward with the expansion without them. IBM has 4,000 employees in Massachusetts, including about 2,000 in Littleton (Boston Globe October 30 2008)."
Yup, but the GAS TAX needs to GO UP!
