Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Mass. Income Tax Fails to Save Services

Keep in mind that this is after they said we needed to keep the income tax to preserve services!

Related:
Mass. Property Taxes Rising

Btw, I'm not happy about being correct; in fact, I'm downright livid about it!

"DiMasi warns localities to brace for 10% aid cut; Leaders hunting revenue sources" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | December 9, 2008

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said yesterday that Massachusetts cities and towns should brace for cuts of up to 10 percent in state aid next year, an ominous sign that the pain of the nation's economic crisis is still just taking hold and could result in layoffs of police, firefighters, and teachers in local communities....

Of course, "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."

Oh, and did I not mention the $1 BILLION dollar giveaway to the pharmaceutical corporations, even though "it's never been easy to turn a profit in biotech?" Flush that money away, too, taxpayer. 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!

And did I forget about PAYING FOR the CORPORATE TV COMMERCIALS or the outlays for illegal immigrants?

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 VITAL SERVICES need to be GUTTED!

Massachusetts "liberals' are SO DUCKING TOO-PID!!!!!!!!!


Most municipalities still have not recovered from the last round of local aid cuts, which began in 2002, according to Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association....

WTF? Then WHERE DID ALL THE $$$$ GO?

Please, please, don't tell me... CORPORATE POCKETS and LYING LOOTERS?

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