"Aid to out-of-state jobless to end; Federal rules say you have to work in Mass. to get benefits here" by Robert Gavin and Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff | December 26, 2008
.... Kling and Russell are among the thousands of out-of-state residents who each year travel to Massachusetts to claim the most generous jobless benefits in the nation, even though they've never worked a day here. Under federal rules, laid-off workers who have earned wages in more than one state can file for unemployment in any state they choose, as long as they do it in person.
And yet they tell us TAXES NEED to GO UP and SERVICES CUT because of the BUDGET DEFICITS, etc, etc!!!
HOW MANY TIMES MUST I RE-POST THESE THINGS?!!!
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!
Related: Mass. Property Taxes Rising"Me, I've got two kids," said Kling, 29, who estimated he'd receive about $700 a week from Massachusetts, at least $100 more than from any other state....
I am FRIKKIN' FURIOUS right now!!!!!!!!
That is MORE than I made when I HAD a JOB!!!!!!!
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But Massachusetts soon will lose its allure for many of these out-of-state unemployed. On Jan. 6, new federal regulations will restrict workers to filing unemployment claims in states where they have actually earned wages.
What has made it worth the trip for out-of-state workers is the highest maximum weekly benefit in the nation, $628 plus an additional $25 a week for each dependent, according to the US Labor Department. Massachusetts is also one of the only states that pays initial benefits for up to 30 weeks, compared to 26 for the others.
Nearly 8,000 workers who never earned wages in Massachusetts filed for unemployment compensation here in 2007, according to the state Division of Unemployment Assistance. That represented about 2 percent of total claims.
Since Massachusetts is reimbursed by other states for the benefits it pays their workers, the new federal regulations will primarily remove the administrative burden of processing claims and billing other states. Perhaps more important, said Suzanne Bump, state secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, it will free up unemployment assistance workers to concentrate on Massachusetts residents....
Yeah, MAYBE that is MORE IMPORTANT -- MAYBE!!!!
Un-fucking-believable!
A rapid rise in layoffs in recent months has led to long lines at walk-in unemployment offices and long waits to get through on jammed phone lines to file claims. The state had to extend hours at call centers until 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and add Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
"Even though it represents a small number of claims," Bump said, "it will be a big relief for the folks taking claims at the walk-in centers."
Centers near the state's borders tend to attract the most out-of-state filers, Bump said. In Springfield, Rexene Picard, executive director of FutureWorks Career Center, said about 20 out-of-state workers line up each Monday to file claims after flying into Bradley International Airport over the weekend. The airport's about 15 miles away in Windsor Locks, Conn....
You GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING!!! They are UNEMPLOYED yet they can PAY for an AIRLINE TICKET? I'm sorry for the language, readers, but I AM LIVID!!!!
The out-of-state workers then file claims by telephone....
And it JUST WENT UP a NOTCH!!!!
"They're coming from all up and down the Eastern Seaboard when we're already extremely busy with in-state claimants," Picard said. "You want to service Massachusetts residents first."
Well, you would THINK SO, anyway!!
Pfffffttt!
