"Gas tax hike plan draws critics; Members of state Senate say 19-cent increase is too high" by Matt Viser and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | February 28, 2009
So they will give us a 9-inch, 'er, cent increase and call it love....
One senator who asked not to be identified because negotiations are preliminary, said a critical mass in the 40-member Senate had begun to develop around a 9-cent increase. Getting the number into single digits may be more palatable to sell to constituents, and the rationale appears to be similar to marketers who charge $9.99 for a meal: 9 cents simply sounds a lot smaller than 10 cents.
What kind of IDIOTS do they TAKE US FOR?
Duh, t'ank you for the s*** in the bowl, yum!!!
But Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr. said yesterday that he would not support a compromise on the tax gas tax at 9 cents. "It's not worth doing, and I wouldn't recommend that the governor sign it," he said in a phone interview while he was traveling in the Berkshires in an attempt to build support for the plan....
Oh, yeah? What is the CARBON FOOTPRINT, scum-shitter, and WHOSE PICKING UP the TAB?!! Back to Boston with ya, so we can dunk ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Some people think it's too high," said Representative David Linsky, a Natick Democrat. "Some think it's too low."
That would be these guys: The Quartering of the Driving Public in Massachusetts
And MOST think it should be SCRAPPED ALTOGETHER!!!!!
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And just when you think it's gone away, pffffffffftttttttt!!!!
"Cape agency floats idea of bridge tolls; Fee would apply to nonresidents for road repairs" by David Abel, Globe Staff | February 28, 2009
A planning agency on Cape Cod has proposed requiring that nonresidents pay a toll to cross the Sagamore and Bourne bridges, as part of an effort to ease traffic and boost revenue for road maintenance.
The idea - one of a number of options offered at a meeting this week of Barnstable commissioners - would be to use high-tech cameras to record the license plate numbers of vehicles, in order to not impede traffic flow, and then send bills to drivers with cars registered off the Cape.
I thought we needed those for TERRORISTS!!!? SEE how TYRANNY WORKS, readers? They GIVE ONE REASON for it and then USE IT for ANOTHER!!!
I'll tell you this: I ain't going anywhere near the Cape ever again!
Paul Niedzwiecki, executive director of the Cape Cod Commission, the Barnstable County department that proposed the idea.... said: "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, but it's an idea that has worked elsewhere."
County commissioners said they think the proposal is worth studying.... Business officials contend that the last thing Cape Cod needs in a souring economy is to give tourists a reason not to visit.
:-)
Stoo-pid f***ing Massachusetts!
Art Kinsman, a spokesman for AAA Southern New England, said the association would not support tolls: "We vehemently oppose just putting tolls on existing roads already bought and paid for by the taxpayers," he said....
GOOD POINT!!
Why do we have to PAY TOLLS for ROADS we ALREADY PAID FOR?!!!!!!
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The whole thing isn't going over well in my neck of the woods:
SPRINGFIELD - Governor Deval Patrick urged a crowd of Western Massachusetts residents yesterday to put aside "regional grievances" in considering a gas tax hike as he faced an increasingly skeptical Legislature.
Shut up, slick-s***ter!
At the first of three scheduled legislative hearings on the transportation overhaul, the House and Senate transportation committee leaders said they would not support a full 19-cent increase in the state gas tax.
"Let me be clear, there isn't going to be a gas tax increase as high as 19 cents," said Representative Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat who leads the House on transportation issues.
No, it will be 9 cents and they tell us they love us as they poke us in the pooper -- again!! You know the drill....
1. Pull up to pump
2. Get out of car
3. Drop pants
4. Insert gas pump into ass
5. Pump gas
Wagner had not previously taken such a firm stance, though he also predicted last night that the Legislature would eventually reach consensus with Patrick. Wagner said in an interview that he spoke out against the 19 cents after canvassing fellow House members and not seeing the support. He did not provide an alternate number, but said he expected the final bill to rely on a combination of sources to meet the state's estimated $20 billion in transportation needs over the next 20 years. A 19-cent hike would raise the state's gas tax to 42.5 cents a gallon.
The hundreds of people gathered in the Springfield Technical Community College auditorium applauded loudly at statements alluding to an unfair burden that Western Massachusetts would bear with a higher gas tax. Some residents spoke in favor of raising the gas tax to fix the state's transportation problems, but the opposition was particularly critical that money would go toward avoiding fare hikes on the MBTA and paying off Big Dig debt.
What, two were in favor?
And THAT is EXACTLY where the $$$ would go -- to LOOTING BANKS!!!
Patrick and his transportation secretary, James A. Aloisi Jr., have been touring the state in hopes of building support for their plan. The regional flavor of Patrick's comments, and the nod to the tough economic times, underscore the challenges of winning over disparate areas in support of a plan that raises taxes.
"What do we do, go out and buy Priuses?" asked Jeff Koscis, an area resident who testified in front of the joint transportation committee. A Prius is a hybrid car made by
Patrick emphasized that each region would get back most of what they put into the tax in the form of road and bridge construction. He acknowledged the Big Dig debt is an obstacle in the state's ability to invest elsewhere.
He also pointed out that some projects benefit Western Massachusetts more than Greater Boston, including expansion of a universal broadband project and help with the Springfield government's finance plan.My response to that? You guessed it: pfffffffffffttttttt!!!!
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And it ain't just gas taxes they want, pffffffffffffttttt!!!!!!
"House discusses hiking income, sales taxes" by Jim O'Sullivan, State House News Service | March 11, 2009
I raged, I shouted, I warned you... and what, Bay-Stater?
UP the POOPER AGAIN (hidden in the middle of page B4)!!!!!!
Sour budget predictions from leading local economists, including forecasts of a deficit as high as $4.3 billion next fiscal year, prompted House members to discuss raising the state's largest tax revenue generators, the personal income tax and the retail sales tax, dangerous political terrain as Beacon Hill desperately seeks a way out of its fiscal crisis.
Yeah, we already had a tea party and rebellion in this state!!!!
You want out? Here's how:
Remember these?
The State Budget Swindle
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Start calling back and cutting there first!
During a two-hour caucus yesterday in which economists predicted the crisis could last until fiscal 2012, Representative Elizabeth A. Malia, Democrat of Jamaica Plain, suggested the income tax as a means to stave off deeper budget cuts, according to several lawmakers who attended. Lawmakers also discussed elevating the state's 5 percent sales tax....
Asked about the income tax after the caucus, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said the House is considering all options.... A higher income tax would be a further repudiation of a 2000 voter mandate to roll the income tax rate from 5.75 percent to 5 percent.
Like they ever listened to us anyway!!!
So STATE RAPE is called REPUDIATION now, huh?
Representative Ellen Story, Democrat of Amherst and one of DeLeo's four division chairs, said members showed broader support for bumping the 5 percent sales tax....
Lawmakers heard from the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Cathy Minehan, and Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Several emerged from the meeting saying it had darkened their view of the state's fiscal condition.
So WHAT aren't WE BEING TOLD, reader?
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Sure does stink in here now.
