See:
Governor Guts State Services
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride
UBS Picks Up Pike
Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies
The Hollywood Heist of Massachusetts
Why Massachusetts Needed to Raise Taxes
Massachusetts' Business Tax Increase Was a Corporate Tax CutTax Increase Fails to Save Massachusetts Services
Blood All Over Massachusetts State Budget
Yeah, HE KNOWS WHERE the TAX LOOT is REALLY GOING!
"Governor losing sleep over budget crisis
Governor Deval Patrick said the budget crisis is costing him sleep. During an interview Friday, he said the specter of making deep service cuts to close a $600 million projected deficit is keeping him awake at night (AP)."
Well, there is a whole blog to explore, guv. Maybe I can help you.
I wish I could help my fellow citizens.
"Budget misery grows for cities and towns; Latest state shortfall could hit local aid, again" by David Abel, Globe Staff | October 17, 2009
The pain has already been more than they thought they could bear.
So far this year, Lawrence has laid off 18 police officers. Class sizes in New Bedford ballooned to as many as 34 students. Home health care services had to be cut for elderly residents in Melrose.
The state’s plummeting budget this fiscal year has already resulted in a loss of $724 million in local aid to cities and towns, a 12 percent drop from last fiscal year of what amounts to the lifeblood of many municipalities. Now, local budgets are likely to take another hit....
Well, YOU KNOW WHERE to go to GET MONEY, taxpayers!
“The cities and towns have really been hammered,’’ said Geoffrey Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. “Local aid now already pays for a record share of local budgets. Losing more aid means fewer workers and services. We’re talking about the services that are vital to our economic prosperity.’’
Administration officials said yesterday that they are considering all their options and have not ruled out cutting local aid.....
Legislative leaders said that municipalities should expect more pain....
BUT NOT for THEM!
They have a TAXPAYER-FUNDED SLUSH FUND so they are NOT AFFECTED by BUDGET CUTS!
Senate President Therese Murray said in a statement:
“There are faces and families on the other side of these cuts. No one wants to do this, but we are bound by the constitution to balance the budget, and we have to do the best we can.’’
Mayor Robert J. Dolan of Melrose, who serves as president of the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association:
“We feel the Legislature is not providing any tools to offset any budget cuts, that they’re not giving us any tools to survive. From public safety to social services to public education, there have been cuts across the board. If we lose more state aid, without question, our streets are going to be less safe, the progress of education reform is going to be set back, and the social safety net is going to be further eliminated.’’
And all after they convinced you to keep the income tax and raised the sales tax -- all the time saying it would prevent further cuts, and YET HERE WE ARE ANYWAY!
New Bedford’s mayor, Scott Lang, whose city has lost $11 million in state aid this year, had to let go 157 employees. He initially laid off 31 police officers and 36 firefighters, but the city has been able to restore most of those jobs with federal and state grants.....
Not all municipalities are experiencing such deep cuts. Boston has avoided widespread cuts to jobs and services by hiking meal and hotel taxes....
Honestly, I am sick of the ONE-SIDED BIAS of the PRO-TAX, PRO-STATE, Boston Glob.
But cuts are not out of the realm of possibility if the city experiences another reduction in state aid....
ALWAYS a CAVEAT with the STINK MSM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Somerville, which lost 27 percent of its state aid this fiscal year, city officials have increased the price of parking at meters, from 50 cents an hour to $1. Unions have had to forgo annual raises, and retirees have seen reduced contributions to their health insurance....
Less well-off communities are wondering how much deeper they can cut....
Like my pauper town in the poorest county in the state?
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And WE CAN'T SLEEP either, guv:
.... The poll, which was conducted Oct. 11-13 and includes answers from 400 residents across the state, “suggests something darker than slow recovery,’’ said Alan Clayton-Matthews, an economics professor at Northeastern University. “It had seemed we hit the bottom this summer, but I’m not so sure anymore.’’
Despite clear signs of an improving economy, including a surging stock market, unemployment continues to rise, undermining the confidence of consumers, whose spending drives the US economy....
It gets to the point where you are tired of reading the same elite s*** shovel day after day.
The recent increase in the state sales tax, to 6.25 percent from 5 percent, is also squeezing consumers, according to the poll. Nearly 40 percent said the added tax led them to cut spending.
I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU!!!!!!
Bill Fitzgerald, 52, of Weymouth, is typical of the kind of consumer worrisome to economists. Even though Fitzgerald, a father of two, still has his job, he and his family have cut their spending. For example, he said, they’ve stopped going to restaurants, movies, or even video rental stores. “You have to spend wisely, be prepared, because you never know when your job is going to be gone,’’ Fitzgerald said. “I don’t get the sense it’s getting much better out there.’’
Because IT IS NOT!
Many others don’t either. Nearly half of those surveyed said the economy would need three or more years to recover....
At first glance, it’s surprising that residents were more optimistic in March, when conditions were much worse, said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University’s Political Research Center. But hopes were being raised in March by the first hints that the worst was over and a quick recovery might be on the way....
Translation: YOU WERE LIED TO!
For the most part, Massachusetts residents said they have benefited little from the recent pickup in economic activity. For example, eight in 10 said the $787 billion federal stimulus package approved earlier this year has had no impact on their lives.
Because it didn't.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: State Slow on Stimulus Spending
That's why.
Nearly one in five said someone in their household has lost a job during the recession. Of those, three-fourths are still out of work and more than half have been unemployed for at least six months, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
Meanwhile, President Obama’s approval ratings have suffered in Massachusetts.
Oh, you are KIDDING! Here in "liberal, DemocraPic" Massachushitts?
Fifty-seven percent approved of his handling of the economy, down from 65 percent in March, according to the poll. Governor Deval Patrick’s approval rating was unchanged from March, remaining low. Only 28 percent approved of his handling of the economy.
Yeah, HE IS DONE!!
See: Slow Saturday Special: Patrick's Invisible Approval
All the WASTED TAX LOOT has NOT HELPED!
For Colleen Pina-Garron of New Bedford and her husband, Christopher Garron, these are particularly anxious times. Both are state employees....
Pina-Garron, a state probation officer, said the couple are cutting expenses by dropping the premium channels in their cable television package and no longer going to restaurants, among other things. “The stock market is going up, but that’s not helping middle-class people,’’ she said....
Oh, what a sacrifice.
Still, she believes some good may come from this historic recession.
I'm sorry, I FAIL to see the GOOD!
Well, if you look at it that way....
“It’s brought people closer to their families,’’ she said. “Hard times make people sit back and reflect on what’s important in life. I think the future is going to be better.’’
Why do we need a CRISIS or TRAGEDY to DO THAT, huh?
I try to do it during an average day and PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE NUTS!
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