Memory Hole: Massachusetts' State Budget
Mass. State Budget: Screwing Cities and Towns
They do it every year.
"Patrick signs a painful budget; Services, programs face massive cuts; governor cites tough economy" by Noah Bierman and Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | July 1, 2010
Governor Deval Patrick signed a $27.6 billion spending plan yesterday for the budget year that begins today, slashing funding for services across state government, including public education, dental care for the poor, and developmental services for toddlers....
AFTER YOUR TAXES were INCREASED to AVOID that very scenario, Bay-Staters!
How does it feel to be lied to by government again and again?
Patrick blamed the tough economy, combined with a stalled round of federal stimulus money, for forcing cuts even on items he considered sacred a few months ago....
I was told growth, recovery, blah, blah, blah.
TURNS OUT THAT WAS ALL LIES, too!!!
As with everything this election year, Patrick’s signing of the budget immediately became political fodder....
And whose fault is that, agenda-pusher?
Hundreds of members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, dressed in matching green T-shirts, rallied on Boston Common yesterday as Patrick was signing the budget. They chanted: “Show some guts! No more cuts!’’
“Some of the most vulnerable citizens in Massachusetts will be in danger if these budget cuts go through,’’ said Gerald W. McEntee, the union’s national president, who is in Boston for the union’s national convention. “But we won’t let the politicians balance the budget on our backs, not anymore.’’
Also see: The Massachusetts Model: Municipal Health Mess
Towns to Pay Health Tax For Public Servants
Say what, "public servant?"
Patrick approved language in the budget that bars illegal immigrants from receiving many state services, an issue that has become contentious in recent weeks. But the language ultimately approved by lawmakers reinforces existing practice and falls short of the more stringent crackdown passed in the state Senate in May, sparing Patrick a politically difficult decision....
Also see: Massachusetts Adopts Arizona Immigration Law
I guess the Globe didn't read the fine print because there is nothing about all the corporate welfare and debt service to banks that comes first on the state budget list.--more--"
Let's hope you do not need help, reader:
"Union says layoffs hurt the disabled; It tries to reopen US case against state" by David Abel, Globe Staff | July 1, 2010
Advocates for the developmentally disabled, who argue that proposed budget cuts to state social workers for the new fiscal year will create a spike in caseloads, are seeking to reopen a federal court decree of two decades ago that mandated improvements in care.
That's where everything ends up in this country.
In trying to reverse the cuts, a branch of the Service Employees International Union that represents the social workers has filed a motion in federal court, arguing that the layoff of at least 63 human service coordinators in the Department of Developmental Services would violate a 1993 federal judge’s ruling requiring the state to provide adequate care to the developmentally disabled.
“This is important, because hundreds of people with developmental disabilities are going to lose services if these layoffs take effect,’’ said Cliff Cohn, a spokesman for SEIU Local 509....
But hey, BANKS will get their MILLIONS per MONTH in INTEREST PAYMENTS and WELL-CONNECTED CORPORATIONS will get their cut of the tax loot!
Maybe some STIMULOOT will come from the feds.
"States’ budgets in freefall without stimulus" by ASSOCIATED PRESS | June 29, 2010
NEW YORK — For cash-strapped states counting on federal stimulus money, the news was a stunning blow: A deficit-weary Congress had rejected billions in additional aid, forcing lawmakers into a mad scramble to balance their budgets.
Now, with a new fiscal year just days away in most states, many governors are proposing to make up for the shortfall with tax increases, cuts in essential services, and potential layoffs of thousands of public employees.
“I support restraining federal spending, but cutting the only funding designed to help states maintain the very safety-net programs Congress mandates us to preserve will have devastating consequences,’’ Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California said in a letter to his state’s congressional delegation.
Chickens coming home, 'eh, Arnie?
California faces a whopping $19 billion deficit — more than 20 percent of the state’s total budget — despite deep cuts that have already been made to many programs. Its new fiscal year begins Thursday, and a budget deal there is nowhere in sight.
The federal stimulus program enacted last year is set to expire in December. Much of the money goes to states to provide unemployment insurance and to help offset cuts to education, health care, and public safety brought on by the recession.
Congress was poised to extend some funding to states through June 2011, including $35.5 billion for unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and $16 billion for Medicaid, the public health care program for the poor. But the measure died in the Senate earlier this month, blowing a hole in the budgets of at least 30 states and bouncing thousands of unemployed workers off the rolls.
Related: Senate Can't Get Work Done
Only when they are WORKING FOR YOU, American.
The news was a shock to many state lawmakers, who until recently had been assured that the money was certain to come their way. Several governors planned to travel to Washington this week to make their case.
Without the extra money from Washington, states will be forced to divert cash from other programs to shore up Medicaid.At this point I am just sad thinking we always have enough trillions for wars, Wall Street, and Israel.
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Related: Tax Take Turd
Just ONE MORE MSM LIE, huh?
So how is Massachusetts going to balance its books?
"Local aid cuts hit staffing, services; Union concessions help avert even more layoffs" by Matt Carroll and Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff | July 5, 2010
Hundreds of city and town employees are being laid off across Massachusetts as the recently signed state budget forces communities to cut back on librarians, police, teachers, and other workers to balance the books.
As tough as the cuts are to individuals losing their jobs, more drastic layoffs were averted largely by union concessions that included pay cuts, deferred raises, unpaid furlough days, and changes in health care plans, officials said.
An informal survey of town governments and school departments in about 25 Greater Boston communities found that because of the leaner state budget signed last week, communities are reducing the time libraries are open, cutting hours for some employees, leaving staff positions unfilled, taking advantage of new tax options such as the meals tax, and even switching to more energy-efficient bulbs in street lights....
Related: Massachusetts Meals Tax
I never go out to eat anymore anyway. That's one reason why.
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Boston Cops Bankrupting City
Boston Globe Boomtown
They have tax loot for that, huh?
I'm sure these jobs will save you, Boston:
"City youth gain 400 jobs for summer; Opportunities hope to stem wave of violence" by Meghan E. Irons and June Q. Wu, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent | June 29, 2010
Boston officials, hoping to stem a wave of early-summer violence, announced more than 400 new summer jobs and new summer school programs for at-risk youth.
Private foundations and nonprofits donated $635,000 to the city to hire 423 additional individuals ages 14 to 24 in three city neighborhoods that have recently faced violent involving young people....
Really, seriously, WHERE is all the TAX LOOT going?!!!!
Those backing the effort include Liberty Mutual, the Lenny Zakim Fund, the Boston Foundation, and the United Way of Eastern Massachusetts.
Related: State Handing Out Tax Loot to Liberty
I guess you are getting it back, Bostonians.
Why you need the middle man I will never know.
Same with the Jewish-run "charities."
City officials have also received grants to hire teens with criminal records, said Conny Doty, who heads Boston’s Jobs and Community Services Department.
Related: The Gangs of Boston
Though faced with budget constraints, she said, the city has so far hired some 7,000 teenagers....
Jobs range from working in day camps, cleaning city parks, and helping out at organic farms, Doty said.
Jobs, she and other officials said, build critical life, networking, and employment skills, and they help to curb crime....
Then how come AmeriKan policy has been to strip us of ours?
Speaking at the press conference yesterday afternoon, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said his administration has long been committed to offering summer jobs even as the city faces funding cuts from the state and federal government. He lauded other private businesses, including John Hancock and
Part of your bailout, America?
Yeah, BANKS and INSURANCE COMPANIES are OUR SAVIORS!!!
Another way to "balance" them:
"State short-term borrowing exceeded target two straight years" by Michael Norton, State House News Service | July 2, 2010
State government has turned to historically high levels of short-term borrowing to meet payroll and cash needs, including local aid payments such as Wednesday’s quarterly delivery of $1.17 billion to cities and towns.
That is NEVER a GOOD IDEA!
The STATE is CHARGING SERVICES as it TOSSES AWAY TAX LOOT, Bay-Staters!
Also see: Massachusetts Democrats Keep Making the Same Mistakes
Doing the SAME THING with the ENTIRE BUDGET, huh?
Wow, who knew Massachusetts was a FAILED STATE?!!
According to state documents, short-term borrowing — a method of generating cash in anticipation of expected tax, reimbursement, and bond revenues— totaled $3.25 billion over the past two fiscal years despite the state Treasury’s self-imposed cap of $1 billion on such borrowing.
Related: Municipal Bond Milking
And look who the "investor" is: Barney Frank Benefited From State Debts
Government is just one big looting operation, isn't it?
The trend reflects the state’s tightening budget situation during the recession and the play between spending demands and faltering tax collections, with borrowing used to smooth out cash flow during periods in the year when collections are low or when payments are high....
But we have been told the economy is in recovery and tax takes have been growing!?!?!?
Oh what a web we weave, MSM!!!
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