Oh my, I've missed a lot this week …
- Some more thoughts on talking with the Gov on Tuesday … He seemed to me to be a guy simply trying to do his job. He's not that into the game of gratuitous political narrating and leading the press around by the nose; and he has a strong and stubborn sense (for good and ill) of what matters and what doesn't.
But in a few months, he'll have a number of important accomplishments, with more attractive proposals for education on the way. I fear no poll nor Cahill. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
- Something I should have asked the governor, vis-a-vis the life sciences bill and green energy bills: Where do you draw the line between a.) creating a business-friendly climate and b.) outright corporate welfare?
And if anybody knows of a solid, informed, disinterested organization or individual that has an opinion on those proposals, I'd love to know about it.
- Another question I should have asked Gov. Patrick: Where do the arts fit in to economic development? Areas without strong arts presences … suck. Straight-up. So why don't artists have a decent lobby? Kathleen Bitetti has started on that road, with her “Stand Up and Be Counted” survey. Other interest groups ask the state for stuff. Should artists not bother? Just shut and and sing/paint?
- I wasn't that thrilled with Obama's kinda clumsy remarks about disaffected Pennsylvanians … but his response to the kerfuffle makes me remember what I like about the guy: No fear.
But I wonder what response he'll have to his new gaffe, where he apparently had the elitist gall to ask for that exotic beverage orange juice from the timid mountain folk of Pennsyltucky. At least that's what I hear.
- Health reform is two. 340,000 people insured. That's good! Can't find doctors for many of them. That's bad. We're finding ways to pay for it. That's good! We're going to keep having to find ways to pay for it. That's bad.
- Don't like cigarette taxes? Don't smoke. Better?
- From State House News Service's weekly email blast … Smell the entitlement:
Hospitals indicated the state would turn into a “laughingstock” if it followed a plan to restrict non-profit executive pay to $500,000.
Because you just can't get healthy without making someone obscenely wealthy, right? I don't know if I support that plan or not. But past a certain point, the more you pay, the more likely you'll find someone who is motivated by that marginal paycheck dollar, but not necessarily someone motivated by the challenge of providing terrific care. I would imagine that many of those folks go into, like, actually providing the care.
- Check out this nifty mapping tool and ask yourself: Is Cambridge really more affordable than, say, Saugus? (via Ezra.) Interesting way to put it …
- Jay, Jay, Jay … Howie always does great work on the hacks, but just put The Dumb Idea down (the income tax repeal), and slowly back away. We've got a hack infestation? Clean out the hacks. We've got an inexcusable pension deal with the Carman's Union? Fix it. Now.
But let's not confuse Making A Statement with reckless, dumb policy. Maybe you “don't care” now, until your neighborhood gets
all hairy because we laid off the cops, and your kid's teachers are getting fired, and the potholes, and blah blah blah.That being said … how much would we save without the dead wood and ridiculous sweet deals in the state gov't? It is an intriguing question. Let's hope the gov's consolidation of agencies gives him a chance to address that …
- SF Mayor Gavin Newsom … subverter of free speech, and tool of the Chinese government.
- Re. Massachusetts bands, I found this amusing in Blender's 100 Best Indie Rock Albums:
25. Sebadoh, III, Homestead, 1991
Do not let your kid sister date this manLeaving Dinosaur Jr., where his bass playing and atonal prattling were clearly not being appreciated, Lou Barlow became indie’s preeminent sensitive male — James Taylor with a bong, a crappy tape recorder and free time to translate his girl-scarred soul into rattletrap hate-folk.
Yes, that's what it sounds like. Man, I need to work on my prose to compete with that. OTOH, at #4 is an album by REM entitled Mumu.
david says
MAASH does quite a good job of lobbying for cultural funding — the new Cultural Facilities Fund is their most recent success. You should get on their mailing list.
joeltpatterson says
is really the Republican strategy in a nutshell:
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p>”Some hacks are wasting taxpayer money? No more taxes of any kind!”
<
p>That kind of reaction is deeply ingrained in human nature, and we’ll never get rid of it. But, of course, if a republic votes on that principle, we’ll never have good schools, good public health, good transportation, nor safe food.
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p>Re: R.E.M.’s long lost album Mumu… it is entirely possible that Murmur hit stores before that Blender writer was born.
tblade says
Well, except when the hacks are redistributing middle and lower class tax dollars into a fraudulent war and into the pockets of wealthy, wasteful, war profiteering corporations. It’s kind of like reverse Robin Hood – taking necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few (to steal a phrase from MLK).
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p>You’d think that the same folks upset about Big Dig wasteful spending would pour the same anti-hack energy into Iraq. Every 5 weeks in Iraq is equal to the amount spent during the Big Dig’s 10 years – except with more body bags and thousands of more Americans maimed, raped, permanently disabled, mentally traumatized, thousands of marriages and families destroyed, and even more Americans convinced that blowing their own heads off is the only way to escape the relentless mental and physical anguish.
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p>Awesome.
they says
I’d like to see an accounting of how they manage to spend that much money in Iraq. Where does that money end up?
tblade says
…how the budget breaks down. But I here’s some accounts of where the money goes, for starters.
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p>http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl…
http://badgerherald.com/oped/2…
http://democrats.senate.gov/dp…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl…
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITI…
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p>http://thehill.com/leading-the… [OK, this one’s about Afghanistan, but is still an example of how stupid the people running this war are – c’mon $300M ammunitions contract to a 22-year-old!?!?!]
joeltpatterson says
CBO on fy 2005
sabutai says
Good guy Rep. Thomas Kennedy officially announced for the State Senate seat that Bob Creedon is giving up. This is a great chance to have “more and better Democrats”. Kennedy’s website still needs upgrading, though.
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p>Unfortunately, there’s not much to lend the crop of people trying to win Kennedy’s seat, except to note that the GOP hasn’t scrounged up a sacrificial name yet.
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p>The status quo reigns in Middleboro as the pro-casino Chair of the Board of Selectman cruises to re-election. A very nice but ultimately loyal casino backer claimed the open seat on the board. There’s a small but consistent pro-casino majority among politically active Middleborovians.
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p>UK PM Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will skip the August 8 Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Hillary Clinton has called on Dubya to do the same, and McCain and Obama have joined her.
farnkoff says
I agree with you. Why would we be so desperate to attract people whose primary motivation is money to head organizations that are intended to provide a public benefit? Aren’t these the same type of people who would tend to be subject to undue influence in the form of other financial motivations? For a hospital, wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who actually cares about people in a head position? By any measure, $500,000 a year is enough to support your own family and put three kids through college, what would a person need with more than that if they enjoy their job?
tblade says
I agree with most of what is said here:
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p>
bleicher says
Charley,
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p>We were not so optimistic this week. We attended the Suburban Coalition meeting where Leslie Kirwan spoke and she indicated we should be grateful for what we have and should expect few increases in education funding. I asked her if she could support “0.5% for the Kids”. She said she couldn’t and asked us to just back the Governor’s close the loopholes package. She acknowledged that the would do little for the have not communities under the Chapter 70 program. She also said we should spend our time fighting the rollback the income tax proponents.
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p>She clearly did not get the proposal. Under the 0.5% for the Kids proposal, we address many of the concerns of the anti-tax folks. We ensure all get the benefit of the increased revenue and actually reduce many folk aggregate tax bills by ending regressive overrides that result in property taxes exceeding 10% and sometime 25% of our less wealthy residents. Many towns could reduct their property taxes because the proposal would generate approximately $1000 per child for education funding.
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p>Armed with this answer, we dialed in to the Governor’s conference call on Tuesday and asked the following question:
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p>Governor:
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p>
<
p>The Governor agreed to consider it.
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p>We need to keep pushing the administration although it is not clear he will arrange a meeting for us with Leslie Kirwan or the new Secretary of Education. There will never be enough revenue in the state budget to fund our schools but if folks know they will get the income tax revenue returned to them equitably, then they will support the increase.
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p>Bruce Leicher
tony-schinella says
Would this actually end overrides or would the school advocates just come back for more and more after this proposal went through?
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p>As I have seen as both an editor of suburban weeklies in both Winchester and Belmont, it doesn’t matter what amount of money is put towards education, it is never enough. In Winchester back in 2004, they fudged numbers all over the place to get a $4 million override passed and even cut funding for elementary school music and library aides just to gain support for the override. Well, the override failed by more than 1,000 votes and they funded the elementary programs via private donations. But a later override passed. And guess what? They didn’t put back the elementary school funding! They kept the private money flowing and spent the $1.7 million on other things.
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p>In other words, you could increase Chapter 70 money, but I would bet my house that within five years, most of these suburban towns will be coming back for more. Class sizes need to be reduced to 10! New $180 million schools are needed in every town!! Teachers pay too much for health care! Whatever crisis arises, there will be overrides.
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p>What is too bad is that for years and years, the income tax was not rolled back to 5 percent during the good times. Instead, a slew of corporate loopholes were created and given away to Raytheon, Fidelity, Citibank and others, with the help of the Mass. Taxpayer’s Foundation, costing the state $300-plus million per year in revenue for more than 10 years. More than $3 billion has escaped being collected because of the influence of lobbyists over the Democratic Legislature, with the help of some somewhat clueless Republican governors.
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p>Now there is a corporate Democratic governor in there refusing to lower property taxes as he promised; refusing to do anything but offer offensive casino proposals. The chickens are coming home to roost now that the state budget has increased by 60 percent over the last few years and it still isn’t enough. Carla Howell’s proposal is looking better and better every day, and certainly better than it looked in 2002.
sabutai says
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p>Conservatives are constantly complaining that government should be run as private businesses are run. Then, every time authorities actually take them up on it, conservatives whine how crooked and unfair it is. What do you people want?
gary says
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p>Taking the situation as factual, a Town solicits private contributions for education on the premise that the override didn’t pass, then when the override does pass, the town keeps the private money for the schools, and uses the override money elsewhere.
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p>A taxpayer complains, and you claim that’s conservative bias? Ok then, I guess I agree, deception is a liberal trait.
bostonshepherd says
Sabutai, do you agree?
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p>Or are you one of those binary progressives who feels only the altruistic public sector can provide “public” services, and everything else falling into the evil “private” sector?
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p>The public sector has demonstrated pretty clearly that, more often than not, it cannot provide quality service as efficiently as the private sector. Big Dig, The Connector, school systems, MBTA, MTA, Mass Highways … on and on. All swamps of public sector incompetence, bloated budgets, sub-standard service, and fiscal decay.
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p>Given the level of service I experience at the city and state level, it is painfully clear there are many areas where outsourcing to the private sector makes instant sense. IT, plowing, even private ownership of town buildings (sale leaseback to capitalize unused tax benefits from property ownership.) The list is very long.
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p>As for local schools systems, they are being run, and ruined, by unions.
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p>The problem is generous pensions and retiree health benefits .. they’re burying all state and local budgets. Shift teachers to a defined-contribution, 401(k)-like pension plan, and don’t offer retiree health benefits, and you would likely solve many of the fiscal problems experienced by local school systems.
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p>You want “reform,” that’s reform.
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p>But good luck trying it.
gary says
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p>Not just pensions and health-care, but salaries and headcount too — headcount is steadily up 2 to 4 % over pasts 3 years at state level.
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p>Any wonder why government turnover is so low?
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p>The state and locals are budgeting at 3.5 to 4% spending growth, when personal income is up only 3.25% over the same time period.
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p>Any wonder why budgets are tight and the bureacrats are whining?
sabutai says
My humor was too weak or too subtle for folks here on this one, I guess. From Bear Stearns to Halliburton to Enron to Bechtel, private business gets successful when it shuffles money around, lies about its intentions to the regulators, and treats the public as a mass of dolts. Yet this is the model Dubya, Romney, and others want to use for public spending. Here we have a town that actually imitates corporate titans in their mendacity and tendentiousness, and people get upset.
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p>What conservatives Republicans want is to hold public functions to an impossible standard that doesn’t exist anywhere in the public or private sector, declare that the public sector has failed, and turn those functions over to private business. (NB: conservatives are now kept far from the controls of the Republican Party.)
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p>You mention IT. Here’s a fun thing: find out how much your town’s crappy website costs them. It’s in the budget. Then think that there’s a public minded citizen (many of whom who are on our site) who could put together something much better at a break or even pro bono. For example: Plympton, a flashy site with doodads that tells you almost nothing.
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p>Is privatization a good idea? Occasionally. I’d love to hear an example, though.
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p>As for “local schools systems” being “run by unions”, I realize that fits in with your worldview, but it is untrue. While union protections do shield some (some!) workers from vengeful personality-driven firings, they don’t run anything. Maybe if schools were run by the people who worked there, rather than people who haven’t spent some time inside one since they were children, they’d be in better shape.
gary says
An example: The former Depart. of Environmental Management skating rinks turned into better facilities with more attendance.
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p>Contrast that with the Metropolitan District Commission skating rinks, which can’t be privatized because of the ‘Pacheco law’.
<
p>And ‘occasional’ privitization is exactly what you get in Massachusetts so it’s hard to know if it’s better or not.
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p>But as you say, ‘occasionally’ privitzation works, like the six times since 1993, that someone has managed to meet all the absurd hurtles that ‘pacheco’s law’ put up. 6 times it was more efficient than the government’s previous service that was replaced.
bostonshepherd says
MTA contracts with local school systems usually proscribe staffing levels, limit hours, mandate breaks, set work rules (who may do what function,) establish rules for tenure, and demand — and receive! — generous health care and pension benefits, far in excess of what most private-sector, not to mention retiree health insurance…unheard of in the private sector. They also help set licensing requirements for teachers.
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p>Of course, there’s always the push for “smaller class sizes.” Gee, don’t your need more teachers for that?
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p>In construction projects, unions do exactly the same, and it matters. A union flooring installer, following work rules, typically installs 80 yards of carpet per day. My experience is non-union installers can install 200 yards a day. I’ve seen this (and paid for it) with my own eyes. It’s all about the work rules.
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p>No Sabutai, saying “unions don’t run anything” and bleating the progressive-Tourette’s-syndrome incantation of “Bear Stearns to Halliburton to Enron to Bechtel” is stunningly naive. But that’s your twisted and narrow world view.
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p>Do you even work for a living?
<
p>Pull your head out of the sand.
tony-schinella says
And I don’t think government should be run as a business.
bleicher says
Tony,
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p>Please go back up and click on 0.5% for the Kids to read my full post.
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p>In Harvard, despite increasing taxes from $3231 per family in 1993 to $8500 per family, we spend less actual dollars per child on regular education today than we did in 1993 as well as less than the state average on children in our schools. Who spends less to live on today than they did in 1993? We can demonstrate that the current financial system imposed by the state has a built in structural deficit in a setting where there is little if any waste. The reason is the Chapter 70 funding formula makes assumptions about what communities like Belmont or Harvard could afford based on the aggregate income in the Town. As a result, it turns the tale of Robin Hood on its head. If uses the rich to take from the poor (and the middle class). If we do not fix the system, many other communities, like Harvard, will be forced to fund their state mandated foundation budgets with override after override.
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p>The end result is we are taxing our seniors and middle income families out of Town. See the Globe Northwest today.
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p>My proposal is NOT to give the state more money to spend. They fail to use and distribute it fairly.
<
p>My proposal is NOT to keep raising property taxes on those who cannot afford them. They only will move and increase our costs when new families with kids move to Town.
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p>My proposal IS to allow the towns to access the income tax system to let our local governments actually have some control and manage their budgets.
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p>If you increase the income tax 0.5% and force it to be distributed on a per child per district basis, then each Town will have the ability to reduce their property taxes and pay for their schools. The increase will generate $1B and approximately $1000 per child. This should end the need for overrides in Towns that are well managed.
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p>Our Governor and the Legislature has been clear. They told us last week they have a deficit and can do no more. So we can wait, do nothing and watch our property taxes go up as we are forced to fund state mandates, or we can continue to cut spending per child in regular education. Don’t be so fast to assume that the money your Town has kept was unecesary. They likely have had to fund the structural deficit that has been imposed on us by the State.
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p>Bruce Leicher
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p>
tony-schinella says
First, many of us can’t afford the income tax increase.
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p>Second, the income tax still hasn’t been rolled back to 5 percent as was supposed to be done both by commitment by then-Gov. Dukakis and by initiative petition.
<
p>Third, even if this is approved, which is unlikely, there is no guarantee that future overrides wouldn’t be needed and that is what I’m wondering about.
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p>For example, let’s say your plan was implemented and all that extra money flowed to towns and they were able to pay for education expenses more easily. What’s to keep them from asking for more? Once the 0.5 percent is set aside for education, there is nothing to stop education advocates for asking for more. Before you know it, 20 elementary students in a class won’t be low enough. They’ll want 10 or 15. More teachers needed. Poof, another override because 0.5 percent won’t cover it all. I can TOTALLY see that happening.
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p>In Belmont this year, the school department asked for a $2.9 million increase, about $1.5 million more than was available. In the end, they got a $1.6 million increase, or about 4 percent. But they wanted more. If they had the 0.5 plan and wanted a $6 million increase instead of $3 million, Belmont voters would probably say, Well, they need the money and we haven’t had an override in a while, let’s do an override. As it is now, even with a 4 percent increase, there were some in town who wanted another major override even though it wasn’t needed. Next year, it will probably be needed.
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p>In Winchester in previous years, I gave you some examples. Asking for a lot more than was actually needed. I can see this happening because it has already happened even without your income tax increase.
<
p>So, in other words, it would seem that your plan doesn’t really work.
dmac says
No body gets mad when these tpyes of statements are made about communities where Blacks an poor people live? An interesting article, that didn’t seem to offend anyone.
they says
Is that in reference to his alternate 10 bridge instead of the 411 bridges-at-once proposal? Or is it something else?
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p>How does that jibe with “it’s a marathon not a sprint”?
nathanielb says
Cahill? Is there a rumor that Cahill will challenge Patrick in a primary race in 2010? I’m confused by that comment.
charley-on-the-mta says
I read it here — strictly internet-fueled baseless speculation:
http://baystateliberal.blogspo…
sabutai says
From the budget to casinos, Tim Cahill is going out of his way to challenge Deval on things. We all know Sal isn’t going to run for governor (doesn’t want to give up that much of his influence), but Deval is certainly vulnerable to a challenge at this point.
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p>What’s more, if Obama is indeed moved to Washington under an Obama Administration, Tim Murray is fair game also.
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p>Tim’s got a supporter right here hoping he does jump in.
charley-on-the-mta says
Or are you more against Deval than casinos?
david says
sabutai says
I posted a comment in response, and it disappeared. I’ll try again.
<
p>But first, I strongly object to this disgusting implication that the only possible reason for someone not to think Deval is doing well is a personal grudge. I wouldn’t state that David’s and Charley’s constant apologies for Deval is aimed at preserving access and justifying previous cheerleading. Debate the issues already.
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p>Yes, Cahill agrees with Deval on resort casinos. So they’re both wrong. So let’s look at other issues:
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p>Mortgaging the future with bond issues: Cahill against, Deval for.
Transparency in the casino process: Cahill for, Deval against
Cutting losses on casinos and abandoning the $189,000 study: Cahill for, Deval against
Jetting around the country to chase press: Cahill against, Deval for
Showing leadership with a statement on the M’boro deal before the town meeting: Cahill for, Deval against.
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p>Give me somebody ready for and interested in the job. Give me Tim Cahill.
david says
he won’t challenge Deval in a primary. But of course things can change.
sabutai says
Tim Cahill came out for transparency in the casino process, unlike Deval Patrick.
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p>Tim Cahill came out with a clear position on the Middleboro deal before the special town meeting based on his experience with the issue, unlike Deval Patrick.
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p>Tim Cahill came out against the “spend lots and stick the kids with the bill,” unlike Deval Patrick.
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p>Tim Cahill doesn’t chase press by running all over the country. Unlike Deval Patrick.
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p>There is a clear, qualitative difference between the two. Sure, Deval could still turn it around, but we’ve been saying that for over a year now. Cahill sometimes does things wrong; Deval sometimes does things right. Either way, I’m stuck with a pro-casino governor, but right now Cahill seems far more ready to be governor than Deval — and far more interested in the job.
david says
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p>He doesn’t really have the opportunity, does he? Deval’s a national figure. Tim isn’t. Like it or not.
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p>As for casinos, methinks you’re letting your personal predilections hold sway. Yes, Deval could’ve handled the casino thing better — which, of course, would have given it a greater likelihood of passing, which presumably would have made you unhappy. You don’t like casinos, so that should be a big strike against both Tim and Deval, full stop. I mean, come on — Tim’s big complaint is that Deval didn’t do everything he could’ve done to get the casino bill through!
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p>And as for this,
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p>
<
p>it’s starting to look like that’s exactly what he’ll do. Let’s come back to this at the end of the legislative session and see where we are.
charley-on-the-mta says
as “distinction without a difference.”
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p>”Far more interested in the job.” I don’t expect you to just take my word for it, Sab, but based on our experience talking to the Gov. on Tuesday, that just sounds completely from outer space to me. I got precisely the opposite impression, at some considerable length. Just sayin’.
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p>Anyway, always fun to banter, but I don’t think you actually believe Deval can “turn it around”, because whatever he does, it won’t be enough for you.
sabutai says
Put a comment in the wrong thread. Sorry about that…eminently deletable.
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p>I’ve not spoken with Deval about his job because I don’t get that kind of access (and with these questions, likely never will). I just see him going on Romney-like jaunts to Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, Washington DC, Ohio and New York over the last few months. The first six in order to campaign for one Democrat and against another, and the seventh on a tour to promise publishers a willingness to…go on another tour in order to boost book revenues.
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p>My Christian friend tells me that no proof of God’s existence, no matter how undeniable, quantifiable, or measured would be enough for me, atheist that I am. He usually says this rather than refute my questioning of the “God of the gaps” or “anthropic principle” arguments. I guess this is the same line of thinking. Let’s call it the “Deval Principle”:
<
p>
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p>It’s a safe way to insulate oneself from confronting tough questions in either case, but it is really, really, weak.
charley-on-the-mta says
regarding the travel, and the book deal, and so forth. I don’t think it’s all that big a deal in the context of how engaged he’s been on any number of policy fronts; but at least I understand the criticism.
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p>That being said … It’s a big, big, big fat Presidential election. Possibly even more important than 2004 — a hell of a lot of war and peace are at stake. And I think Massachusetts has a clear interest in the outcome of that. And campaigning for allies, even out of state, is something that politicians standardly do. So I think you can make a pretty strong case that he is, in fact, doing his job. YMMV.
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p>I wouldn’t call that Romney-esque, since he’s not running for anything (as far as we know); and he doesn’t seem to be slagging his own state for some imagined political benefit.
sabutai says
I want all hands on deck this fall. Frank, Menino, Kerry, Kennedy — everybody goes to Maine or New Hampshire this fall. But we aren’t there yet, and this state needs all the help it can get.
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p>I’ve given Deval deserved credit before. Heck, I went out of my way to say nice things about him during the primary. I think I’ve a track record for giving Deval the benefit of the doubt, it just frosts my cake to be told since I don’t agree with his fans, I must have a personal issue.
ryepower12 says
Cahill’s the guy who thinks we should have more gambling, and more addicts, to pay for the gambling addicts this state already has. (Don’t make me dig up the link for it, either, because I’ll do it with glee!)
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p>Being against Deval because of casinos, and for Cahill because of them just doesn’t make sense. The fact of the matter is knowing what I know now – and I have been disappointed with the Governor at times – my choice to wholeheartedly support him in ’06 was a good one. He’s head and heals better than what Reilly, Gabrieli and Healey would have been as Governors. Of that, I’m confident.
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p>The fact of the matter is Government, since Deval was elected, is working much better than before. Agencies across the state have been singing the praises of having a strong Democrat in office – just knowing where the money will come from and that they have someone to call if there’s a problem has been a huge relief to a number of people I’ve talked with working in various public sector gigs.
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p>I think you need to work a little bit more on your argument if you want to convince many people that Cahill should win in the next election over Governor Patrick, because so far each of your arguments has fallen flat – even to the fact that Deval seeks out media attention where Cahill doesn’t (what else would you call Cahill’s out-on-a-limb cries for attention ‘ideas’?)
ryepower12 says
I went to a real interesting lecture/dinner tonight at my Town Democratic Committee meeting where we had a guest speaker that was absolutely fantastic and very interesting. In any event, at one moment he talked about how he’ll go to Chamber of Commerce meetings, invited to speak, and ask everyone to stand up. Then he’ll ask people to sit down if the government gives them anything – and only one or two people will. Then he’ll ask “well, how many of you have taken a shower today?” and obviously everyone sits down.
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p>People don’t think of things like cheap water coming straight to our facets and showers as a government service, or the streets they drive their cars on, or the lights that direct traffic. They consider that an entitlement – almost something that everyone just gets for free. Then many of these same people will think the Government is giving away free lunch at schools and their kids aren’t benefiting from it, or that the government isn’t giving them anything either. Of course, it’s patently false. Part of winning the battle of ideas in this country is making people realize that government makes things work and that these things cost money. We all benefit from it and we’d all be worse if we weren’t providing the funds to make these services available. The sooner we can convince the vast majority of the country to think in those terms, the better.
ryepower12 says
Sure thing. Alcohol probably doesn’t cost society quite as much as smoking in financial terms, but certainly addiction to it is more devastating to families than addiction to cigarettes. So if UHUB’s complaint on the cigarette tax is that alcohol isn’t seeing a big tax increase either, my message to them is I would have no problem with a 20% hike in the tax rate on the bottle of Pino I buy every once in a while…
sabutai says
Let’s double taxes on white zinfandel, Coors, and Budweiser. Leave the others alone.
david says
sabutai says
…my butler said the same exact thing.
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p>So I fired him.
farnkoff says
I could fax you a resume.
sabutai says
I don’t want you blogging about what goes on at the Sabutai Estate and Hunting Grounds. Might get you in trouble…