I would like to invite everyone to take a look at the results of this Boston Herald/UMass Lowell poll, conducted just last week!
As you know, Governor Deval Patrick has filed a revenue plan similar to the plan supported by the Campaign for our Communities, a coalition of over 125 organizations advocating for a substantial and progressive revenue package this year. The Governor’s plan raises almost $2 billion to invest in the things that will make our communities and our Commonwealth strong, like transportation and education. The Governor’s plan – like An Act to Invest in our Communities (HB 2687/SB 1313) filed by Rep. Jim O’Day and Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz – includes an increase in the income tax and a simultaneous increase in the personal exemption to hold down increases on low- and middle-income families and seniors.
While some have claimed the Governor’s plan is unpopular, the Herald poll indicates otherwise. Almost half of the people polled support Governor Patrick’s plan, and more people support than oppose it!
The Herald poll demonstrates that voters in Massachusetts will support the kinds of investments we need to make our economy strong and to insure that Massachusetts remains a great place to live, work and raise a family.
I encourage everyone to communicate that message to you legislators TODAY! Feel free to join us for our Lobby Day on March 12th. You can find details here.
-Andi Mullin
I suggested that this may indicate approval of the plan.
http://www.redmassgroup.com/diary/16602/mass-business-communitys-been-quiet-as-church-mice
this study: Politicians Massively Overestimate Conservatism Of Constituents
If they’re uninterested in leadership, perhaps they’ll be interested in re-election. I’m not quite sure how politicians have persuaded themselves that hurting people will lead to more votes than helping them…maybe this will cause them to rethink that.
Time for progressivema and BMG and others to put pressure on the fence sitters. Time to get more candidates to challenge those that are entrenched and out of touch.
…we are doing just that. My friend Stacie has done some terrific work. She has been blogging about it.
MA voted for Elizabeth Warren, who had a thing or two to say about investing in our communities and giving back thru taxes.
MA also strongly rejected the Romney-Ryan “CUT TAXES” plan and endorsed Pres. Obama’s investment agenda. And then there was resounding approval of the invest-thru-taxes and maintain public services Budget-For-All referendum.
We can keep voting for Elizabeth Warrens, Deval Patricks and Barack Obamas, but we will keep on with this austerity agenda unless we get some phone calls into The Deciders during the legislative session.
As Hester Prynne says, legislators seem to give extra credence to the cranky caller who rants against “raising taxes”. So maybe we need to get 3 calls in for every one of theirs.
I’ll be going to Tuesday’s lobby day with Progressive Mass, and today I recruited a couple of friends to join me. Hope to see some of you there!
shown much interest in the proposal. He was generally and vaguely dismissive of Patrick’s plan, recently spoke about increasing revenue for transportation, but not education.
Business stands with Deleo, not the Governor:
Maybe it’s time to insist that the individual legislators keep faith with what’s best for the Commonwealth and respond to their constituents’ needs, not the Speaker’s!! With friends like that…
Mr. DeLeo has offered at best tepid support for the Governor’s tax proposal, and has offered his own far more limited competing approach.
The actual poll results indicate that the Governor’s tax proposal is supported by sixty nine percent of the “leaned” registered voters polled (that includes independents who lean towards the Democrats) and seventy one percent of registered Democrats. He joins a mere sixteen percent of the leaned Democratic respondents, and a similar seventeen percent of the unleaned Democrats, in “somewhat” or “strongly” opposing the Governor’s plan.
Why is the Speaker of an overwhelmingly Democratic House of Representatives siding with the GOP (where 75% leaned and 78% unleaned oppose the plan), rather than advancing the view held by more than two of three Massachusetts Democratic voters?
I think it’s perhaps time for John Walsh to take Mr. DeLeo to the woodshed for a candid and frank reminder of what party Mr. DeLeo was elected to lead as Speaker of the House — and to perhaps ask Mr. DeLeo how he will fare without the support of the Democratic Party.
a serious Republican Party in Massachusetts is conservative Democrats.
But also: the price we pay for having no long term progressive organizing and on-going advocacy on a broad variety of progressive issues. We could create distinctions between Democrats by insisting on leadership on progressive issues. (This is why I support Progressive Mass!)
[Even though the concept, when explained correctly, has far wider support than just progressives (as indicated in the OP), a fair tax system that adequately funds our communities is “our” wheelhouse as progressives]
…because the Governor proposed it. This isn’t the same as Congressional Republicans opposing something they once supported because the President thinks it’s a good idea though. In our state we seem to have more of the Framers’ original vision that the tension would be between branches rather than between parties. Speakers in MA, and Senate Presidents for that matter, like to think they are in charge. When we had GOP Governors with veto-proof Dem majorities they largely got away with that attitude.
Mr. DeLeo nevertheless is elected to represent his constituents. His leadership role implies his embrace of the Democratic Party and vice-versa. The bad blood between Mr. DeLeo and Deval Patrick was certainly exacerbated by their extended debates around casino gambling and slots — a tweedledum/tweedledee “conflict” if there ever was one.
I think you give Mr. DeLeo far too much credit. I think this dispute has to do with personal arrogance, turf, and he-supports-it-so-I’m-against-it petty one-upsmanship. I think any resemblence to the “Framer’s original vision” is at best a rationalization and more likely pure coincidence.
The Herald stooped to digging up Babs?
Yet another indication the Massachusetts GOP is irrelevant.
that quote is from the Springfield Republican. Just for the record.
in infrastructure etc., I’m still somewhat concerned about some of the aspects of the governor’s plan, including the elimination of 45 deductions that many middle class people depend on. Those include deductions for college tuition and dependents under 12.
And then there are the proposed increases in T fares and road and bridge tolls. These things seem less than progressive to me.
That something like 10% of the net new revenue comes from making the sales tax apply to certain kinds of software which are currently tax free. I wonder: why not go after legal and consultant fees? Seems like there’s a whole lot more money there, and just as reasonably taxable IMO.
Also, I wish he would have also offered tweaks to sales tax exemption. IMO, neither comic books nor gun safes should be sales-tax-exempt. There are plenty of other examples too. Know what should be exempt? Legitimate OTC medicine. The boundary between prescription drugs and OTCs is a function of danger of misuse. They’re both medicines. They both deserve tax exempt status methinks.
on the question whether it’s OK to impose a sales tax on services under the state constitution. In an advisory opinion, four justices sort of thought it was sort of OK, and three justices thought it was definitely NOT OK. The opinion is here. Lawmakers have treaded gingerly on this issue ever since.
Is the delivery fee for delivered prepared meals taxable? It typically is taxed, but it always struck me as a fee for service, and therefore shouldn’t be taxable under the sales tax on meals, state- and local- versions.