You know, we talk a lot about taxes, and waste, and hacks, and pork and all that stuff. Everyone does. Let me ask one simple question: When it comes to the state’s budget, does anyone have any freakin’ idea what they’re talking about?
According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, not likely. They just released a report calling for greater budget transparency. From their Op-Ed in yesterday’s Globe:
The state budget document is so hard to understand that ordinary citizens don’t have the knowledge they need to shape critical choices about what government does, and how it does it. In fact, rank and file legislators frequently cannot understand clearly the fiscal and programmatic implications of the budgets on which they are asked to vote.
Ah, well that explains a lot, doesn’t it? But they gamely go on to say “the problem is structural” — that the budget process itself causes irresponsible behavior among all the players.
Wellllll maybe. But you can bet that a lot of folks have a lot of interest in keeping things the way they are. Remember what happened in the Senate, when the little earmark-database law was held up by old codgers Byrd and Stevens? Look for similar legislative shenanigans.
After the budget was put on line, I amused myself by entering place names into the search engine, and recording how many ‘hits’ a place got.
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New Bedford and Chelsea – in Montigny and Birmingham days – always did exceptionally well.
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You can have fun too! Enter your home town, and deduce if raising income taxes so the state will give you more local aid will work well for YOU! (Fewer than three hits – LOO-ZAH!)
Deval Patrick is clearly the candidate for you!
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See the website, http://www.devalpatrick.com
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Deval Patrick Announces Plan to Cut Costs in State Government
Below is the release. Read the entire plan here.
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Patrick Includes Over $735 Million in Savings, Pledges To Lead Fiscally Responsible, Efficient Government
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BOSTON-Wednesday, April 19, 2006- Deval Patrick today released a plan for the more efficient, streamlined government he will lead as governor, identifying specific savings of over $735 million. His strategies include limiting legislative earmarks, enforcing wage and hour laws, improving detection of Medicaid fraud and increasing budgetary transparency.
http://www.devalpatrick.com
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Limit Legislative Earmarks
I will veto unsubstantiated earmarks. I will also work with the Legislature to cap earmark spending at a fixed dollar amount annually. Over time, the earmark cap would be reduced, forcing earmark spending to be pushed into the appropriate line items within the budget, and back into the mainstream of the states budget process. I believe this discipline alone can save the Commonwealth $100 million in the first year, and even more over time.
I will veto unsubstantiated earmarks.
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You think they don’t have substantiation NOW? It may be bogus, but it’s there. I once laminated a newspaper photo of a forest fire to show Finneran to get a brush breaker.
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I will also work with the Legislature to cap earmark spending at a fixed dollar amount annually. Over time, blah, blah, blah…
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This has been done before – with outside sections and earmarks – by Sen. Murray, who is in a MUCH better position to enforce her point of view. They creep back like weeds when revenues go up, thus exposing Deval’s inexperience