“You say you want a revolution…..” You’re going to get one. You’re diddling with your voters lives.
When dovernor Patrick says “Yes we can!” He means: “you do it for me, I don’t want to dirty my hands.”
When the the going gets tough, the governor gets going… out of town.
amberpawsays
All the the same, I consider that, as to the average taxpayer, the appointment of Senator Walsh to this position, if the position while in existence, was vacant for twelve years tune deaf and suggest that when it comes to singing to the public, Gov. Patrick could use a music/voice coach.
<
p>That all being said, if this appointment to this “Qusai-Public Agency” – Could someone explain this term, as well as why it is staffed by Gubernatorial appointment, maybe someone with an advanced degree in municipal government? is not in the “pension system”, where do the funds for this agency originate? Federal? Fees? Privately donated? User fees only? Tell us more, “Old Scratch” since you either write like you plagiarize Howie Carr or as if you work for the Commonwealth, yourself.
<
p>One more thing, maybe the “music” of this appointment plays well in the legislature, as so many are taken care of by their friends with government jobs once their legislative careers end or they need/want to move on. While serving in the legislature is an honor, in and of itself it is not a high paying job unlike, say, managing funds for Harvard. Not to mention the Goldfish Bowl Effect. [do I need to explain THAT term, folks?]
<
p>Now who is it that became Senior Assistant Aide to the House Clerk? Varga? Gov. Patrick did not appoint that one, now did he?
centralmassdadsays
amberpawsays
Old Scratch reads like today’s Boston Herald, actually
p>And I’m glad to see you’re up on your Stephen Vincent Benét.
christophersays
I assume the salary continues to be a funded line item, so why not fill it? If it’s not that important it sounds like the legislature had 12 years to eliminate the position and nobody would have noticed. If you’re complaining about who was appointed then we need to look at introducing advice and consent (I’d say by Gov Council, but I don’t want to rehash that argument.).
davessays
From the Mass. Health and Educational Facilities Authority web site:
<
p>
HEFA was created by the Massachusetts Legislature, and our Board is appointed by the Governor. However, HEFA is fully self-funded and receives no tax-payer dollars.
<
p>Take two valium and post about something else in the morning.
Old Scratch and fellow Deval-bashers totally suckered by misleading (or ignorant — hard to tell) Herald story.
amberpawsays
Once again, the issues becomes not “substance” as in taxpayer dollars – but symbolic.
<
p>Of course, to Walsh’s constituents who trustingly re-elected her, and now get the disruption of having NO State Senator, and having to use taxpayer dollars to pay for a special election [and the feeding-frenzy that seems to create] there are real costs.
<
p>I sometimes wonder whether, when an elected official leaves mid term and a special election is required at significant cost [am I correct that the cost may be as high as $50-$70k for a special election for a state senator?].
<
p>Also, it would be very interesting to see the list of HEFA’s donors, don’t you think? I bet someone here can find that out online and post it.
<
p>Fairly amazing [at least to me] the amount of money some of these organizations have and payout, the connected nonprofits, I mean.
<
p>If location is everything in real estate, maybe timing is everything in politics.
davessays
Mass HEFA has no donors. It charges fees in connection with the services it provides to facilitate tax exempt bond financing by health care and educational organizations.
david-whelansays
Will Ms. Walsh comtinue to acrue pension benefits and will the taxpayers fund any of those additional benefits?
liveandletlivesays
I think your time would be better spent if you did some self analysis and picked apart people like Mitt Romney, Dick Cheney, and George Bush. You may find it amusing to come here and find fault with Democratic officials, but you are doing it for self gratification and to turn the story away from the outrageous failures of the Republican Party. When we Democrats come here and pick apart and analyze official from our own party, we are doing it to enlighten ourselves, and to self improve, grow and change in positive way. After the nightmare of the last 8 years and the failures of the Romney Administration, you have absolutely a lot of gall to come here and criticize what may be an imperfect Administration, but one with values far more genuine and true to the people then the Republican Party can ever imagine achieving. You have a lot of work to do, why don’t you address your own issues.
billxisays
I think Green-Rainbow has more kick than the Republican party.
kbuschsays
I believe I have expressed sentiments like this before, but not to Old Scratch. We have some conservative commentators who descend into rants, talking points, or verbosity, but Old Scratch, bless his Satanic pseudonym, is not among them.
<
p>The question is a fair one, too. As Democrats, we want Democratic governance to be so successful that South Carolinians are saying, “We want that too.” That means setting and keeping a high standard.
<
p>Even though it is a fair question, it is unfairly stated. The charge is essentially:
1
The job is a sinecure because it hasn’t been filled in 12 years.
2
The job was a “gift”, i.e., it has no special qualifications.
3
The motivation was to reward a friend rather than to get the job done.
However, neither the diarist nor his source, Hillary Chabot, actually prove any of this. A lot of it seems to glide on the perception that $175k is a lot of money and Deval Patrick is a venal politician.
<
p>That’s not proof so much as it is an aggressive application of cynicism.
lfield1007says
I would say that rewarding Marian Walsh does not make much sense when the Governor is going into a re-election year and there are good odds that his political position in the state senate and in that district will be hurt, not helped, by appointing her to this position. Much more likely that the Governor believes that Walsh will help him in achieving his agenda in that agency.
old-scratchsays
has respect for the GOP. I’m a conservative . . . a classic liberal, a libertarian. Decidedly not a Republican, and you’ll never see me playing rah rah retail partisan politics here.
<
p>The only difference between the GOP and the Democratic Party is a different set of masters. Both are big government parties beholden to a select set of special interest groups. You Democrats own the rainbow/moonbeam set, the GOP owns the guns and Jesus set.
liveandletlivesays
And then there are those of us who simply agree with the Party platform, and the overall values of the Democrats. I’m sorry for blasting you. I am just so fed up with government officials making stupid and costly decisions, and watching it happen in my own party makes me livid.
And then there are the Republicans spinning every news story they can, which can mislead many people, the people who will go to the polls and vote based on misinformation. So when I question the actions of officials in my own party, I don’t want it to be because there is a Republican behind the conversation, willing to use any trick necessary to regain power. Friends?
lodgersays
When we Democrats come here and pick apart and analyze official from our own party, we are doing it to enlighten ourselves, and to self improve, grow and change in positive way.
You can only be enlightened by your own kind?
<
p>I think many are here with an open mind to everyone’s ideas, provided they are sincere. That is why I, as a conservative, engage only here.
garysays
HEFA looks like a facilitor: non-profits could go directly to the bond market or banks for financing but the interest the non-profits would pay to investors would be taxable to the investor. So, the Government set up this Authority; the debt is issued through the Authority, and the interest is tax-free to investors and therefore, lower to the borrowing non-profit.
<
p>Comments:
<
p>First, if you believe the taxpayer isn’t ultimately on the hook for its operations, then you probably also believed that Fannie and Freddie weren’t the taxpayers’ problems. Quasi means upside for organization; downside for government.
<
p>Second, HEFA is a dinky organization. Only $7.1 million in total revenues.] How many high paid, high level potentates does it need?! Think about it, the Patrick appointee was just awarded 2.5% of the organiztion’s revenue.
<
p>Third, it’s a monopoly. Like any good monopoly there’s no incentive to reduce costs. From the financial statements, in 2008 business was down yet salaries up. …added 2 new staff positions increasing salary by $380K… G&A expense increased by 25.3%
<
p>The Herald piece was right about the croney aspect of the appointment. It should dig deeper to report on the other salaries paid at this organization.
“You say you want a revolution…..” You’re going to get one. You’re diddling with your voters lives.
When dovernor Patrick says “Yes we can!” He means: “you do it for me, I don’t want to dirty my hands.”
When the the going gets tough, the governor gets going… out of town.
All the the same, I consider that, as to the average taxpayer, the appointment of Senator Walsh to this position, if the position while in existence, was vacant for twelve years tune deaf and suggest that when it comes to singing to the public, Gov. Patrick could use a music/voice coach.
<
p>That all being said, if this appointment to this “Qusai-Public Agency” – Could someone explain this term, as well as why it is staffed by Gubernatorial appointment, maybe someone with an advanced degree in municipal government? is not in the “pension system”, where do the funds for this agency originate? Federal? Fees? Privately donated? User fees only? Tell us more, “Old Scratch” since you either write like you plagiarize Howie Carr or as if you work for the Commonwealth, yourself.
<
p>One more thing, maybe the “music” of this appointment plays well in the legislature, as so many are taken care of by their friends with government jobs once their legislative careers end or they need/want to move on. While serving in the legislature is an honor, in and of itself it is not a high paying job unlike, say, managing funds for Harvard. Not to mention the Goldfish Bowl Effect. [do I need to explain THAT term, folks?]
<
p>Now who is it that became Senior Assistant Aide to the House Clerk? Varga? Gov. Patrick did not appoint that one, now did he?
Old Scratch reads like today’s Boston Herald, actually
<
p>http://www.cs/view/2009_03_13_…
<
p>DiMasi handed out raises in the ten days before stepping down, DeLeo handed out raises when stepping up. Would we all like to see a list:
<
p>http://www.bostonherald.com/ne…
<
p>And “our friend” and Old Scratch’s alter ego, perhaps about the Chief Assistant Aide to the House Clerk job:
<
p>http://www.bostonherald.com/ne…
is duly noted!
<
p>And I’m glad to see you’re up on your Stephen Vincent Benét.
I assume the salary continues to be a funded line item, so why not fill it? If it’s not that important it sounds like the legislature had 12 years to eliminate the position and nobody would have noticed. If you’re complaining about who was appointed then we need to look at introducing advice and consent (I’d say by Gov Council, but I don’t want to rehash that argument.).
From the Mass. Health and Educational Facilities Authority web site:
<
p>
<
p>Take two valium and post about something else in the morning.
Old Scratch and fellow Deval-bashers totally suckered by misleading (or ignorant — hard to tell) Herald story.
Once again, the issues becomes not “substance” as in taxpayer dollars – but symbolic.
<
p>Of course, to Walsh’s constituents who trustingly re-elected her, and now get the disruption of having NO State Senator, and having to use taxpayer dollars to pay for a special election [and the feeding-frenzy that seems to create] there are real costs.
<
p>I sometimes wonder whether, when an elected official leaves mid term and a special election is required at significant cost [am I correct that the cost may be as high as $50-$70k for a special election for a state senator?].
<
p>Also, it would be very interesting to see the list of HEFA’s donors, don’t you think? I bet someone here can find that out online and post it.
<
p>Fairly amazing [at least to me] the amount of money some of these organizations have and payout, the connected nonprofits, I mean.
<
p>If location is everything in real estate, maybe timing is everything in politics.
Mass HEFA has no donors. It charges fees in connection with the services it provides to facilitate tax exempt bond financing by health care and educational organizations.
Will Ms. Walsh comtinue to acrue pension benefits and will the taxpayers fund any of those additional benefits?
I think your time would be better spent if you did some self analysis and picked apart people like Mitt Romney, Dick Cheney, and George Bush. You may find it amusing to come here and find fault with Democratic officials, but you are doing it for self gratification and to turn the story away from the outrageous failures of the Republican Party. When we Democrats come here and pick apart and analyze official from our own party, we are doing it to enlighten ourselves, and to self improve, grow and change in positive way. After the nightmare of the last 8 years and the failures of the Romney Administration, you have absolutely a lot of gall to come here and criticize what may be an imperfect Administration, but one with values far more genuine and true to the people then the Republican Party can ever imagine achieving. You have a lot of work to do, why don’t you address your own issues.
I think Green-Rainbow has more kick than the Republican party.
I believe I have expressed sentiments like this before, but not to Old Scratch. We have some conservative commentators who descend into rants, talking points, or verbosity, but Old Scratch, bless his Satanic pseudonym, is not among them.
<
p>The question is a fair one, too. As Democrats, we want Democratic governance to be so successful that South Carolinians are saying, “We want that too.” That means setting and keeping a high standard.
<
p>Even though it is a fair question, it is unfairly stated. The charge is essentially:
1
The job is a sinecure because it hasn’t been filled in 12 years.
2
The job was a “gift”, i.e., it has no special qualifications.
3
The motivation was to reward a friend rather than to get the job done.
However, neither the diarist nor his source, Hillary Chabot, actually prove any of this. A lot of it seems to glide on the perception that $175k is a lot of money and Deval Patrick is a venal politician.
<
p>That’s not proof so much as it is an aggressive application of cynicism.
I would say that rewarding Marian Walsh does not make much sense when the Governor is going into a re-election year and there are good odds that his political position in the state senate and in that district will be hurt, not helped, by appointing her to this position. Much more likely that the Governor believes that Walsh will help him in achieving his agenda in that agency.
has respect for the GOP. I’m a conservative . . . a classic liberal, a libertarian. Decidedly not a Republican, and you’ll never see me playing rah rah retail partisan politics here.
<
p>The only difference between the GOP and the Democratic Party is a different set of masters. Both are big government parties beholden to a select set of special interest groups. You Democrats own the rainbow/moonbeam set, the GOP owns the guns and Jesus set.
And then there are those of us who simply agree with the Party platform, and the overall values of the Democrats. I’m sorry for blasting you. I am just so fed up with government officials making stupid and costly decisions, and watching it happen in my own party makes me livid.
And then there are the Republicans spinning every news story they can, which can mislead many people, the people who will go to the polls and vote based on misinformation. So when I question the actions of officials in my own party, I don’t want it to be because there is a Republican behind the conversation, willing to use any trick necessary to regain power. Friends?
You can only be enlightened by your own kind?
<
p>I think many are here with an open mind to everyone’s ideas, provided they are sincere. That is why I, as a conservative, engage only here.
HEFA looks like a facilitor: non-profits could go directly to the bond market or banks for financing but the interest the non-profits would pay to investors would be taxable to the investor. So, the Government set up this Authority; the debt is issued through the Authority, and the interest is tax-free to investors and therefore, lower to the borrowing non-profit.
<
p>Comments:
<
p>First, if you believe the taxpayer isn’t ultimately on the hook for its operations, then you probably also believed that Fannie and Freddie weren’t the taxpayers’ problems. Quasi means upside for organization; downside for government.
<
p>Second, HEFA is a dinky organization. Only $7.1 million in total revenues.] How many high paid, high level potentates does it need?! Think about it, the Patrick appointee was just awarded 2.5% of the organiztion’s revenue.
<
p>Third, it’s a monopoly. Like any good monopoly there’s no incentive to reduce costs. From the financial statements, in 2008 business was down yet salaries up. …added 2 new staff positions increasing salary by $380K… G&A expense increased by 25.3%
<
p>The Herald piece was right about the croney aspect of the appointment. It should dig deeper to report on the other salaries paid at this organization.
<
p>