2. Our roads and bridges are crunmbling around us.3. Our higher education system is so poorly funded, we are 47th in the nation and one of only two states with no public law school [I say this as a Michigan native where … [Read more...]
Where Did The 1 Billion Deficit Come From?
From the GlobePatrick aides said Romney administration officials had been painting a grim picture of state finances in private meetings last month and this month. In the Nov. 27 presentation to Patrick's budget advisers, Romney aides … [Read more...]
How to find at least $75,000 that could be spent on desperately-needed services
Veto this bill.The Globe describes the duties of the Boston Licensing Board as follows:The licensing board handles permits for liquor stores, dormitories, lodging houses, hotels, and establishments that serve food. Each week the board … [Read more...]
Will Deval Raise Taxes?
This was in the Globe this morning:Aides to Governor-elect Deval Patrick said yesterday that the state is facing a deficit that could reach $1 billion next year, a looming budget gap that observers say could force Patrick to scale back his … [Read more...]
Mitt partly undoes the budget-cut damage
Within the Department of Mental Retardation line items, the governor restored $8.4 million out of the $9.8 million he had cut. The restored funding included the following:--A $2 million increase in the Turning-22 program. … [Read more...]
Budget situation is still “precarious”
Eisenthal's got a good rundown of today's budget news: Good, but not really really good:As TER discussed last month, avoiding either mid-year reductions or use of the Commonwealth's Stabilization ("rainy day") fund, would require an … [Read more...]
9C Sadistic Cuts
Department of Mental Health Commissioner Beth Childs informed the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA) and the Massachusetts Association of Behavioral Health Systems (MABHS) of this moratorium late last Friday. She indicated that this … [Read more...]
Mitt’s cuts: It ain’t all just gazebos
Michael has a good post over at WonkNot, detailing some of the items in the $425 million that Romney cut:3,400,000 from Park and Beach maintenance173,000 from child care subsidies for low income families1,000,000 from head start … [Read more...]
What is Patrick’s mandate?
Well gosh, it's not too much to say that a guy who wins by 20 points has a "mandate", is it? But let's face it: for all that I have thought that Deval Patrick was more specific than his competitors on any number of issues, the press and … [Read more...]
So what’s in your legislative sausage?
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 … [Read more...]