It seems like with each new rebrand of the Baker campaign they start with a new commercial and slogan then come out with new attacks. Past attacks have gone nowhere as the details of the half truths become public knowledge. One … [Read more...]
Property tax work-off for senior citizens.Good Civic Engagement?
From the July 28 Patriot Ledger. Holbrook.. Searching for ways to ease the tax burden on aging residents, the town has inaugurated a new program allowing them to work for the town in return for credit against their real estate … [Read more...]
Hidden agenda surfaces in the Globe, part one
The tax cutters! "Seniors are our first line of defense against overrides," said Barbara Anderson of Citizens for Limited Taxation. "Senior citizens are defeating these overrides, and they are trying to give them a reason not to vote." I've … [Read more...]
Exempt Casinos from the Property Tax
The economic impacts - the thousands of people a casino figures to employ directly and indirectly, as well as the employment it displaces (and the associated sales), will come not from the city or town in which the casino is located, but … [Read more...]
Brattle Street thinktank brings us some dubious ideas on the property tax
As the Commonwealth plunges into debate over taxes, revenues, and local services, it should consider whether the property tax is as bad as it is often made out to be.... The property tax is basically sound. It works the way it was intended, … [Read more...]
Budget, property taxes, and the bad vote
OK, holiday's over. It looks like we're pretty close to having a budget, and while the legislature deserves credit for encouraging the consolidation of health care and pension fund spending, their budget is going to include a lot more … [Read more...]
Health care spending: The blob that ate Massachusetts
Telling us what we already pretty much knew, here's the Globe:Health care spending for Massachusetts communities has nearly doubled since 2001, squeezing town budgets and forcing cutbacks in public safety and government services and leading … [Read more...]
Property tax crisis looming
Today's Globe has a must-read article on the dozens of upcoming Prop. 2-1/2 override votes whose sole purpose is to crank up local property taxes because local governments have no other way to pay for schools, teachers, and cops.Across the … [Read more...]
Patrick proposes plan to create property tax “circuit breaker” and close corporate tax loopholes
[UPDATE: The Gov's weekly podcast is about this topic]The basic plan:Governor Patrick announced today that he will create a Homeowner Circuit Breaker that will apply to homeowners of all ages. Under the plan, which would take effect January … [Read more...]
Sam Kelley doesn’t shrink from the challenge
It's clear that Dr. Kelley's strongest issue is health care: "I ran for Lieutenant Governor because I saw our health care system fall apart. The middle class is losing its safety net for health care." As LG, Dr. Kelley sees himself as a … [Read more...]