Small business owner, erstwhile unemployed guy, and self-identified MA Tea Party Republican Mark Fisher wants to be governor here. He spoke with me today about his vision of what government should and should not be about. On his campaign … [Read more...]
Helping to fix our infrastructure problems: my Globe op-ed
Dear BMG'ers, I hope you'll take a few minutes to read my op-ed that appears in today's Boston Globe. It highlights our infrastructure and transportation crisis and offers an approach that will not only fund long-overdue investments, but … [Read more...]
ACTION ALERT: Tell Your Legislators to VOTE NO on the Sales Tax Holiday
[Cross-posted from ONEMassachusetts.org] Last Friday, the Legislative Leadership decided to stage the annual summer debate around a sales tax holiday. The bill, filed by Senator Hart, will be heard by the The Joint Committee on Economic … [Read more...]
Battle Lines: Massachusetts Taxes
So, there's been a lot of outrage down here about some developments in the past couple of weeks. While the State Senate here was doing its debate on the budget, two crucial issues came up: freezing the corporate tax rate (excise) and … [Read more...]
Raise gas tax, not sales tax!!!
The revenue will pretty much come from the same people (us), but to the extent our share of the burden shifts, it would shift from people that don't drive much, and towards the people that drive too much. And it would shift the … [Read more...]
Preserving our commitment to education
You can read my views on ethics reform, here (PDF), on transportation reform here (PDF), and on pension reform here. But, even with comprehensive reforms and cost-savings, the impact of a FY10 budget without any new revenue would be … [Read more...]
Just so you know, the Mass House is broadcasting live again tonight, 4/28/09
Here is the link again: http://masslegislature.tv/?l=h... Consolidated amendments are flying down the shute - so far no surprises, though. I believe $200 million was added to local aid from the anticipated revenues from the … [Read more...]
Influence how the House spends sales tax revenues?
The sales tax amendment offered by Rep Sciortino earmarks only .385 of the revenues to transportation (estimate:$250 million) out of an estimated $8 or 9 hundred million. For the next 3 or 4 days (and nights) the House will debate which of … [Read more...]
Chickens on the Hill Clucking About Taxes
Cross-post note: This appears at Marry in Massachusetts. For one example, look at our collapsing bridge and road infrastructure. Had the legislature raised the revenue decades ago and a decade ago to fix them, the solutions were … [Read more...]
Tax free weekend: Are you buying?
In need of some Spackle, I visited my local hardware store this week, only to find a few workers out front assembling snow blowers for display. "You can't be putting those out already," I pleaded. "Tax free weekend, brother," one employee … [Read more...]