ONE Massachusetts project director Yawu Miller spent this morning at the Tax Expenditure Budget Hearing, asking that committee, and the Legislature as a whole, to examine the tax expenditure budget as carefully as legislators examine the … [Read more...]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Federal Stimulus in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) this week released a detailed report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's impact on Massachusetts. We thought Blue Mass Group readers might find it useful. … [Read more...]
Governor Lays out Plan
Today, Governor Patrick took the difficult but necessary step to announce cuts, including potential job losses to keep the state budget fiscally balanced. These are tough times and the Patrick-Murray leadership has been responsive; neither … [Read more...]
Conference Committee releases State Budget today – 6/19/09 with POLL!
First, here is the link to the Budget as released by the Budget Conference Committee, today: http://www.mass.gov/legis/ht04... The only vote allowed is yea or nay - no amendments. YOU get to vote for YOUR least favorite cut in my poll. … [Read more...]
MA Transportation’s Dirty Little Secret
This means that the state is only allowed to use federal money, including stimulus funding, for major projects from the old STIP list, the one that was made four years ago. Does anyone think that the big projects at the bottom of a … [Read more...]
Virtual Rally II : Support Our State – Contact Your Senator!
SAMPLE SCRIPT The most important part of this script is that you customize each section with your own values, personality, etc. [Introduction:] Hello Senator <Tolman>. My name is <Harmony Blakeway>, and I … [Read more...]
State revenues keep falling
State revenues are continuing to collapse, falling short by at least an additional $300 million in April and leading state officials yesterday to predict possible cash shortages, budget cuts, more layoffs of state workers, and perhaps … [Read more...]
Time to Furlough Tisei? His District is wondering
Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei's increasing jabs at the Patrick administration have folks in his district wondering what he has to offer other than brickbats to solve the current economic crisis. Rich is long on criticism and short on … [Read more...]
Virtual Rally: Support Our State
QUESTIONS? Don't know who your legislators are? Visit: http://www.wheredoivotema.com Want to look at a preliminary analysis of our state budget? Visit: http://www.massbudget.org/ Other questions? Contact us: … [Read more...]
The Commonwealth Wellness Fund: Paying for Prevention
And, while Massachusetts has done a good job addressing the problem of underage drinking, the Commonwealth still ranks as one of the states with the highest rates of underage drinking and adult binge drinking. Youth, in particular, … [Read more...]