Testimony of Chip Ford
Director of Operations, Citizens for Limited Taxation
In Support of S1645 . . . for what it’s worth
The time to honor your institution’s promise, the
time to respect the voters’ mandate, is now.
No more games, no more dodges, no more excuses. Just get on with what
you were told to do.
You are only, in fact, “representatives” of the people, for now. Your
position is elective, and temporary – at least in theory.
State revenue is coming in at an all-time high – again. A lack of
revenue is not an excuse any longer, again.
The so-called “fiscal crisis,” as a spending crisis is termed in
cyclical downturns, has now passed.
There is no longer any excuse – none! – to disrespect the voters’
mandate to rollback the state income tax to 5 percent, as your
constituents ordered and you chose to ignore and “freeze,” again but
only “temporarily.”
We are your employers. We pay all the bills you vote to incur. We do
this because we trust you with our money, or should be able to. We act
only when we don’t.
Who employs you but us, the taxpayers of the Commonwealth?
Who pays your salary, per diems, pensions, and perks of office, if not
us?
How often do we tell you – our employees – specifically and directly
what to do?
What did we tell you to do by our vote on the 2000 ballot?
What part of what we told you don’t you understand?
Don’t you think you should respect our direction, our decision, our
mandate when we’ve finally demanded one?
Or do you think here in Massachusetts our form of government is
different from the other 49 states, that the Bay State is an unique
entity where you get to override the will of the people with impunity?
Even former-Senate President Thomas Birmingham – no supporter of tax
cuts he didn’t originate –
recently has stated: "There is no question of affordability
anymore . . . The referendum happened. We had a full and fair debate.
The side that supported 5 percent prevailed and by a sizable majority
. . . It is about keeping faith with the voters. In a democracy it has
to be about 'thy will be done.’"
“‘Thy will be done.’”
Amen.
It’s time.
“Thy will be done.”
Will it finally be done – belatedly after 16 years of the infamous
broken “promise” – by you – at last?
The Top Ten Reasons
Why our Legislature can’t roll back
our income tax to 5 percent
By Chip Faulkner
Provided to the Joint Committee on Revenue
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
10. It’s been only sixteen years since the
“Great and General Court” promised us that the income tax rate hike
would be temporary, and a mere five years since the voters themselves
ordered the rollback. What’s yer hurry?
9. C'mon, you call a 59% "YES" vote a mandate?
8. Only 322 of 351 communities voted for the rollback in 2000?
We need a recount.
7. State revenues are up by only over a billion dollars. There
can't be a rollback when state revenues are up, down, sideways or in
the middle.
6. What would YOU do with $500 million that WE couldn't find a
better use for?
5. The top public pensions need more padding.
4. The state per capita tax burden is only 4th in the nation. We
want to be Number One! Taxachusetts was such a cute nickname.
3. This place is getting too crowded. We want Massachusetts to
become the only state to lose population TWO years in a row. That’s
why we need high income taxes, property taxes, AND retroactive capital
gains taxes – and can we get mandated universal health care too?
2. Too busy with all the other things we’ve saved til the very
end of the session, and must get going on our “Thanksgiving break”
from November 16th till January. Some of us haven’t been to Portugal
or Spain yet!
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON THE LEGISLATURE CAN'T ROLL THE INCOME TAX
BACK TO 5%
1. We don’t like the voters telling US what to do. Who do they
think they are?