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CLT UPDATE
Monday, February 27, 2012
New "Regional Income Tax" Proposed
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It’s tax time again, when all the ponytailed,
trust-funded, NPR-listening moonbats have a chance to put their
money where their big mouths are and voluntarily pay a higher state
income tax rate.
According to the state Department of Revenue, so
far this year, 948,714 individuals have filed their state income-tax
returns. Altogether, 257 have checked off Box 22, which allows them
to pay at the old 5.85 percent rate, rather than the current 5.3
percent rate.
My math may be a little off, but if 949,000
people have filed, 1 percent would be 9,490, and one-tenth of 1
percent would be 949. So I’m going to say approximately
one-thirty-fifth of 1 percent of the commonwealth’s tax filers
actually want to give their ... fair share.
But what about the children?
Those 257 have chipped in a whopping $13,417
extra — an average of $52. That means their average income is about
$10,000. Put another way, not too many of the 257 altruists live in
la-di-da Lincoln....
But suggest any of these hacks check Box 22, and
they start acting like Citizens for Limited Taxation.
The Boston Herald
Friday, February 24, 2012
Moonbats’ money, mouths don’t meet
By Howie Carr
To fix the financially teetering MBTA, state Rep.
Charles Murphy (D-Burlington) wants his Beacon Hill colleagues to
consider increasing the gas tax and creating a regional payroll tax
— breaking sharply from DeLeo, who pledged in a speech before the
entire House earlier this month not to raise taxes.
In a Herald op-ed yesterday, Murphy insisted
that, “Simply put, additional revenue is required,” and that, “The
time is upon us when real solutions need to be identified, debated,
voted on and passed.” ...
“The speaker’s opinion is the speaker’s opinion,”
Murphy said. “It doesn’t necessarily matter to me that he says no
new revenue. I’m not looking to him for guidance. They’re my views.
They’re shared by many in the House. I’m just trying to start a
discussion.”
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
‘Speaker’s not king,’ defiant Murphy says
The MBTA funding crisis is not a “Boston” issue.
The T touches every corner of the commonwealth and is a vital
conduit for people from all walks of life. The Legislature must
address the long-term funding problems in a manner that will allow
the agency to continue to provide the crucial benefits that so many
Massachusetts residents rely on each day....
Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino
recently suggested an increased gas tax is required. The proposal
was welcomed with limited enthusiasm on Beacon Hill. However, I
applaud them for taking an unpopular yet necessary position. If
imposed properly such a tax will fund not only the issues facing the
T but will be applied to the overall statewide transportation
system. The entire state will benefit.
Another option to consider is a regional payroll
tax.... This plan would impose a minimal amount of money each month
on employees in identified service areas with the revenue dedicated
specifically for regional transportation systems.
The Boston Herald
Monday, February 20, 2012
MBTA needs revenue boost
By Charles Murphy
Recent hearings on the proposed MBTA fare
increase (another is planned for Haverhill March 5) have opened
voters' eyes to the importance of public transportation here in
eastern Massachusetts.
Still, the sentiment among many, especially those
who do not ride the MBTA regularly, seems to be that there are
greater efficiencies to be had before increasing the gasoline or any
other tax in order to prop up the deficit-laden transit agency....
An Eagle-Tribune editorial
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Plan would buy time for a broader T fix
The Patrick administration is pitching a
staggering 500-plus percent hike in vending machine license fees —
in part to meet Obama-care rules that haven’t even been written yet,
the Herald has learned.
The state Department of Public Health wants to
boost annual fees by 567 percent, from $3 to $20, on thousands of
vending machines across the commonwealth — a move that is already
pushing the wrong buttons with snack peddlers and critics of
mandated health care....
Suzanne Condon, director of DPH’s Bureau of
Environmental Health, said the proposed $20 fee is in line with
other states, and argued it’s only “appropriate” to tap the industry
to pay for its added duties under the federal Affordable Care Act,
President Obama’s 2010 health-care overhaul, as well as new state
rules banning sugary and fatty snacks in schools.
“The increase is primarily to support the
inspectional staff that will need to focus efforts on carrying out
inspections across the commonwealth,” Condon added.
Another reason, she said, is that under Obamacare
rules that have not yet been finalized, vending machines will likely
need to display calorie counts and other nutritional information on
the outside of each machine.
The Boston Herald
Saturday, February 25, 2012
State seeks ‘outrageous’ vending fee hike
How can Massachusetts raise sufficient revenue to
pay for needed improvements to our schools, safety net, roads and
bridges, and other essential services? How can we do so in a way
that is truly fair to all residents of our commonwealth?
These are the questions that will be addressed on
Sunday, Feb. 26 from 3-5 p.m. at Goodnow Library (21 Concord Road,
Sudbury). Panelists will be Noah Berger, president of the
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent research
organization, and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge. The Sudbury Democratic
Town Committee sponsors the discussion....
Eldridge has introduced a bill that is very
relevant to this discussion. It is called An Act to Invest in Our
Communities, and would raise 1.37 billion dollars by restoring the
income tax rate to 5.95 percent while increasing the personal
exemption and raising the tax rate on investment income to 8.95
percent - but with an exemption for low and middle income seniors.
The Sudbury Town Crier
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Discussion Sunday at Goodnow Library on raising taxes fairly
For [House Republican Leader Brad] Jones, the
news that DiMasi, the former speaker of the House and current
federal inmate, has been bopping around New England – in all
likelihood to testify in a white-hot patronage investigation
that could net his old Democratic friends and allies in the
Legislature - was the icing on a red velvet cake served by a GOP
that appeared to hit its election year stride midweek....
In short, for the first time in a long time
in deep-blue Massachusetts – in an election year that many feel
will diminish a Republican legislative delegation at the height
of its still-miniscule influence – it seemed like a decent week
to be a Republican.
First, the often-fractious party, 37 members
in all, corralled its most recalcitrant faction for a marathon
press conference to promote 25 proposals aimed at creating jobs,
delivering a scalding broadside to Democrats, who they accused
of lacking focus on the issue of the moment – never mind
Democratic protestations to the contrary.
"If I, in this still-bad economy, am running
for reelection … I don't want to run on just what we've done so
far because we really haven't done that much," Jones told
reporters Wednesday as Democrats continued to mull their own job
creation strategies, a health care bill and the MBTA’s fiscal
problems....
But members clashed fiercely over a GOP plan
to cap state spending, limiting growth to inflation and changes
in population. Democrats insisted the move was a political ploy
that could dangerously impede the ability of state budget
writers to help those who need it most.
“It's our job to make judgments from year to
year about what we spend and how we tax. And to put into statute
any requirements [that] in any way limit our successors is to
make a serious political mistake,” said Rep. Jay Kaufman
(D-Lexington). “If this is a meaningless political gesture we
are being asked to subscribe to, I would ask that we reject it.”
The swipe drew a parry from several
Republican freshmen.
“If fighting for the taxpayers of
Massachusetts is gamesmanship, count me in as political,” said
Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover).
State House News Service
Friday, February 17, 2012
Weekly Roundup – I wanna be the minority
Gov. Deval Patrick on Friday signed a $127.1
million spending bill for fiscal 2012 that freezes unemployment
insurance rates, saving businesses an estimated $421 million,
and includes $35 million for adult day health services and $21
million for low-income heating assistance....
Other spending in the bill includes $1.7
million for youthful offender programs, $1 million for the
Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, and $1.8 million for
tuition waivers for foster care or adopted students attending
state colleges.
State House News Service
Friday, February 17, 2012
Patrick signs $127M budget that blocks unemployment insurance
rate hike
The Patrick administration’s decision to stop
taking itemized bills for taxpayer-funded staff cell phones when
it took office in 2007 is a blow to freedom of information and
only adds to the mystery of Lt. Gov. Tim Murray’s pre-dawn car
crash in November, Beacon Hill watchdogs told the Herald
yesterday.
“It’s just another step away from
transparency and toward a system that insulates elected
officials from accountability to the public,” said David Tuerck
of the Beacon Hill Institute. “It’s very predictable for
politicians to behave this way.”
Murray insists he wasn’t calling or texting
during his horrific early-morning crash in Sterling, but the
administration’s refusal to provide proof only adds to swirling
rumors, said Barbara Anderson of Citizens for Limited Taxation.
“It seems to me the lieutenant governor can
either give you the records or he can let us all speculate on
anything wild imaginations can come up with,” Anderson said.
“Either he’s going to tell you, in which case it’s cleared up,
or he can’t tell you because it’s a lot worse than anything
people could imagine. That’s the mystery.”
The Boston Herald
Friday, February 17, 2012
Watchdogs slam gov on cellphone data
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Hiking the gas tax has come up before and we're
hearing again. But creating a regional payroll tax is a
new one!
This is one of the proposed "solutions" to fund
the latest "fiscal crisis," once again the MBTA.
Recently the Boston Herald reported ("Taxes
not way out of $$ woes," Feb. 9):
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo took a firm
stand against new taxes — and staked out a position opposite
Gov. Deval Patrick — in his annual address to fellow state
representatives yesterday.
“For the past two years, this House has rejected balancing the
budget with new taxes and fees,” DeLeo said from the House
rostrum. “Any changes to revenue policy should be approached
with extreme caution and should never be done piecemeal. As such
we will release a budget from the House Committee on Ways &
Means that does not rely on new taxes and fees.”
Taxpayers shouldn't be lulled into complacency.
According to Rep. Charles A. Murphy
(D-Burlington), former majority whip and former chairman of the
House Committee on Ways and Means:
“The speaker’s opinion is the speaker’s
opinion. It doesn’t necessarily matter to me that he says no new
revenue. I’m not looking to him for guidance. They’re my views.
They’re shared by many in the House.”
Rep. Murphy is not alone in his jihad for higher
taxes.
As you can see, “An Act to Invest in Our
Communities” (H2553/S1416)
is still lurking up there on Bacon Hill with its proposed income tax
hike to 5.95 percent. Its sponsors, Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Rep.
James O’Day, along with the Teachers Union, Gimme Lobby, and other
Takers cabal have been quietly expanding and organizing across the
state. CLT testified against it last spring (see
May 6 - May 16, 2011) and will return if necessary. If
they have their way, it will reap an additional "more than
$1.3 billion in taxes by increasing the tax rate on ordinary wage
and investment income," according to "Campaign
for our Communities," the Gimme Lobby's statewide umbrella
organization.
"They’re my views," Rep. Murphy extolled about
his proposed new regional income tax. "They’re shared by many in the
House.”
“It may be a fight, but in the end we will be
victorious. We will get this bill passed,” vowed state Rep. James
O’Day, D-Worcester, the "Act to Invest in Our Communities” House
sponsor vowed last spring.
More Is Never Enough (MINE), and never will be.
We at CLT pride ourselves as "the institutional
memory of taxpayers" for 38 years, so let's put some of that to
work.
The latest "fiscal crisis" to require more tax
hike "solutions" is funding for the bankrupt MBTA. We've
been-here-done-this before and it's cost us taxpayers dearly.
The MBTA was taken "off-budget" in 2001, so this
"quasi-independent authority" is not included in the real
state budget. That was after it was handed 20% of the state sales
tax revenue in the FY2000 budget. (See: The Boston Herald, Nov. 15,
1999, "Lawmakers'
blunder puts T budget off track" and The Boston Herald, Nov. 16,
1999, "Haste
still makes waste")
In November of 1999, when that $20.87B budget for
FY2000 was finally passed, the State House News Service reported:
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul
Haley (D-Weymouth) . . . complained no one was interested in
making unpopular fiscal reforms that would prepare the state for
what he believes is an inevitable economic downturn. His top
priority was a plan to restrict the rapidly growing
billion-dollar MBTA budget before it precluded spending on other
programs.
How'd that work out?
To make up for that "lost" revenue, in 2009 Bacon
Hill jacked up the 5% sales tax to 6.25%.
Now the state needs a regional income tax and a
gas tax hike to keep the "T" rolling?
"Keep moving, folks. Nothing to see here"!
"38 Years as the Taxpayers' Institutional
Memory"
Boston Herald columnist and WRKO talkshow host Howie Carr can
be counted on to write an annual "voluntary tax check-off" column or
two at about this time, as our tax-filing deadline looms. He's been
writing them ever since CLT created it and managed to get it adopted
as law. (For his past columns and more, see: "CLT's
Voluntary Income Tax Check-Off — Its
history and timeline")
As New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently
told a CNN interviewer when badgered about billionaire Warren
Buffett's willingness to pay higher federal taxes: "If he wants to
give the government more money, he’s got the ability to write a
check. Go ahead and write it.” (Watch
it here)
In Taxachusetts, CLT and you have made doing that
real easy. And we proved the point we set out to expose back in
2000, after winning our income tax rollback campaign!
Delicious.
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Chip Ford |
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The Boston Herald
Friday, February 24, 2012
Moonbats’ money, mouths don’t meet
By Howie Carr
It’s tax time again, when all the ponytailed, trust-funded,
NPR-listening moonbats have a chance to put their money where their
big mouths are and voluntarily pay a higher state income tax rate.
According to the state Department of Revenue, so far this year,
948,714 individuals have filed their state income-tax returns.
Altogether, 257 have checked off Box 22, which allows them to pay at
the old 5.85 percent rate, rather than the current 5.3 percent rate.
My math may be a little off, but if 949,000 people have filed, 1
percent would be 9,490, and one-tenth of 1 percent would be 949. So
I’m going to say approximately one-thirty-fifth of 1 percent of the
commonwealth’s tax filers actually want to give their ... fair
share.
But what about the children?
Those 257 have chipped in a whopping $13,417 extra — an average of
$52. That means their average income is about $10,000. Put another
way, not too many of the 257 altruists live in la-di-da Lincoln.
Do you ever read letters to the editor? If you do, in the right
(i.e., left) newspapers, I dare say you’ve seen more than 257
screeds in the past year demanding higher taxes. Most are written by
residents of high-income people’s republics such as Brookline and
Cambridge.
Oh yeah, these people are great at talking the talk. Just don’t ask
them to walk the walk. Am I right, John Forbes Kerry?
Let’s see, Gov. Patrick wants new taxes on candy, sugar drinks and
bottled water (through deposits). Mayor Mumbles Menino would like to
jack up the gas tax 19 cents per gallon to pay for the MBTA deficit.
(God forbid illegal aliens should have to pay for their own cabs,
rather than using The Ride.) Speaker DeLeo wants to impose what
amounts to a new tax on the mathematically challenged (through
casinos). Other comrades are pushing for municipal income taxes.
But suggest any of these hacks check Box 22, and they start acting
like Citizens for Limited Taxation.
You might say they’d give a poor person the shirt off your back.
Half of the population already doesn’t pay income taxes, and yet
they want to raise yours and mine. The other night, New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie was asked about Warren Buffett, the billionaire
moonbat who claims he wants to pay higher taxes.
“He should just write a check and shut up,”
Christie said. “Really, just contribute, OK? If he wants to give
the government more money, he’s got the ability to write a check. Go
ahead and write it.”
And if you live here, just check Box 22 ... and shut up.
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
‘Speaker’s not king,’ defiant Murphy says
By Chris Cassidy
An exiled member of House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo’s inner circle is
showing more and more signs of dissent to his gavel-wielding boss —
even going so far to as to claim that “the speaker’s not king.”
To fix the financially teetering MBTA, state Rep. Charles Murphy
(D-Burlington) wants his Beacon Hill colleagues to consider
increasing the gas tax and creating a regional payroll tax —
breaking sharply from DeLeo, who pledged in a speech before the
entire House earlier this month not to raise taxes.
In a Herald op-ed yesterday, Murphy insisted that, “Simply put,
additional revenue is required,” and that, “The time is upon us when
real solutions need to be identified, debated, voted on and passed.”
Murphy made waves last week when he called for an overhaul of the
state’s public records law to make it apply to members of the
Legislature and the executive and judicial branch.
Murphy yesterday downplayed any suggestion that he was taking aim at
DeLeo, insisting he just wants more options on the table for
rescuing the deficit-plagued MBTA.
“The speaker’s opinion is the speaker’s opinion,” Murphy said. “It
doesn’t necessarily matter to me that he says no new revenue. I’m
not looking to him for guidance. They’re my views. They’re shared by
many in the House. I’m just trying to start a discussion.”
DeLeo’s no-new-taxes pledge came a week after Gov. Deval Patrick
proposed taxes on soda, candy and tobacco — signaling the two sides
have some major differences to iron out before next year’s budget is
passed.
“Clearly the speaker has said no new revenue. That’s his position,”
Murphy said. “The speaker’s not king. The speaker’s the speaker, and
the governor’s the governor.”
Murphy resigned as House majority whip in December — before he
likely would have been fired amid speculation he was campaigning
behind the scenes for the House speakership — and blasted what he
called DeLeo’s “inability to effectively communicate a vision and
lead” in a resignation letter on the way out.
The Boston Herald
Monday, February 20, 2012
MBTA needs revenue boost
By Charles Murphy
The commonwealth’s public transportation system is on the verge of
collapse and the sense of urgency appears to be limited on Beacon
Hill. The MBTA’s projected deficit is over $160 million for the next
fiscal year (double that for the following year) and very few people
appear to be sweating the details — yet.
The time has arrived for a serious conversation: Do we, as a
commonwealth, value the MBTA and all it brings to citizens across
the state? Or does it make sense to allow the agency to bankrupt
itself and we can worry about the details later? The answer is clear
— we must find a solution to address the long-term funding issue
plaguing the T.
It is estimated that 1.3 million Massachusetts residents use our
public transit system every day, providing access to jobs, school or
tourist activities throughout the state. Not only is the system
directly tied to creating jobs and maintaining a diverse workforce,
it also directly benefits the environment with a reduction in the
state’s overall carbon footprint.
Very few people will disagree with the notion that our public
transit system is essential to the commonwealth. However, the MBTA,
the main artery feeding the statewide public transportation system,
faces an uncertain future.
The MBTA funding crisis is not a “Boston” issue. The T touches every
corner of the commonwealth and is a vital conduit for people from
all walks of life. The Legislature must address the long-term
funding problems in a manner that will allow the agency to continue
to provide the crucial benefits that so many Massachusetts residents
rely on each day.
The proposed service cuts recently suggested by Secretary of
Transportation Richard Davey are not feasible. The proposed fare
increases are too drastic. Simply put, additional revenue is
required.
Massachusetts is not in a position to simply bail out the T with an
infusion of cash from the state budget. Difficult and politically
unpopular decisions are on the horizon for the Legislature. There is
no getting around that fact.
Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino recently suggested an
increased gas tax is required. The proposal was welcomed with
limited enthusiasm on Beacon Hill. However, I applaud them for
taking an unpopular yet necessary position. If imposed properly such
a tax will fund not only the issues facing the T but will be applied
to the overall statewide transportation system. The entire state
will benefit.
Another option to consider is a regional payroll tax. The city of
Portland, Ore., recently implemented such a plan and is raising much
needed revenue for its transportation system. This plan would impose
a minimal amount of money each month on employees in identified
service areas with the revenue dedicated specifically for regional
transportation systems. Such a plan would allow for the T and
regional transit systems to meet their obligations and continue to
provide their critical services.
Is either plan the perfect solution? Certainly not. Is either plan
politically easy to embrace and endorse? Certainly not.
However, the MBTA and regional transportation systems are critical
to the well-being of the commonwealth and the time is upon us when
real solutions need to identified, debated, voted on and passed.
Rep. Charles A. Murphy (D-Burlington) is the former majority whip
and former chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. As You
Were Saying is a regular Herald feature.
The Eagle-Tribune
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
An Eagle-Tribune editorial
Plan would buy time for a broader T fix
Recent hearings on the proposed MBTA fare increase (another is
planned for Haverhill March 5) have opened voters' eyes to the
importance of public transportation here in eastern Massachusetts.
Still, the sentiment among many, especially those who do not ride
the MBTA regularly, seems to be that there are greater efficiencies
to be had before increasing the gasoline or any other tax in order
to prop up the deficit-laden transit agency.
Of all the solutions that have been floated in recent weeks, worth a
closer look is the one put forward by the MBTA Advisory Board whose
membership includes representatives from the 175 cities and towns
that help pay for this essential service.
The plan would hike fares by 25 percent — less than in either of the
two options put forward by T management — and avoid any service cuts
such as the elimination of weekend and late-night commuter rail
service. It would also spread the pain among riders, T employees and
other state agencies, which would be asked to pick up the cost of
certain services now funded under the transit agency's budget.
For instance, the proposal calls for a wage freeze for all T
personnel in the fiscal year that begins July 1. And in an effort to
bring in new revenue beyond that generated by the fare hike, the
proposal calls for a crackdown on fare evaders, new fees for the
system's heaviest users including college students and those
attending sporting events, and a reversal of the recent, foolhardy
decision not to accept advertising for alcoholic beverages.
Finally, the plan would transfer T policing activities to the state
Department of Public Safety and have Massport — which unlike the
MBTA actually makes money — take over responsibility for ferry
service and the Silver Line rapid-transit service that runs between
South Station and Logan Airport.
Many of these are just stopgap measures of course. Transferring
costs from one state agency to another doesn't relieve the taxpayers
of their obligation to pay for them. But it would relieve pressure
and allow more time for the "adult conversation" Gov. Deval Patrick
and the advisory board say is necessary to devise a more permanent
solution to the T's funding woes.
Nor should that conversation end with mass transit. Rather, as
Danvers Assistant Town Manager Diane Norris pointed out at a meeting
of the Local Government Advisory Commission last week, it should
encompass all of the state's transportation infrastructure.
According to the State House News Service's account of the meeting,
"Norris said that while the MBTA has garnered all the headlines for
its $161 million deficit, cities and towns are facing a $1.3 billion
shortfall in needed transportation infrastructure investments."
She and Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan are seeking a
better-than-$200-million hike in state Chapter 90 aid for local road
improvements and a summit to discuss a long-term approach to the
problem. These needs, too, must be part of the conversation when it
comes to financing the road, rail, maritime and air transport
services on which we all rely.
The Boston Herald
Saturday, February 25, 2012
State seeks ‘outrageous’ vending fee hike
By Donna Goodison
The Patrick administration is pitching a staggering 500-plus percent
hike in vending machine license fees — in part to meet Obama-care
rules that haven’t even been written yet, the Herald has learned.
The state Department of Public Health wants to boost annual fees by
567 percent, from $3 to $20, on thousands of vending machines across
the commonwealth — a move that is already pushing the wrong buttons
with snack peddlers and critics of mandated health care.
Stoughton’s Next Generation Vending, the state’s biggest vending
company with about 7,000 machines, would see its annual fees
skyrocket from $21,000 to $140,000.
“It’s quite a bit of money, and we would have to pass those costs on
to our consumers,” said chief operating officer Joe Rogan. “It seems
to us to be an easy but unfair way to raise revenues by just
targeting one group.”
Suzanne Condon, director of DPH’s Bureau of Environmental Health,
said the proposed $20 fee is in line with other states, and argued
it’s only “appropriate” to tap the industry to pay for its added
duties under the federal Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s 2010
health-care overhaul, as well as new state rules banning sugary and
fatty snacks in schools.
“The increase is primarily to support the inspectional staff that
will need to focus efforts on carrying out inspections across the
commonwealth,” Condon added.
Another reason, she said, is that under Obamacare rules that have
not yet been finalized, vending machines will likely need to display
calorie counts and other nutritional information on the outside of
each machine.
“It’s all on the wrapper,” argued Judson Phillips, founder of Tea
Party Nation and a vocal critic of mandated health care. “Twinkies
and cupcakes have calories written on the packages. This is one of
the stupidest things I’ve ever heard of.
“If I put money into a machine to buy a Twinkie, I know what I’m
getting,” Phillips added. “This is just another attempt to attack
small business.”
The fee hike on about 22,000 vending machines at offices, schools,
hospitals and recreational facilities statewide would generate
$375,000 annually that’s targeted for a new “Food Protection
Program” account approved as part of the fiscal 2012 state budget.
While acknowledging that the state has added responsibilities,
Massachusetts Vending Association president Robert Frotten said the
“outrageous” rate increase isn’t justified.
“Most vending machines aren’t in schools,” Frotten said. “I don’t
know why, if the FDA still hasn’t issued their regulations, the (DPH)
feels they have to be ahead of the curve.”
The fee hike would “kill jobs,” said Jim Roselando, owner of
American Food & Vending in Woburn, which has 1,500 vending machines
in Massachusetts. “We’d have to kill a route, let people go,” he
said.
The state last raised its vending machine license fee in 2003, when
it jumped from $1 to $3.
Vending machine operators will have their say on the new proposal at
a March 14 public hearing. The industry also plans to wage a
consumer petition campaign.
“The rate of increase is phenomenal. I don’t know how they’re
justifying it,” said Dana Coburn of JDK Vending Services of
Southboro. “It almost seems like the industry is being unjustly
vilified for causing obesity — like buying a candy bar from a
vending machine is the cause.”
The Sudbury Town Crier
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Discussion Sunday at Goodnow Library on raising taxes fairly
How can Massachusetts raise sufficient revenue to pay for needed
improvements to our schools, safety net, roads and bridges, and
other essential services? How can we do so in a way that is truly
fair to all residents of our commonwealth?
These are the questions that will be addressed on Sunday, Feb. 26
from 3-5 p.m. at Goodnow Library (21 Concord Road, Sudbury).
Panelists will be Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget
and Policy Center, an independent research organization, and state
Sen. Jamie Eldridge. The Sudbury Democratic Town Committee sponsors
the discussion.
Berger’s center provides timely, trusted and accessible analysis of
how state tax, budget and economic policies affect low and moderate
income people in Massachusetts. Prior to joining it, he served as
Counsel and Policy Director for the Massachusetts Senate Committee
on Ways and Means (1993-1996) and as Policy Director for Senate
President Tom Birmingham (1996-2002). Noah writes and speaks on
state tax, budget, and economic policies, and is frequently quoted
in news stories on those topics. He graduated from Harvard College
and has a JD from the Harvard Law School.
Eldridge has introduced a bill that is very relevant to this
discussion. It is called An Act to Invest in Our Communities, and
would raise 1.37 billion dollars by restoring the income tax rate to
5.95 percent while increasing the personal exemption and raising the
tax rate on investment income to 8.95 percent - but with an
exemption for low and middle income seniors. Thus, revenue would
rise, coming primarily from the highest income earners.
What does ‘fair’ mean in this context? There are many different
views on this issue. Come and present yours. It should be a very
lively discussion.
State House News Service
Friday, February 17, 2012
Weekly Roundup – I wanna be the minority
Recap and analysis of the week in state government
By Kyle Cheney
If you blinked, you missed it – that concupiscent sparkle in the eye
of House Republican Leader Brad Jones, an almost flirtatious glimpse
that cooed silently: “Sal DiMasi, will you be my Valentine?”
For Jones, the news that DiMasi, the former speaker of the House and
current federal inmate, has been bopping around New England – in all
likelihood to testify in a white-hot patronage investigation that
could net his old Democratic friends and allies in the Legislature -
was the icing on a red velvet cake served by a GOP that appeared to
hit its election year stride midweek.
It wasn’t just the cacophonous rumble of potentially impending
indictments – now the stuff of daily capitol rumor-mongering –
beating like a telltale heart beneath the dome. It wasn’t only the
way Republicans seized on a seemingly disjointed legislative agenda
to deliver a resounding pro-jobs message, and it wasn’t only the way
they lacerated Democrats for scoffing at annual spending caps –
transforming an all-too-often placid House chamber into an
old-school debating hall.
It was also the way Democrats handed them fodder that could make its
way into mailers and YouTube videos for the next 263 days. Lt. Gov.
Tim Murray’s nonexistent cell phone records come to mind, as well as
Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby’s reception that happened
to be held at a firm just hired by the Patrick administration to vet
tribal gambling compacts come to mind.
In short, for the first time in a long time in deep-blue
Massachusetts – in an election year that many feel will diminish a
Republican legislative delegation at the height of its
still-miniscule influence – it seemed like a decent week to be a
Republican.
First, the often-fractious party, 37 members in all, corralled its
most recalcitrant faction for a marathon press conference to promote
25 proposals aimed at creating jobs, delivering a scalding broadside
to Democrats, who they accused of lacking focus on the issue of the
moment – never mind Democratic protestations to the contrary.
"If I, in this still-bad economy, am running for reelection … I
don't want to run on just what we've done so far because we really
haven't done that much," Jones told reporters Wednesday as Democrats
continued to mull their own job creation strategies, a health care
bill and the MBTA’s fiscal problems.
After Wednesday’s press conference, Jones led a withering assault on
the Patrick administration for blessing a merger between NSTAR and
Northeast Utilities on the condition that the company buy into Cape
Wind, the 130-turbine offshore wind project that always seems one
regulatory, legal or financial hurdle away from, well, the next one.
Although environmentalists hailed the move as a breakthrough for a
project that could generate enough energy to power Cape Cod, GOP
acolytes sought to draw blood.
“This seems like extortion to me. I don’t appreciate the Governor
playing Chicago-style politics with the future of Cape Cod and the
Islands,” said Rep. David Vieira (R-East Falmouth). “The fact the
Governor held the NStar merger hostage to the Cape Wind power
purchase just doesn’t pass the smell test. These types of backroom
deals are exactly what enrage taxpayers and should no longer be
accepted.”
House Republicans also capitalized on a debate over a
good-government bill that Democrats said would streamline the
state’s bureaucracy, institute performance metrics to ensure that
agencies are meeting their goals and base fiscal decisions on sound
projections and analysis. The bill, a deep dive into eye-glazing and
arcane financial laws – embraced first by Senate President Therese
Murray last year – appeared destined for an unheralded
rubberstamping, unnoticed by the public at-large.
But members clashed fiercely over a GOP plan to cap state spending,
limiting growth to inflation and changes in population. Democrats
insisted the move was a political ploy that could dangerously impede
the ability of state budget writers to help those who need it most.
“It's our job to make judgments from year to year about what we
spend and how we tax. And to put into statute any requirements
[that] in any way limit our successors is to make a serious
political mistake,” said Rep. Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington). “If this is
a meaningless political gesture we are being asked to subscribe to,
I would ask that we reject it.”
The swipe drew a parry from several Republican freshmen.
“If fighting for the taxpayers of Massachusetts is gamesmanship,
count me in as political,” said Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover).
The GOP wasn’t alone in discussing job creation though, with a
Democrat-led committee fielding testimony from the state’s top
economic development officials and business leaders about a broad
new growth strategy embraced by the Patrick administration.
“Businesses are looking at what the long-term business climate is
for Massachusetts," said economic development Secretary Gregory
Bialecki. “They're looking for predictability.”
Republican momentum, however forceful, scarcely suppressed
Democratic glee over the potential advent of a new Kennedy era in
Congress. Joseph Kennedy III, heir to the clan besmirched by the
rise of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown to a seat long held by liberal icon
Edward Kennedy, made the announcement you’d expect him to make after
he quit his job and won two major union endorsements: he’s in the
race to succeed U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.
Kennedy’s announcement had been preceded by weeks of tantalizing and
teasing by his supporters that he was likely to get in the race he
said he as exploring, and the AFL-CIO, like several elected
officials, endorsed the not-quite-a-candidate before he made his bid
official Thursday.
Senators laid low this week, emerging Thursday to embrace a bill
that would put the onus of paying for utility storm response
investigations on the utilities themselves. The legislation also
calls for all penalties on utilities for storm response violations
to be credited to customers based on electricity usage, requires
utilities to set up an in-state call center and have sufficient
staff to field calls during major storms, and mandates that
utilities designate a community liaison in each community when
implementing an emergency response plan. The bill won bipartisan
support, but Republicans drove a wedge into the proceedings with an
ultimately unsuccessful amendment aimed at slowing the Northeast-NStar
merger.
Meanwhile, less than two weeks after the Senate endorsed a plan
aimed at curbing the illegal trafficking of prescription drugs, a
legislative panel was treated to a three-hour admonition about an
imminent – if not already ongoing – crisis of prescription drug
shortages for patients who actually need them.
David Twitchell, the director of pharmacy at Boston Medical Center,
told the Committee on Public Health that existing shortages had
forced doctors to rely on rare or obsolete medicines for patients.
"No one seems to have an answer and patients are at risk of being
harmed and there is no doubt someone has died as a result,"
Twitchell said.
State House News Service
Friday, February 17, 2012
Patrick signs $127M budget that blocks unemployment insurance rate
hike
By Matt Murphy
Gov. Deval Patrick on Friday signed a $127.1 million spending bill
for fiscal 2012 that freezes unemployment insurance rates, saving
businesses an estimated $421 million, and includes $35 million for
adult day health services and $21 million for low-income heating
assistance.
Patrick vetoed more than $3 million in funding added by the
Legislature for the Worcester, Barnstable, Bristol and Plymouth
County sheriffs' offices that he described in a veto letter as
"unaffordable spending in excess of my budget recommendation," and
$700,000 for payment to cities and towns for costs associated with
Tropical Storm Irene and last summer's tornados that the
administration said can been funded with already available
resources.
The bill also tweaks the state health insurance law that created
limited and tiered networks to make sure children or cancer patients
who are currently in an active course of treatment at speciality
hospitals like Dana Farber continue to receive coverage even if
their treatments or doctors fall outside their new insurance
networks.
Patrick sent back new language modifying that outside section that
he described as "too broad" to apply to patients in "an active
course of medical treatment from a health care provider for a
serious disease, including but not limited to cancer or cystic
fibrosis, that if disrupted in the course of medical treatment would
pose an undue hardship to the patient." The bill approved by the
Legislature spoke more generally to patients with "chronic"
conditions.
Patrick also proposed staying the implementation of those new
insurance mandates for 45 days to allow the Division of Insurance to
develop regulations for implementation.
The budget signed by Patrick also vetoed $1 million for a
regionalization program in Norfolk County supported by Majority
Leader Ronald Mariano that Patrick officials called "duplicative" of
a $4 million statewide competitive grant program offered by the
state for municipalities.
Other spending in the bill includes $1.7 million for youthful
offender programs, $1 million for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance
Corporation, and $1.8 million for tuition waivers for foster care or
adopted students attending state colleges.
The Boston Herald
Friday, February 17, 2012
Watchdogs slam gov on cellphone data
By Chris Cassidy
The Patrick administration’s decision to stop taking itemized bills
for taxpayer-funded staff cell phones when it took office in 2007 is
a blow to freedom of information and only adds to the mystery of Lt.
Gov. Tim Murray’s pre-dawn car crash in November, Beacon Hill
watchdogs told the Herald yesterday.
“It’s just another step away from transparency and toward a system
that insulates elected officials from accountability to the public,”
said David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute. “It’s very
predictable for politicians to behave this way.”
Murray insists he wasn’t calling or texting during his horrific
early-morning crash in Sterling, but the administration’s refusal to
provide proof only adds to swirling rumors, said Barbara Anderson of
Citizens for Limited Taxation.
“It seems to me the lieutenant governor can either give you the
records or he can let us all speculate on anything wild imaginations
can come up with,” Anderson said. “Either he’s going to tell you, in
which case it’s cleared up, or he can’t tell you because it’s a lot
worse than anything people could imagine. That’s the mystery.”
After a Boston Herald public records appeal to the secretary of
state, an administration attorney revealed that prior governors
received phone bills detailing incoming and outgoing calls, but that
practice ceased after Patrick took office in 2007.
Patrick officials released summary invoices to the Herald yesterday,
insisting they don’t have itemized bills. But a notice on one of the
Verizon bills states: “Have more questions . . . Get details for all
your Usage Charges at vzw.com/mybusinesscount.”
Patrick attorney E. Abim Thomas said the law does not require the
state to create a public record to satisfy the Herald’s request.
Of the switch to the less detailed, summary billing format, Patrick
spokeswoman Kim Haberlin said: “Nearly 50 members of the Executive
Office staff use a BlackBerry for work. Changing to summary invoices
streamlined our billing process and helped achieve administrative
efficiencies.”
Murray told the Herald last week he wishes the crash had never
happened but that he has told all he knows. His account of the Nov.
2 accident has evolved over time. Most recently he has claimed he
believes he fell asleep at the wheel.
State police, who initially supported Murray’s claim that he wasn’t
speeding, at first withheld his state-issued cruiser’s black box but
later released data showing the car hit a top speed of 108 miles per
hour before it hit a granite ledge on Interstate 190.
“I know there may be people with lots of different theories of what
it was,” Murray said. “I’ve explained myself numerous times. I don’t
know how many times I can answer the same question.”
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