Taking the lead from President Barack Obama, our
governor is running his own permanent political campaign, a dog-and-pony
show lining up interests who thrive off government spending entirely
funded by taxpayers.
He has spent weeks now campaigning among his constituency: Those who
live off and benefit most from the largess of Massachusetts taxpayers.
His efforts are intended to encourage them to rally for more from
productive taxpayers to support their self-interests.
Meanwhile, we productive taxpayers who pay already too much of what we
earn to support their comforts are too engaged in working and surviving
to attend rallies, public circuses for the entertainment of those at the
State House – even in defense of our own survival interests.
With all the multi-million dollar scandals that have been exposed on his
watch – (e.g., EBT card abusess, welfare abuse and its associated health care costs,
dysfunctional state drug labs supervision, etc.) – it’s not surprising that Deval Patrick is desperately seeking to extract more “revenue” to cover
these and other unanticipated costs.
These are not our problems. Those problems are directly due to this
profligate administration, the majority in the Legislature, and those
who voted to put them in power.
Massachusetts taxpayers already are among the highest taxed and most
abused; the fourth-highest tax per capita in the nation. A lack of
“revenue” isn’t a problem in this commonwealth.
The Tax Foundation
State and Local Tax Burden Per Capita, Fiscal Year 2009:
State:
Massachusetts
Tax Burden Per Capita: $5,316
Ranking among states:
4th highest
http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfoundation.org/files/docs/ff2012.pdf
It’s not a lack of “revenue” here, but rather how it’s spent –
squandered.
In Massachusetts, More Is Never Enough (MINE) and obviously never will
be. Taxes only go up here, often with a promise that the hikes will be
only “temporary.” They are never temporary; they become the new
baseline.
Ask the voters who, in 2000, mandated that the “temporary” income tax of
1989 be rolled back to its historic 5 percent. Thirteen years after that
overwhelming vote for a rollback, twenty-four years after the promise of
“temporary,” the Takers are back for yet more.
We say taxpayers have had enough: “Not one cent more!”
The election of 2014 is but twenty months from now; Taxpayers will
remember any tax hike, as the money will still be missing from their
wallets. Considering both the state and national fiscal problems, they
will be needing it and likely will remember who took it away.