CLT Update
Thursday, January 31, 2002
Gimme Lobby keeps making our point
In a letter to acting Gov. Jane M. Swift, [Springfield] Mayor Michael J. Albano argued
yesterday that a voter-approved tax cut should be put off in favor of funding education....
"It's not up to Mayor Albano to say what he thinks
these voters want. Voters made it clear they want a drop in taxes," said Barbara C. Anderson,
executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation and Government....
Springfield has received more state money than any
other district statewide since the Education Reform Act was enacted in 1993. Swift's proposed budget
will result in a $2 million increase for Springfield in Chapter 70 funds....
The Springfield Union-News
Jan. 31, 2002
Albano urges tax-cut delay
By standing pat, the Fed seemed to be saying that
the worst of the 11-month-old recession is over....
With ... most of the strength coming from brisk spending by consumers and government,
some economists are saying the end of the recession is on the horizon.
... Now it's time for Congress to pass an economic
stimulus package that gives the average American consumer not the corporate bigwigs something
else to cheer about.
A Springfield Union-News editorial
Jan. 31, 2002
Standing still on rates not bad plan for moment
You've got to hand it to the leaders of the Gimme Lobby:
they're working overtime to make our job of defending our tax rollback so much easier!
Another spokesman for the More Is Never Enough! (MINE) crowd
has stuck his head up, squealed out, and has again proven our point. This time it's the mayor of Springfield, Michael Albano
- a strident opponent of the rollback all along, another member of the Sore Losers Club.
His city has received more state funds than any other district across the state over the past nine years of
Ed Reform, according to the Union-News, and it stands to receive an additional $2 million under Gov.
Swift's recent budget proposal. "Still not enough!" he snivels.
[State taxpayers have spent more than $28 billion in K-12
education since Ed Reform was adopted in 1993, with increases every year; Gov. Swift's proposed budget would raise overall
education spending from $4.1 billion to $4.3 billion next year.]
"More Is Never Enough" and never will be. He wants to "delay" the tax rollback until he gets more, more,
more!
* * *
In its editorial of Jan. 17 ("Swift's turn at podium: Oh,
what a state we're in"), the Union-News opined: "When Cellucci and Swift sold the tax cut to voters, the state was in
remarkable shape. That tax cut today coupled with the economic downturn is a formula for catastrophe." They even
used the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation's dire conclusion, which warns that the recession will last another three years!
But in today's Union-News editorial touting a turn-around of
the economy, it calls on Congress "to pass an economic stimulus package that gives the average American consumer not the
corporate bigwigs something else to cheer about."
Either the MTF's recent "three-year recession ahead" prediction is correct, or Fed Chairman Alan
Greenspan's conclusion that the recession has bottomed out, the economy is
rising - the point of its editorial today - is accurate. Only one of them can be right. The Union-News and others simply and
honestly can't have it both ways.
If our tax rollback isn't the stimulus it seeks, what can
the U.S. Congress add to stimulate the economy that we haven't already provided but the Union-News wants to take away ...
excuse me, "delay"?
Perhaps the Union-News and the Boston Globe can arrange a
group rate for treatment of their collective schizophrenia. (The Globe supports the initiative process and advocates for
the sacred "will of the voters" when promoting the Clean Elections law, but abandons the voters when the law is our tax
rollback; it impugns "government by referendum" when it opposes the outcome but promotes government by Globe
polling!)
Have the editorial boards no shame at all, are they still in
denial, or is this just a clear case of an obsessive agenda and situational ethics ... pure hypocrisy?
 |
|
Chip Ford |
The Springfield Union-News
Thursday, January 31, 2002
Albano urges tax-cut delay
Tax cut seen as bad news for schools
By Bea O'Quinn Dewberry
SPRINGFIELD - In a letter to acting Gov. Jane M. Swift, Mayor
Michael J. Albano argued yesterday that a voter-approved tax cut should be put off in favor of funding education.
Albano said a delay in the tax rollback from 5.3 percent to
5 percent would recover at least $238 million in funds for Chapter 70 aid.
But the president of the largest taxpayer group statewide
accused Albano of playing politics and disregarding the will of voters who approved the tax rollback in November 2000.
"It's not up to Mayor Albano to say what he thinks these
voters want. Voters made it clear they want a drop in taxes," said Barbara C.
Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation and
Government.
While Swift could not be reached for comment yesterday, she
promised as late as last week to veto any attempts to freeze the scheduled income tax rollback under any circumstances.
Any tax increase would require support from two-thirds of the House and Senate.
The state currently faces a $2 billion budget deficit in
fiscal 2003. Democratic legislators have not submitted an education budget proposal, but are calling for 10 percent cuts
in general aid to cities and towns.
Albano said under the governor's proposed budget, which
avoids tax hikes but proposes program cuts, education will be underfunded statewide by $309 million.
"Delaying the implementation of this tax cut and applying
the revenues to Chapter 70 would allow Springfield and communities across the state to ensure the best possible
education for children," said Albano.
Springfield has received more state money than any other
district statewide since the Education Reform Act was enacted in 1993. Swift's proposed budget will result in a $2
million increase for Springfield in Chapter 70 funds.
But Albano said Swift's fiscal 2003 budget cuts district
reimbursements for students attending charter schools and reduces grants targeted toward lowering classroom sizes.
Coupled with collective bargaining obligations, Albano said
the cuts could result in Springfield facing a $9.5 million shortfall in its fiscal 2003 budget.
An aide to Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham, who is
running against Swift and has been successful in gaining Chapter 70 aid in previous fiscal years, said calls for Swift
to abandon the tax cuts are not likely to be heeded.
"Frankly, Gov. Swift has shown a tax rollback is a higher
priority than education, or health care or affordable housing," Birmingham aide Alison Franklin said. "While we admire Mayor
Albano's efforts, I think (Swift) has made her choice, and it's unlikely to change."
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The Springfield Union-News
Thursday, January 31, 2002
Editorial
Standing still on rates not bad plan for moment
The Federal Reserve Board sent a mixed, yet comforting
message on the state of the nation's economy yesterday when it opted to keep the federal funds rate the interest rate banks
charge each other on overnight loans at its 40-year low of 1.75 percent.
By standing pat, the Fed seemed to be saying that the worst
of the 11-month-old recession is over. On the other hand, Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues didn't seem to be
saying things are rosy enough to raise rates after the 11 consecutive reductions they
approved last year.
Maintaining the status quo is a good decision at this
moment. While some sectors of the economy are starting to show signs of recovery, many companies aren't hiring back all the
folks they trimmed from their payrolls as a result of the slowdown that began last March.
Consumer spending is the real engine that drives the economy, accounting for two-thirds of
all economic activity.
While it noted that the outlook for economic recovery has
"become more promising," the Fed also acknowledged that "the degree of any strength in business capital and household
spending, however, is still uncertain."
While the consumer confidence index experienced an uptick
this week, there are still plenty of folks in America and here in Western Massachusetts who are suffering from job
insecurity. They've been reading the headlines during the last few months, and for many of them, talk of
layoffs elsewhere is still enough to rattle the coffee cups on their kitchen tables.
The Fed's monetary policies have kept some households from
sinking. Commercial banks have taken a cue from the Fed by steadily reducing its prime lending rate, the benchmark for
millions of consumer and business loans, which now stands at 4.75 percent.
With yesterday's report that the economy managed to eke out
a 0.2 percent rate of growth in the final three months of last year, with most of the strength coming from brisk spending by
consumers and government, some economists are saying the end of the recession is on the
horizon.
The Federal Reserve Board has been doing its part to keep
the economy on an even keel on the monetary side. Now it's time for Congress to pass an economic stimulus package that
gives the average American consumer not the corporate bigwigs something else to cheer
about.
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