CLT&G - Tolls, unfunded pension liabilities, and broken promises

Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
18 Tremont Street #608 * Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 248-0022 * E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
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*** CLT&G UPDATE ***
Wednesday, March 12, 1997

Greetings friends;

Today Barbara participated in a state house news conference with Governor Weld to promote his tax cut proposals to reduce the so-called "unearned income" tax and increase the child dependent exemption. From the State House News Service:

HEARTENED BY FISCAL OUTLOOK, WELD PUSHES TAX CUTS

SHNS....JT....MAR. 12, 1997....Although he has not been on the campaign trail for four months, Gov. William F. Weld sounded like a candidate on the stump today.

Excited by the clean economic bill of health that economists gave the state on Monday, Weld reiterated his support for six tax cuts outlined in his state budget, currently under review by the House Ways and Means Committee.

The reductions would cost the General Fund $82 million, Weld said. But fiscal analysts yesterday said that state finances could come in as much as $250 million higher than expected in Fiscal 1997.

"It's clear that the $82 million in tax cuts that we proposed in January for Fiscal 1998 is easily affordable," Weld said at a morning press conference.

Weld called the press conference to highlight two of the half-dozen tax cutting measures in his $18.2 billion budget. One would raise the amount taxpayers can deduct on their income tax returns for each child by $1,000 to $1,600. The other would gradually decrease the amount interest and dividends are taxed.

Tomorrow the Legislature will take up the issue of funding the Big Dig Project and likely vote upon the plan to increase tolls.

Following the news conference, later this afternoon, Chip Faulkner hand-delivered copies of the following memo to each of the 200 state legislators and to the state house press corps.

Chip Ford --

Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
18 Tremont Street #608 * Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 248-0022 * E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
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To: Members of the General Court
March 13, 1997
Re: Tolls, unfunded pension liabilities, and broken promises

The real item on the House agenda today is public distrust of government.

Our state government told us that the tolls on the MassPike would end when the Pike was paid for; it lied.

It later told us that the Central Artery would cost only $3 billion and would not require tax or toll increases; it lied.

During the Dukakis presidential campaign, the state pension fund was raided for "the 11th balanced budget in a row". That balanced budget was another lie.

The present Governor, Treasurer, and much of the Legislature inherited the fallout from these lies and broken promises and have had to deal with it. The pension issue was handled well, and the unfunded liability left by the Dukakis Administration has been cut beyond expectations; this is a very good thing. Accelerating the schedule for eliminating that liability would be another good thing, except for the legacy of the lies about the Turnpike and the Big Dig.

If it ever wants to restore public trust, Massachusetts state government should do its best to keep its promises. If it cannot immediately abolish the Turnpike tolls, it should set a date for when those tolls will be gone, with no allowance for rolling over debt. And it certainly shouldn't add insult to injury with toll increases.

Fortunately, the state budget really is balanced, and no one will be tempted to raid the pension fund. But the payments shouldn't be accelerated at the expense of Massachusetts drivers. Treasurer Malone's suggestion that the payments be kept as previously agreed to, and the surplus money being considered for acceleration be applied to the Big Dig, is more fair to everyone.

Drivers who are being asked to pay for the Central Artery Project are already paying in the lost time and aggravation that project is causing; the state has a lot of nerve asking for more money too.

The public employee unions that allowed the Dukakis administration to raid its pension funds should be embarrassed to insist on more toll money from their driving members and the public they serve.

Time is short, so the various elements of our state government should work together on this new idea instead of taking the usual easy way out -- more money from Massachusetts working men & women.