Saturday, April 6, 2013
Should the state forge ahead with Gov. Deval Patrick's bold plan to invest now? Or should it follow the Legislature leadership's proposal to address the bottom line before embarking on bigger initiatives?
Massachusetts legislators this week answered Gov. Deval Patrick's ambitious plan to raise $1.9 billion for transportation and education with a $500 million plan of their own, which says the governor is asking for too much, too soon as the Bay State shakes off the effects of the Great Recession. Who's right? Should the state forge ahead in a bold plan to invest now? Or should it cautiously address the bottom line before embarking on bigger initiatives? While Patrick's plan includes funding for both the state transportation system and increased education funding from preschool through college, House and Senate lawmakers eschew new revenue for education, focusing solely on closing the transportation budget gap over the next five years. The …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The new plan would create $500 million in new revenue over the next five years.
State House and Senate lawmakers have announced a joint transportation plan which would close an estimated five-year, $2.3 billion transportation budget gap through tax increases to cigarettes, gas and new taxes on business technologies. The plan, which would create $500 million in new revenue, focuses on long-term financing for the state’s regional transit authorities and the state department of transportation, asks the MBTA and MassDOT to continue to hit revenue and savings targets, moves employees off of the capital budget for three years and fully funds the state ice and snow budget. The plan was unveiled at a State House news conference Tuesday led by Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Sherri Killins stepped down Monday as the head of the Department of Early Education and Care after reports she spent significant time in a superintendent training program.
Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday that nothing was illegal about Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins continuing to collect her $200,000 annual salary while she took time to train to be a superintendent and lived in Connecticut. Killins stepped down from the post earlier this week amid questions about her participation in a training program in Ware, which required a significant time investment and had some wondering whether it was cutting into the time she spent on the job. Patrick said Thursday that Killins did the training during her vacation time and other time off, and that there is no rule against living in another state while serving as a top Massachusetts official, the Associated Press reported. The administration …
Friday, March 15, 2013
The transportation bond bill would provide funding for modernization and maintenance of the transportation system.
Gov. Deval Patrick filed a transportation bond bill this week that will finance an ambitious 10-year plan to overhaul the state’s ailing transportation system. The bill would invest $13.7 billion over 10 years in The 21st Century Transportation Plan “The Way Forward” if it is accepted by the state’s legislature, according to a press release from the governor’s office. The funding would address a backlog of deferred maintenance and strategically improve the state’s transportation system by reducing congestion on roads, curbing delays and minimizing crowding on trains and buses, according to the press release. “These investments will create the jobs and opportunity today that will build a stronger Commonwealth for tomorrow,” Patrick said in …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The event was organized by Campaign for Our Communities, a coalition of more than 120 organizations across the commonwealth.
Hundreds of people bused in from across the state packed into a State House auditorium Tuesday morning to rally in support of Gov. Deval Patrick's tax plan, which they say is critical to make much needed improvements in education and transportation infrastructure. The rally, which was organized by Campaign for Our Communities, a coalition of more than 120 organizations across the commonwealth, ended with attendees heading off to the offices of their representatives, urging them to vote for Patrick's plan. The governor's $34.8 billion budget proposal calls for an increase in the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent and the elimination of 44 deductions coupled with a decrease in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent and a …
Monday, March 11, 2013
The program also allows users to develop their own plan and see its effects on their tax bill.
In an effort to further promote his proposed $34.8 billlion budget, Gov. Deval Patrick this week rolled out an online tool that would help families see the effect his plan would have on their bottom line. The tool was released less than a week after Patrick unveiled 400 online maps showing what each district would receive in transportation and education benefits under his tax plan. "We are proposing meaningful investments in education and transportation, and people want to know what that means for them," Patrick said. "Last week, with the maps, we showed what long-postponed projects would get done in each community. Now, with this tool, we show just what the costs or savings will be for individual households." The program not only lets …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The tool includes a maps for transportation funding and educational funding for each legislative district.
In an effort to promote his $34.8 billion budget proposal, Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled an online tool with 400 maps that shows what each legislative district would receive in education funding. “This tool will help people see exactly what to expect in their own backyard as part of the investments we’ve proposed,” Patrick said. “Meaningful investments in education and transportation today will significantly improve our economic future both in the short term and for generations to come.” There are two maps per district – one displaying transportation investments and one displaying education investments in each community. For example, according to the maps, North Andover would see a total of $683,204 in education spending increase and $4…
Saturday, March 2, 2013
The governor's optimistic but state legislators don't sound so sure. What do you think?
Governor Deval Patrick is still bullish about his budget proposal, which will raise $1.9 billion in new revenue through an increase in the income tax, decrease in the sales tax, and various other changes to taxes, fees and deductions. But the men and women who have to pass the bill don't sound as eager to support a package many see as a politically-damaging measure. The Boston Herald quotes several Beacon Hill legislators who sounded notes of caution to outright opposition to the budget. Those quoted cited the 1990 election losses in the wake of an income tax increase, pressure on small businesses and the higher price of gas as reasons they were skeptical. And the governor's new web tools touting proposed transportation and education …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
While specific deductions would end, personal exemptions would double under the Patrick budget.
A recent analysis of Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed budget finds that it eliminates 44 tax breaks that benefit a large slice of Massachusetts taxpayers. Patrick's $34.8 billion FY2014 budget includes not only a 1 percentage point hike in the income tax – from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent – but the end of such deductions such as the capital gains from the sale of a person's primary home, college tuition, and contributions to a health savings account. The analysis, by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, found that the eliminations would raise an additional $1 billion for the commonwealth. But Patrick's assistant secretary for fiscal policy, Gregory R. Mennis, told The Republican that that amount would be offset by the doubling of personal…
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Do you agree with the governor's decision or was it too drastic?
All non-emergency drivers were ordered off the roads on Friday when Gov. Deval Patrick issued an executive order banning travel during the blizzard. (Editor's note: The ban is lifted statewide as of 4 p.m. Saturday.) Patrick's executive order is being praised by some and bashed by others, reported The Boston Globe. While former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was in charge of the commonwealth during the Blizzard of ’78, praised the governor’s move, others called the order “tyrannical” and say the strict ban and hefty fines were too much, according to The Globe. Those caught violating the ban would face up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. What do you think? Do you agree with the governor’s decision or do you think the travel ban …
Nameless Conservative
8:53 am on Friday, April 12, 2013
Don't forget to save your receipt for the IRS to prove basis or they'll nail you. I'm thinking of something more along the lines of ping pong balls myself. I'm still ruminating why I sat on the fence when beer pong took off. I would've been Naples, FL laughing at all you shrubs in MA by now! more ›