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November 13, 2006
Hold onto Your Wallets
It's already started, the Democratic Revolution in Massachusetts.
Without determining how to make government more effiecient to produce savings, Gov.-elect Deval Patrick is already seeking $120 million to add 1,000 police officers to the streets and all-day kindergarten for our schools.
The Legislature, dominated by Democrats, will likely oblige as the honeymoon begins with Deval the Great in office.
Departing Gov. Mitt Romney put a $450 million kibosh on the Democrats raid of the $1.7 billion rainy day fund, but that's likely to be restored by the new governor once he gets the keys to the public treasury in January. Expect Deval to ask the Legislature to override Romney's veto. Either that, or he'll produce his own carbon-copy supplemental bill of the Democrats' raid, which was designed to be a pre-Election Day appetizer for special interest groups through the Bay State.
Taxes are already rising in cities and towns. Just think: Lowell will face its first substantive tax-and-fee (hidden tax) increase in years if the City Council approves Manager Bernie Lynch's plan to close the $5.4 million deficit. The average homeowner will face a $200 a year increase, plus a $25 fee increase to the trash bill. Chelmsford, Tewskbury, Tyngsboro and other towns are also facing tax increases to wipe out deficits. Now the state will likely to seeking an increase, or setting us up for one when the rainy day fund is depleted and another recession strikes.
Don't they ever learn? "They" as in our elected legislators?
One good thing that Deval the Great is proposing is for the state to take complete control of the health-care plans offered by municipalities. The governor believes a one-size-fits-all plan will save huge amounts of money for cities and towns that have to deal with dozens of plans that are controlled by union negotiations. The costs are rising faster than towns can take in new revenues, putting governments on a path toward health-care insolvency.
The trouble is: Would the Legislature buck the special-interest groups and unions that now monopolize the health-insurance industry?
Before Gov. Patrick sets his sight on expanding government, maybe he should take a step back to find out what is going on under the Golden Dome. The Romney administration has done its best to restrain costs, but evidently Massachusetts voters wanted a new sheriff with a gold-plated badge. Well, Patrick's message of hope isn't going to pay the bills. Taxpayers are. Hold onto your wallets, folks, the free-spending liberals are at the gate!
Posted by at November 13, 2006 3:13 PM
Comments
Your not blaming the Governor-elect for the upcoming increase in taxes and fees in Lowell, are you?
"One good thing that Deval the Great is proposing is for the state to take complete control of the health-care plans offered by municipalities."
He should extend this to include all the independent authorities, and in addition to health-care, include pension formulas, sick-time buyback and vacation allowance. If the cities, towns and authorities complied with the State mandate on limits to these benefits they would be eligible for the full allowance on the Cherry Sheet funding, but if they caved and exceeded these guidelines, they would suffer a reduction in the State allotments.
Posted by: JP at November 13, 2006 5:53 PM
No matter who goes into office, they all promise one thing, then go into an entirely different direction ignoring the issues that they first promoted. Deval is going to do what he thinks is right for the community. The problem is, this is more of a personal opinion of his on how to spend the money then how it will affect us. Get used to it, he is going to work for the underdogs of the community. That is why he wants more police on the streets. That is why his budget spending is going to raise taxes in one way or another. He has a very "Republicans have had it to good for to long" attitude. He wants change. Change ALWAYS costs us money. Oh well, what's new.
Posted by: Gus at November 14, 2006 11:42 AM
