Jobs

People are talking about the loss of jobs at Wonderland. For Wonderland's employees, others who make their livings at the track, and their families the closing of the track is a devastasting blow. But it is also an example of a bigger problem. Massachusetts reached its peak job number in 2001. Massachusetts has not created any new net jobs in almost 10 years. Our state government has made it difficult to do business and we have suffered for it.
Massachusetts has not had a consistent, fair tax policy. One year our legislature said "no" to the sales tax holiday and, in fact, in the middle of a recession, they voted to raise the sales tax. The next year -- an election year -- the legislature passed a sales tax holiday. This kind of erratic behaviour has to stop. To begin the road to recovery:

• I will support an immediate cut in the sales tax to 5%. If the voters approve a cut of the sales tax to 3% at the ballot box, I pledge to support the will of the voters and will vote to implement it;
• I will support an immediate cut in the state income tax to 5%.

There is lots to do, but cutting the sales and income tax is a critical first step.

Sales Tax Holiday a Lesson

The upcoming sales tax holiday is a great chance to save money, but it's more than that it provides a lesson in consistency. Last year, when there was no election, our legislators turned their backs on retailers and consumers and said no to the sales tax holiday. Instead, they raised the sales tax and created new taxes. The economy and every resident of Massachusetts suffered, because of those decisions.
The economy is struggling, there is a $2.7 billion dollar structural deficit in the state budget and next year there is no election. If we send the same crowd back to Beacon Hill, what will happen to taxes next year?

The sad "end' of the legislative session

Maybe a recap of the legislative session isn't appropriate yet, the Governor says the legislature should come back to "finish" casino legislation, but the senate president says no way. There is already lots we know--lots to think about.
We know that, although the session began in January 2009 and every one knew it would end on July 31, 2010, our legislators waited and waited and waited to get down to business. We know that the recession started in 2008, but our legislators waited months to do some thing about economic development and foreclosures. First, they raised taxes including the sales tax and imposed a tax on alcohol. They failed to deal with the structural budget deficit, which next year will be about $2 billion, and they did nothing to start to cope with unfunded pension liabilities. They refused to deal with the sky rocketing costs of health care that are crushing our cities and towns. This summer when you see your legislators let them know that they let us down and that it's time to get people in there who will get results or get out of the way.