Michael Widmer

Guest Contributor

Stories by Michael Widmer

FY18 budget shortfall could be $1b

Politics/ Opinion

FY18 budget shortfall could be $1b

Nipping and tucking won’t work in coming year

By , , 0 Comments

IT IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED on Beacon Hill, certainly among budget writers, that the fiscal 2018 budgets passed by the House and Senate depend on unrealistic revenue projections. But it is much less well understood that the revenue shortfall could approach $1 billion. How could that be? There are two parts to the answer — first,(...)

Read More »

Latest numbers undercut need for health care tax

Politics/ Opinion

Latest numbers undercut need for health care tax

MassHealth enrollment at same level as 15 months ago

By , 1 Comment

THE LATEST DATA for the state’s MassHealth program indicate enrollment has stabilized, suggesting the assumption behind Gov. Charlie Baker’s health care tax on employers – that Medicaid rolls are soaring – is not supported by the evidence. In a previous column, I pointed out that enrollment had declined in November and December 2016 to the(...)

Read More »

Baker’s claim of soaring Medicaid rolls is faulty

Health Care/ Politics/ Opinion

Baker’s claim of soaring Medicaid rolls is faulty

Assumption underlying employer assessment may be wrong

By , , 1 Comment

WITH MUCH FANFARE last January, the Baker administration sounded the alarm that the Medicaid rolls were soaring because individuals were dropping their employer coverage and choosing instead to enroll in the more generous MassHealth program. To help address the budget problem, the administration proposed a broad tax on employers, mistakenly likening the proposal to the(...)

Read More »

With health assessment, Baker heading down familiar path

Health Care/ Opinion

With health assessment, Baker heading down familiar path

Proposed levy has shades of Patrick's ill-considered software tax

By , 1 Comment

“ONCE BURNED, twice shy.” Will the Legislature heed that aphorism in response to Gov. Baker’s proposed health care tax on employers to help balance the state’s fiscal 2018 and 2019 budgets? Four years ago, then-Gov. Patrick proposed a tax on computer software and services to help expand funding for transportation. He assured the Legislature that(...)

Read More »

Baker’s health care tax is bad policy

Health Care/ Opinion

Baker’s health care tax is bad policy

It’s also not fair and a misreading of history

By , 2 Comments

IN AN ERA OF ALTERNATIVE FACTS, a bit of revisionist history may seem like a small sin. But in the case of Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed tax on employers who don’t offer a high level of health insurance, a misreading of history can have serious consequences. The governor claims that the “assessment” represents a revival(...)

Read More »

Boston property tax hike makes sense

Housing/ Politics/ Opinion

Boston property tax hike makes sense

Voters should back community preservation surcharge

By , 1 Comment

TAXES VS. INVESTMENTS. The tension between these two concepts has been at the center of public policy debates at all levels of government throughout American history. Putting aside the recurring but almost always specious claim that simply eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse will be sufficient to pay for needed public investments, the reality is that(...)

Read More »

The lessons of GE’s move to Boston

Economy/ Politics/ Opinion

The lessons of GE’s move to Boston

We need to both invest and be more competitive

By , 1 Comment

LURKING BEHIND GENERAL ELECTRIC’S DECISION to relocate its headquarters to Boston is the hotly debated issue of why businesses locate and grow in Massachusetts or decide to consolidate or expand in other states. In the case of GE, the governor, mayor, GE officials, the media, and commentators all joined in a chorus of praise for(...)

Read More »

A lesson on tuition for immigrants

Education/ Opinion

A lesson on tuition for immigrants

Charging illegal immigrants in-state rate is a net plus

By , 2 Comments

ALLOWING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS in Massachusetts to pay in-state rates for tuition and fees for public colleges and universities is an emotional issue, similar to just about every other issue surrounding immigration in the US. But when we peel away the emotions and look at the facts, the case for extending in-state tuition to undocumented students(...)

Read More »

Argument

Economy/ Politics/ Winter 2006

Argument

By and , 0 Comments

For the vast majority of citizens, municipal government is the most visible, and arguably most important, level of government, the one closest to home and the primary provider of the basic services on which our quality of life depends. However, the state fiscal crisis in 2002 painfully revealed the vulnerability of local services to the(...)

Read More »

Uncategorized/ Opinion/ Winter 2002

Weathering the perfect fiscal storm

By and 0 Comments

One year ago, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation warned of an impending “perfect storm” in the state’s finances that would spell the end of the generous spending growth of recent years. Although the Commonwealth generated revenue surpluses totaling almost $3 billion in the previous three years–while increasing expenditures by almost 20 percent and cutting taxes by(...)

Read More »

1 2