THE HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE unveiled on Wednesday a $38 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year that tracks fairly closely to Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal and even gives the MBTA a five-year break from the so-called Pacheco Law. The Pacheco Law, named for its 1993 sponsor, Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton, requires state agencies […]
Taxes and Budget Issues
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Rainy day fund taking hits
THE STATE’S RAINY DAY FUND is set aside for years when the economy is tanking, tax revenues are falling, and officials are scrambling to fill budget gaps. That’s what happened in the early 2000s and in 2008 when the state was gripped by recession; the state tapped the rainy day fund to weather the economic storm. […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Time to end offshore tax loophole
IT COULD BUY a dozen new energy-efficient locomotives for the MBTA every year, put nearly 1,000 more police on our streets, or pay for more than 8,000 needy children to attend preschool. It’s a corporate tax loophole that allows a select few Massachusetts companies to stash US profits in offshore tax havens and avoid corporate […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Reform, not revenue, says Baker T panel
It’s been something of a parlor game in policy and political circles these last weeks. Can the group commissioned by the no-new-taxes Baker administration to review the troubled MBTA possibly provide a comprehensive blueprint for its overhaul that doesn’t include a call for new revenue, something many view as a necessary part of the fix? […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Budget briefing
SECRETARY OF STATE William Galvin ripped the Baker administration for proposing cuts in his budget that would make it impossible for him to run a presidential primary in March next year. Speaking at a legislative hearing at the State House on the budget, Galvin said the Baker administration did not consult with him before using […]
Posted inThe Download
Globe flip flops on film tax credit
The Boston Globe editorial page executed a Romneyesque flip-flop on the state’s film tax credit this week. Five years ago, the Globe published a rousing editorial opposing a bid by then-Gov. Deval Patrick to cap outlays for the film tax credit. “There should be no question about the value of the film industry to Massachusetts,” […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Opinion, Politics
MTA chief calls Baker budget troubling
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S proposed budget is troubling for its lack of vision and absence of meaningful investments in education and other vital community services. Although some of the governor’s ideas appear positive, his budget is ultimately a proposal that shortchanges students, families, and our cities and towns by including cuts to kindergarten expansion programs and […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Baker misses budget opportunity
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER missed an opportunity on Wednesday to play the role of an educator and explain how and why he is trying to rein in state spending. His press release and his press conference were full of information about proposed minor spending increases in local aid, transportation, and higher education, yet there was almost […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Baker’s movie play
Gov. Charlie Baker is demonstrating that he can roll out a budget very skillfully. Using the Boston Globe as his message delivery system, the governor this week has unveiled a number of good government initiatives designed to cast him in a positive light before he unveils his budget on Wednesday and starts taking heat for […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download
An elephant in the Olympics financing room
There has been all sorts of talk about the costs of a Boston Olympics, with elected officials left and right stamping their feet, drawing lines in the sand, and otherwise declaring with the utmost gravity and certainty that they will not allow the commitment of any public funds (other than those already planned for infrastructure […]