Author Archives: dunster

Governor Patrick’s Budget Speech

I went to see Governor Deval Patrick deliver his budget speech tonight.

It’s been interesting tracking his political trajectory. I confess that I’ve found him more and more interesting as time went along.

I think the recent flap about the car and the drapes, or the draped car, or whatever it is just nonesense. What matters is the substance. Several people have asked what I thought of governor so far. I’ve told them all that I don’t know yet, but the budget is the real test, the first test, and a big one.

So I wanted to see it in person.

Here are a few photos before it got started. You can see the press and the cameras, and the nice-looking Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Melrose.
… See more pictures

FinComm Reviews Budgets – A Very Few Notes

I missed most of the Finance Committee meeting tonight. I got there at 9:30. I caught the end of the vote on the registrars (I didn’t vote on it since I missed the discussion). It was not a unimous vote.

The next discussion was about the planning department budget. It was noted that the budget for power was up a different amount in different budgets. The committee determined to ask the town manager to explain the power budgeting process for this and other budgets, and I was tasked with asking the comptroller for historical and current expenses for power. The budget was approved. The meeting adjourned.

Why was I late for the meeting? I was over at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting. I spoke in favor of Article 18, the creation of an IT department separate from the comptroller’s office. I’m still digesting that meeting. I will write about the issue in the future, I’m sure, but not tonight.

A closing note: I’m going to miss Wednesday’s meeting because of work travel. You and I both will instead rely on Pete Howard’s excellent minutes.

Widmer Reminds Us Who Pays His Bills

Whenever there is a question about taxes in Massachussetts, Michael Widmer is never far from a microphone. He is a fixture in press releases and news articles.

He’s particularly popular when there is talk about the personal income tax: he predicts doom and gloom if the voter-enacted income tax decrease to 5% is ever implemented. His quotes provide cover for every legislator who is unable to make hard choices in government spending. He advocates highway tolls. He likes local option taxes – the ones paid by individuals, anyway. You can find his quotes attached to everything from healthcare to transit projects.

He’s entitled to his opinion, of course, and the press is entitled to quote him. The only thing that drives me crazy is when the press pretends that he’s an independant voice. His organization is called the “Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.” But which taxpayers exactly does he represent? Boston.com:

Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, was scathingly critical of Patrick’s plan.

“The proposal provides limited property tax relief at a high cost to the Massachusetts economy,” said Widmer, adding that it would be economically destructive to ask corporations to take another $500 million hit on top of the $400 million they had to pay after the Romney administration closed other so-called loopholes and a $600 million increase in unemployment insurance taxes in 2004.

“Cumulatively, you’re talking about $1.5 billion annually in additional taxes at a time when our economy is weak, 150,000 jobs below where we were in 2001,” said Widmer, whom the Legislature often turns to for budget analysis. “This adds significantly to the competitiveness disadvantage facing Massachusetts businesses.”

Please, never mistake Widmer as an “independant” voice. His bills are paid by the businesses that pay state taxes. Consider him through that lens. When he says something, he’s saying it so that his constituency will have a lower tax bill. When he advocates higher personal income tax, he does so because it makes it easier to keep corporate taxes low. When he advocates local option taxes, he’s doing it to protect his bosses. And when he wants to keep the tolls? It’s because that’s a revenue source that doesn’t hurt his benefactors.

Right, Left, or Other

When I was in college I described myself as “socially liberal and fiscally conservative.”  At some point I figured out that was a fair description of a small-l libertarian.  Does that philosophy make me a Republican?  A Democrat?  A big-L Libertarian?  I still haven’t figured it out, and I’m not alone in asking.

Third-Party Watch pointed me to this interesting article. Excerpt, trimmed for brevity:

More plausible . . . is a gradual reconfiguration of conservatism, liberalism, and libertarianism alike under the pressures of the War on Terror.  It may already be anachronistic to talk about libertarians aligning with the Left or the Right, when different factions of Left and Right are even beginning to align with one another, not in some grand theoretical project but in support of or opposition to the extreme measures that have so far characterized the War on Terror.

The highly unusual mixture of support for Sen. Jim Webb found among antiwar conservatives, conventional liberals, economic populists, and libertarians suggests what may be in the offing. If Left and Right really are outmoded terms, libertarians—and others who are beginning to peel away from the conservative establishment—should not wonder which side to choose. They should simply stay true to their philosophy and oppose government aggrandizement as effectively as they can.

If this post is interesting, you might peruse my take on Markos Moulitsas.