Gov. Carcieri Reacts to Budget Hints

Governor Carcieri was on the John DePetro Show this morning and expressed his concern over what he was hearing--more taxes, fewer cuts--about the budget being floated out of the House. Calling them a "tin ear bunch," he was clearly frustrated that some of his proposed program cuts had been reinstated and, worse, that taxes (including the gas tax) were being raised. On a more positive note, he was pleased that some pension reform (though not as much as he'd like--he called it a "half-a-loaf") was apparently being introduced. In general, according to the Governor, it looks like the GA has decided to continue on with "half-baked" measures to address real problems instead of taking the opportunity to make hard decisions on substantive changes and improvements.