June 17, 2011
The Budget Emerges...
Ted Nesi's Twitter Feed is one of the places to be for emerging details on the budget.
UPDATE:
And Philip Marcelo has the Projo's report already up.
Looks like a joke at first glance-big surprise.
About $30 million in sales taxes and fee (beaches, DMV, etc.) hikes. Okay, but where is the $150 million in cuts to fill the $180 million gap?
Bring on the smoke and the mirrors!
Zero tools to municipalities-so look for massive prop. tax hikes next year.
Now we await the pension kayfabe in 16 weeks---who do you like Chief Jay Strongbow or Superstar Billy Graham?
LOL.
"Zero tools to municipalities"
So the unfunded mandates continue unabated. Here's a tip: you wouldn't need to send so much aid to cities and towns if you would let them set their own budgets.
Only a few new items would be subject to a sales tax. But this is presumably the camel's nose under the tent.
Further, they've justified taxing these new items by saying that it matchs what MA and CT do. But they refused to cut social benefits on the same logic. Why? Why should we have more generous programs than our neighbors?