DESPITE EARLY WORRIES that the Community Preservation Act was funding a land grab by suburban communities eager to lock in open space at the expense of the affordable housing the law […]
Taxes and Budget Issues
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Under Control
Consultant Carroll Buracker (left at microphone) gives the Springfield Finance Control Board his grade of the police department: “Dysfunctional with a capital ‘D.'” It was nearly a year after the […]
Posted inPolitics
Hitting the Jackpot
IT’S A SAFE BET that Al Rezendes isn’t giving a lot of thought to the Belchertown fire truck he helped buy, or to the new police cruiser protecting the residents […]
Posted inEconomy
Risk takings
Dozens of state governments are increasing their dependence on revenues from lotteries and casinos, but even without slots and table games Massachusetts is near the head of the pack. In […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Counterpoints
Mayor Menino’s call for greater revenue diversity, which he delivered at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau’s annual meeting, stems from the fact that the city of Boston is more dependent […]
Posted inEconomy
Two and a half decades of Prop. 2 1/2
Souce: Massachusetts Municipal Association (www.mma.org); state Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services (www.dls.state.ma.us)This year marks the silver anniversary of Proposition 2½, the property tax cap passed by voters in […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Springfield discovers that bailout comes at a high price
INTRO TEXT In the drama that was the city of Springfield’s attempt to avoid going broke this spring, the theme on Beacon Hill turned out to be less helping hand […]
Posted inEconomy
Who profits from federal spending
The Big Dig notwithstanding, Massachusetts is one of the biggest losers in the tax-and-spend game run by the federal government. According to the Washington, DC-based Tax Foundation, in fiscal year […]
Posted inEconomy
Robert Greenstein and the Center on Budget get hawkish on the federal deficit
Earlier this year, when President Bush proposed his budget for fiscal 2005, it surprised no one that the administration’s spending plan was denounced by the Center on Budget and Policy […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
The state budget should focus on outcomes not allocations
Since 2001, Gov. Mitt Romney and the Legislature have cut spending by almost $3 billion. While also raising taxes and fees, the state has reduced Medicaid services, eliminated health insurance […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, Opinion, Politics
Rising medical costs could upend state government
Read responses to this article When we speak of balance in government, the typical reference is either to the intricate separation of powers inherent in our constitutional democracy, or to […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts comes around to supporting an Internet sales tax
A pair of boots from L.L. Bean. The latest bestseller from Amazon.com. A diamond engagement ring from Blue Nile. Every day, more and more consumers are buying items like these […]
Posted inEconomy, Education
Spending on public higher education
Even before recent budget cuts, Massachusetts was considered a skinflint in the area of public higher education. According to the Center for the Study of Educational Policy, we ranked 48th […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
The way we tax
With revenue diminishing due to the stock market downturn and rising unemployment rates, the Bay State is experiencing the same fiscal squeeze being felt nationwide. As states across the country […]
Posted inEconomy
Household tax burden
How much of a burden are taxes in Massachusetts compared with other states? It all depends on how you make the comparison. In one common measure–total tax burden (state and […]
