Having lived in the 'Commonwealth' of Massachusetts for a brief time back in the late 80's and early 90's, and after having had the opportunity to be out amongst those rather interesting characters who populate that little collective, I feel somewhat qualified in offering up an opinion on those who not only call this bastion of lunacy home, but who cheerfully vote for those responsible for the sad condition of the place and who remain in charge of running the whole cockamamie show further into the ground. And apparently, things have proceeded to get only worse since when I was last there. It seems that Comrade Deval Patrick, governor of that socialist enclave, on Monday laid out what were a series of revenue generators that he was contemplating. They were in the form of tax and fee increases with even some new taxes being put on the table, including more than doubling the state's gas tax.
What he's seeking here, if you can believe it, is more than $1 Billion a year in ‘new’ revenue, the purpose of which, he says, is designed to fund public transit and highway operations, reduce MBTA debt and borrow money to double infrastructure spending. Beacon Hill leaders have reportedly signaled agreement to this increase in revenue. For those unaware, Beacon Hill is the rather innocuous nickname for the state’s socialist capital. Now I'm sure anyone who's familiar with the size of this state may find it difficult to understand why, with a 2012 operating budget that was a shade over $30 Billion for population that in 2011 was 6,587,536, more revenue would be needed. I mean that's already about $4500 for every resident. And I'll tell you something else, the amount of money that travels under the table all across this state is simply amazing. No one honestly reports their income, but can you blame them?
According to Boston.com, Comrade Patrick’s list of those things he viewed as being possible revenue sources included, but were not limited to: 1) Raising the gas tax from 21 cents to 51 cents per gallon, 2) Raising the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 7.75 percent, 3) Raising the state income tax to 5.66 percent from 5.25 percent, 4) Levying a vehicle miles-traveled tax at 2.4 cents per mile, 4) New, emissions-based vehicle title and registration fees could raise $175 million, and 5) A payroll tax on workers in regions with transit service could raise $140 million to $207 million what a deal right? Anybody wishing that they lived there? Supposedly Patrick intends to name his preferences for raising revenue in his sad state of the state speech, Wednesday. So I'll guess we'll see then just how much more he feels that he can get away with. Who know, those who call his state home aren't known for being too bright.
Supposedly, if we can believe Comrade Patrick, the purpose behind of all this proposed spending is that it would go to balance highway and transit budgets, relieve MBTA debt, run night and weekend buses in cities like Springfield and bring an end to borrowing for basic highway operations like mowing and striping. It would also cover initial payments on new debt that would double infrastructure spending to $25 Billion over the coming 10 years. The state needs $684 Million a year additional to operate its existing transportation system, Patrick said, presenting his transportation plan, dubbed "The Way Forward" in dual events at the State House and the University of Massachusetts Boston. In addition, he's seeking $9.3 Billion over 10 years to bring the existing infrastructure into good repair. Again, with the moving "Forward" crap? How original, don't you think?
New infrastructure projects add up to $3.8 Billion per year, and reportedly include: 1) $1.8 Billion for Boston-New Bedford/Fall River (South Coast) rail service, 2) $850 Million to expand South Station, 3) $674 Million for the MBTA Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, 4) $362 Million for Boston-Springfield rail, 5) $113.8 Million for Pittsfield-New York City rail, and 6) $20.8 Million for Boston-Hyannis rail. It would seem that Comrade Patrick has a rather lengthy, and rather costly, wish list that he would like to have funded by the folks in his state. The question I have though, are all of these pricy rail systems really necessary in a state this size? And once other little silly question, will there even be enough folks riding all of these trains to cover the cost of operating them with, no doubt, unionized public employees? I kinda doubt it! But hey, that's down the road.
This is the same kind of leftist insanity that has now engulfed our nation's capital. We just can't seem to spend enough. We're robbing from people disposable income that could otherwise be spent on strengthening our pathetically anemic economy. And if I was the suspicious type I'd say that what's going on here is a very purposeful attempt to bring about a scenario where our entire economic system simply implodes. But that can't really be what the Democrat Party is trying to bring about, can it? Are they so determined to move their socialist agenda forward that no amount of collateral damage is to be considered as being too much? And this clown, Patrick, is no better than those clowns sitting in Washington, other than the amount of damage that he can inflict is limited to his state. People can move from there if and when they've had enough. But there's no place to run from the insanity springing forth from Washington.
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