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State Politics - No on 1
Oct. 7th, 2008 02:23 pmSo someone has managed to get a ballot referendum going in Massachusetts to repeal the state income tax. They had a piece about it on NPR this morning. Some violinist who lives in Wellesley or someplace opined that she wants to repeal the income tax and use the 5.3% of her income she would then not have to hand over to the Commonwealth to buy her husband (who has multiple sclerosis) a motorized scooter.
I have every sympathy with this woman, I just don't get where she gets the idea that, if she didn't pay state level income tax, she'd simply get to pocket the extra.
Without state income taxes, city real estate and personal property taxes would increase. They'd probably tow rents along with them. Tolls on toll roads would increase, more roads would become toll roads, there would be a round of fare hikes on the MBTA that made the last several sets of fare hikes look quaint and charming. College tuitions would shoot up. State funding for things like arts, education, and medical research would just about dry up. City and state parks and recreation areas would have to institute or increase usage fees. Many current services would become paid propositions - okay, you don't pay income tax, but watch the special assessments stack up on your property taxes and utility bills.
The supporters of this bill claim that all of the budget cuts could be absorbed, painlessly, by cutting waste in the state budget. I'm not going to claim that every penny of the state budget is well-spent, but I have a strong suspicion that these people haven't looked at it that hard, haven't thought every spending cut through, and are uninterested in a lot of the programs I'd like to see keep running.
This is a measure that deserves to die a relentless death.
I have every sympathy with this woman, I just don't get where she gets the idea that, if she didn't pay state level income tax, she'd simply get to pocket the extra.
Without state income taxes, city real estate and personal property taxes would increase. They'd probably tow rents along with them. Tolls on toll roads would increase, more roads would become toll roads, there would be a round of fare hikes on the MBTA that made the last several sets of fare hikes look quaint and charming. College tuitions would shoot up. State funding for things like arts, education, and medical research would just about dry up. City and state parks and recreation areas would have to institute or increase usage fees. Many current services would become paid propositions - okay, you don't pay income tax, but watch the special assessments stack up on your property taxes and utility bills.
The supporters of this bill claim that all of the budget cuts could be absorbed, painlessly, by cutting waste in the state budget. I'm not going to claim that every penny of the state budget is well-spent, but I have a strong suspicion that these people haven't looked at it that hard, haven't thought every spending cut through, and are uninterested in a lot of the programs I'd like to see keep running.
This is a measure that deserves to die a relentless death.
