Governor Patrick was quoted this week say, “We are going to need some additional revenue. Does that come in taxes? I don’t know” (“Mass. governor doesn’t know if new taxes needed,” August 11).
For those of you not politically astute, that’s political code language for “raising taxes.” The governor already signed a $1 per pack tax hike on tobacco, and when that unstable revenue stream dries up he’ll undoubtedly be asking the taxpayers for more.
The borrowing and spending policies of the governor are not only disingenuous, but dangerous. The state has been nicknamed “Taxachusetts” for far too long. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear politicians admit to the public that Massachusetts faces a spending problem and not a revenue one?
If state officials “knee jerk” in favor of tax and fee increases, instead of implementing expenditure reductions, the state’s residents and economy will suffer and deficits will continue to grow.
John Nothdurft ([email protected]) is a legislative specialist for The Heartland Institute.
John Nothdurft joined the staff of The Heartland Institute in May 2008 and left in January of 2019.
