Statistics say, Massachusetts is worst run state
by Michael Graham
DNN Staff - EXCLUSIVE!
Monday, Nov. 2, 2009
In Boston, the livin’ is never easy.
A new report from Northeastern University finds we’re one of the priciest housing markets in America. Only San Francisco has higher rents, for example.
Massachusetts has the highest energy costs in the country. Our roads are very expensive (only New Jersey spends more per state road mile) and are generally crappy - even when they’re not covered with sides of beef.
And now Bay Staters face yet another challenge, according to the liberal group ONE Massachusetts: You’re undertaxed.
In fact, ONE Massachusetts is so certain you want to pay higher taxes, they’re holding a “virtual rally” Thursday to lobby Gov. Deval Patrick to use “the obvious alternative to 9C cuts, which is, to be blunt, additional adequate and balanced revenues.”That language comes from the ONE Massachusetts Web site, which also features attacks on Proposition 2, support for higher meals taxes and a call for Beacon Hill to impose our 6.25 percent sales tax on services. That’s everything from lawn care to pet grooming to dating services.
(Say, didn’t some ladies get in trouble charging for “dating services” on Craigslist?)
The premise of the ONE Massachusetts movement is that you don’t want the precious darlings in the government sector to undergo the same job cuts you’re facing in the legit economy. They’re shocked that Patrick might cut 2,000 state jobs - as opposed to the taxpayers, who’ll faint in astonishment if he actually does.
Massachusetts liberals believe that through a series of, shall we say “unfortunate circumstances” - indicted pols, blown budgets, no-show jobs - government is suffering bad PR. If ONE Massachusetts can just turn that around, you’ll be thrilled to pay more taxes. In the case of the sales tax on services, $7 billion more.
These nut . . . - er, “progressive advocates” - point to the same statistic: Massachusetts ranks 23rd among states in taxes paid as a percentage of our income. And thanks to a small number of extremely wealthy residents, they’re right.
For folks in the McMansions of Weston and Patrick’s swanky neighbors in the Berkshires, state taxes are chump change.
But for us chumps, it’s a different story. Our population growth has been far below the national average. We’ve lost 25,000 manufacturing jobs, and the middle class can’t handle our housing costs or our eighth highest property taxes.
Meanwhile, that statistic - taxes as a percentage of income - says nothing about what we’re getting for our money. The real number is how much does our government cost us compared to other states. How much does state and local government shake us down per person - rich or poor - to keep the lights on?
By that measure, we’re one of the worst-run states.
Massachusetts ranks eighth in per-person spending on state government. Add in local government, and we’re the fifth highest. But it’s worse than that.
Every state that ranks higher than us in per capita spending is at the bottom in population. That’s because there are certain fixed costs of operation that both a Wyoming (population 532,668) and a Massachusetts (6,497,967) must bear.
Guess which state is the only one both in the top 10 for per capita spending and the top 15 for population? You’re living it. You’re also surrounded by loonies who want to raise your taxes.
Congratulations!
No comments:
Post a Comment