scott brown

Massachusetts is in line to get $50 million dollars from the federal government for specific early education initiatives.  That's a good thing.  The more we provide quality early education and care to our youngest children, addressing their social, emotional, cognitive and language development in the early years, the more ready our children are to embrace their future as life-long learners. [Governor's press release]

“This award will enable Massachusetts to accelerate the implementation of our plan that is designed to yield improvements in our early childhood system that significantly raises the level of quality opportunities and experiences for children and families,” said Department of Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins. “The Early Learning Challenge recognizes the importance of early learning in providing the foundation for children’s healthy growth and brain development and ensuring the collective future prosperity of our Commonwealth and our nation. Both educators and families alike will benefit from this award.”

Paul Krugman writes - class warfare, says who?  We benefit from participating in this society in which the government is at its center; the wealthy could not have garnered its wealth without being part of this society.  They clearly have benefited greater than the lower and middle class folks.

... big cuts in top income tax rates,...there has been a major shift of taxation away from wealth and toward work: tax rates on corporate profits, capital gains and dividends have all fallen, while the payroll tax — the main tax paid by most workers — has gone up.   According to new estimates by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, one-fourth of those with incomes of more than $1 million a year pay income and payroll tax of 12.6 percent of their income or less, putting their tax burden below that of many in the middle class.  [Full OpEd: The New York Times]

In Kevin C. Peterson's letter to Governor Patrick, Mr. Peterson makes an appeal to end the practice of packing and cracking, which suppresses the political expression of racial minorities.  Now is the time, before the redistricting plan is finalized, to be intentional and just in incorporating legislation that engages all people in the political process.

...the Commonwealth must employ a moral logic of redistricting that seeks to achieve the broadest range of civic opportunities in the state; it must commit to an effort of civic realignment that takes seriously the goal of individual freedom and equality, especially for groups that have been the most adversely impacted during past redistricting cycles. [Full Article: CommonWealth Magazine]

When faced with a potential $3 billion deficit in fiscal year 2003, the Massachusetts legislature took a balanced approach including approving a revenue package worth $1.1 billion.   Our current Senator Brown doesn't recall this bit of history, but we're hoping he takes this correct Mass model to Washington, DC for a balanced approach to addressing federal deficit.  Now, if only we could replicate this model for the Mass budget for fiscal year 2013.

“Every time we ran into a bump, no matter whether the year was ’01, ’02, ’03, or ’04, it was a combination of stuff,’’ recalls former House Speaker Tom Finneran, a fiscal conservative. “We would draw down the rainy day fund, we would do cuts, and we did revenue.’’  [Full Op-Ed: The Boston Globe]

Stephanie Pollack, Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, Northeastern University, and Richard A. Dimino, A Better City, want to set the record straight about the current gas tax MA levies - .21 cents/gal - and the last time MA increased the gas tax - 1991 - and that the MA gas tax is NOT higher than the National Average - it is lower.  Once the facts are on the table, then the serious discussions can commence.

We do not endorse the gasoline tax or any particular revenue option at this time but we do believe that the time is long since past for a serious policy conversation on how Massachusetts can find the revenue needed to invest in our aging transportation infrastructure.   [Full Letter: Northeastern University]