revenue reform

The debate about the transparency of the legislative process on Beacon Hill continues.  Lack of transparency was noted during this past year while the budget was being debated behind closed doors.  Our legislators said this process was necessary for the Senate and House to decide on a compromise bill.  Did the public really have a choice?  What about other major decisions?  What about public hearings, when the public testifies on the issues before the committee members...who aren't present (many times waiting 3-5 hours to speak in front of 2-3 committee members of perhaps a total of 14-17)? 

A survey by the Boston University State House program of 19 major legislative committees that shape and move legislation found this process increasingly takes place outside the public view.  [The Milford Daily News]

Among the findings:

• The staff for 15 of the committees polled said some voting is done through emails rather than in open executive sessions. The staff of 10 committees said the votes were not available to the public. State law requires that roll-call votes in executive sessions be recorded and made public. But committee rules do not address email voting.

• Minutes and other details of committee meetings were not available from 18 of the committees, according to their staff. State law does not require such documentation of legislative committees, although it is required by other Massachusetts commissions and boards.

• Among the lack of documentation are records of attendance by committee members. Observers say fewer committee members now show up for public hearings as the work of the committees takes place through phone discussion or email polls.

And here's more about legislative debate, in general: ...neutral observers such as [Michael] Widmer note a trend toward more control emanating from the offices of the House speaker and Senate president.

“I wouldn’t say that this session has had less debate than recent years, but part of the trend towards more power in the leadership has been less floor debate, particularly in the House,” said Widmer. “A lot of the debates are taking place in the legislative caucuses behind closed doors.”

The Commonwealth may perhaps do legislation better than some states, but we can clearly be more transparent and accountable to the public than we are currently.

Its time for a paradigm shift in the economic, fiscal and tax policies of our country.  We can't cut our way out of the Recession...austerity didn't work for the English the first time and it's not working for them now nor with the countries in fiscal crises in the Euro Zone.  Will the Administration and our legislators have the courage and political will to face down the corporations and the wealthy to help the low income and middle class survive and thrive, to the benefit of the entire country?  Let's hope so.  Let's continue with our advocacy efforts to make this a reality.

As stated in The New York Times editorial, The challenge for Mr. Obama is to translate the plight of the middle class into an agenda for broad prosperity. Congress’s inability to cleanly extend even emergency measures though 2012 — including the temporary payroll tax cut and federal unemployment benefits — underscores the difficulty. The alternative is continued decline.

More jobs. Fewer foreclosures. Less financial risk. Progressive taxation. Those policies will give the middle class a fighting chance. But the list is not exhaustive. The pillars of a healthy middle class also include public education, Social Security, unions, child care, affirmative action and, not least, campaign finance reform, since inequality is reinforced by the political power of the wealthy.

Here's a picture of the diversity at Occupy Boston:

Half of the Occupy Boston protesters surveyed said they are unemployed, and two-thirds of the jobless said they have not had work for more than one year. Several said they were underemployed, or working several jobs.

Three out of every four surveyed were men. Slightly more than half of those surveyed said they were from outside of Boston. While half of the protesters said they are younger than 30, the age range of people interviewed Monday varied from 18 to 81.

Despite the diversity in the population, the general message is shared...economic inequality in the lives of our people and the country is unacceptable.  The Boston Globe

Have you wondered what some of the items in the state budget your tax dollars pay for?  Look down at the sidewalks and the roads...look up at the traffic lights and traffic signs...read this article and you'll learn more about the outstanding maintenance bill for our public transportation system that has been neglected but can no longer be ignored for public safety reasons.

The closings [of the Red Line] are needed to allow T crews to make $80 million in repairs designed to keep trains from derailing.  [Full Article: The Boston Globe]

There's somethin' happening here.  What it is ain't exactly clear.... But I'm glad that folks are waking up to and speaking out against the economic injustice in this country.

Protests showcasing anger with Wall Street and wealthy interests began weeks ago with the original Occupy Wall Street protest, and have since spread to cities around the country, including Boston and Hartford. Over the weekend, they spread to cities outside the United States.  [Full Article and Video: 22 News]

Judy Meredith and Lew Finfer are pooling their collective organizing, advocacy, and leadership experiences to form the Massachusetts Policy and Organizing Leadership Training Academy.  There's a wealth of knowledge to pass on to the next group of organizers and advocates and the current group of aspiring leaders.

State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry said the pair’s new focus on educating future activists comes at a critical time as non-profits struggle through a sluggish economy and new ethics reforms which she said has left many organizations scrambling to adjust...“I think it’s great what they’re doing,” Forry said. “There are a lot of non-profits that feel they don’t have the skills to address legislators. They find themselves paying out for a lobbyist when they could be doing much of the work themselves.”  [Full Article: Dorchester Reporter]

Civic engagement is definitely needed to get Congress back on track.  As Abraham Lincoln said...It's government of the people, by the people, and for the people... Therefore, it is not for some small group of ideologues to govern and control the purse strings...

A political battle ... is threatening to slow money to the government’s main disaster aid account, which is so low that new rebuilding projects have been put on hold to help victims of Hurricane Irene and future disasters.  [Full Article:  The Boston Globe]

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]