Friday, March 02, 2007
The Duct Tape Budget
Reader No. 1 wrote in yesterday: "Are you on vacation? You're missing all the budget fun (not)." My answer: I was sick and could barely work, let alone blog early in the morning. Re the 'fun (not)' part, I'd say I agree, unless you count viewing partisan cheerleading competitions as a form of fun. I don't. ...
As for the budget, well, eh. What can I say? It wasn't bold (no major reforms that would fundamentally change state government, though I did like Deval going after earmarks). It had a sense of realism (some actual proposed budget cuts to deal with a deficit primarily caused by overspending). But it also had a sense of the cheap (going after corporations is NOT bold). I was going to give it high grades for relative transparency, until I read this. Etc., etc. ... All in all, it's just a budget. An average, ordinary, whatever-you-want-to-call-it budget. Perhaps no Band-Aids were used. But a lot of duct-tape was involved, as is typical in these matters. I wasn't awed. I wasn't impressed. ... The disappointing part of the budget is the corporate taxes. Not because they're now too low or soon to be too high. That subject is more complex than either side cares to admit. It's more because the demonization of corporations has begun. Case in point: "Take that, you cheap corporate types who already pay low taxes and would sooner take money out of the pockets of disabled children's parents than suffer even a modest hit to your own bottom line!" Those aren't Deval's words. But they obviously reflect how quickly some of his key moonbat supporters will go to whip people into an anti-corporate frenzy. ... At least Deval had the courage and decency to talk to business leaders the next day. Deval also is acting quickly to promote pro-business zoning and environmental initiatives. My hunch is he's doing this precisely because he knows, as he has noted, that private companies ultimately produce the jobs and tax revenues that allow state government to, well, help disabled children's parents and others. ... One last lingering thought: If Deval had to raise corporate taxes by $500 million to deal with a $1.3 billion deficit caused by overspending, think what he will do when/if there's a $2 billion or even $3 billion deficit caused by a recession. That's the unsettling part. ...
Reader No. 1 wrote in yesterday: "Are you on vacation? You're missing all the budget fun (not)." My answer: I was sick and could barely work, let alone blog early in the morning. Re the 'fun (not)' part, I'd say I agree, unless you count viewing partisan cheerleading competitions as a form of fun. I don't. ...
As for the budget, well, eh. What can I say? It wasn't bold (no major reforms that would fundamentally change state government, though I did like Deval going after earmarks). It had a sense of realism (some actual proposed budget cuts to deal with a deficit primarily caused by overspending). But it also had a sense of the cheap (going after corporations is NOT bold). I was going to give it high grades for relative transparency, until I read this. Etc., etc. ... All in all, it's just a budget. An average, ordinary, whatever-you-want-to-call-it budget. Perhaps no Band-Aids were used. But a lot of duct-tape was involved, as is typical in these matters. I wasn't awed. I wasn't impressed. ... The disappointing part of the budget is the corporate taxes. Not because they're now too low or soon to be too high. That subject is more complex than either side cares to admit. It's more because the demonization of corporations has begun. Case in point: "Take that, you cheap corporate types who already pay low taxes and would sooner take money out of the pockets of disabled children's parents than suffer even a modest hit to your own bottom line!" Those aren't Deval's words. But they obviously reflect how quickly some of his key moonbat supporters will go to whip people into an anti-corporate frenzy. ... At least Deval had the courage and decency to talk to business leaders the next day. Deval also is acting quickly to promote pro-business zoning and environmental initiatives. My hunch is he's doing this precisely because he knows, as he has noted, that private companies ultimately produce the jobs and tax revenues that allow state government to, well, help disabled children's parents and others. ... One last lingering thought: If Deval had to raise corporate taxes by $500 million to deal with a $1.3 billion deficit caused by overspending, think what he will do when/if there's a $2 billion or even $3 billion deficit caused by a recession. That's the unsettling part. ...
