One of my favorite parts of each newsletter is a survey where I ask people a poll question about current issues.
This month’s poll question is, “Do you feel Beacon Hill is doing enough to address the state’s fiscal crisis?”
So far, all but one of the people who have responded have answered, “no.” But, many people have included interesting comments along with their replies, and I wanted to share some of them with you.
Many people have complained about wasteful spending on Beacon Hill, and there were lots of ideas for how to deal with it. One of my favorites was a suggestion that we implement a state program similar to one on the federal level that would reward state employees for identifying wasteful spending and saving taxpayers money.
A number of respondents voiced dissatisfaction with Beacon Hill being out-of-touch. One person said, “In business, we’re forced to place people on leave to meet our fixed obligations. Yet, there is little action on the state or local level to face up to the reality of these dire economic circumstances except to suggest ways to increase taxes.” Another summed it all up by saying, “Just as all Americans are being forced to cut spending, so should the state.”
And many people seem to think that Beacon Hill is not serving the best interests of the people. Said one person, “The Legislature has been wringing their hands and doing business as usual, ie. continuing to pass new bills and mandates without having the decency to review past practices and relieve towns and cities of the burden of the many unfunded mandates.”
Some people complained that taxes are too high. One person disagreed and said we should increase the state income tax. Several people suggested that we allow casinos as a way to increase revenue. Others said that casinos could end up actually costing our state money. And, some people said it’s important to encourage more businesses to come to Massachusetts in order to turn around our economy.
Some of the more specific ideas people suggested include the following:
- Set state building thermostats at 68 degrees and turn off lights at the end of each business day.
- Eliminate personal cars for state employees.
- Combine offices to decrease energy use.
- Verify health care eligibility for workers as in private industry.
And, then, there’s my personal favorite response:
When asked, “Do you feel Beacon Hill is doing enough to address the state’s fiscal crisis,” one person replied simply, “Hell no.”
Care to get in on the discussion? It’s easy. Please feel free to post your comment below.
