I'm frustrated by the way the Legislature keeps missing an opportunity -- not to mention avoiding a responsibility -- to address policies that make a difference in the lives of everyday people across Massachusetts. Now, any hope of reversing this trend will have to wait until at least January because, under legislative rules, the time for formal consideration of controversial bills this year has expired.
By the end of last night's debate, major pieces of legislation remained unfinished, including a bill to help balance our budget for the rest of this year and a measure to lift a cap on charter schools and let Massachusetts tap into federal "Race to the Top" incentive dollars. You can read more about the specific back-and-forth process on the last day of debate in this article in today's Boston Globe.
But if you want to really get a feeling for why this process is a problem, I'd encourage you to read a column by Michael Graham in the Boston Herald today. Graham makes the point that state government has been focusing way too much on the wrong priorities and that it hasn't been paying enough attention to the right ones.
For example, Graham says that the Legislature has been focused on a new proposal to give preferred parking to environmentally-friendly vehicles and on giving in-state tuition and drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, instead of finding ways to make it easier for everyday people to earn a living in Massachusetts. As Graham puts it, "Advocating driver’s licenses and taxpayer-subsidized college tuition for illegal immigrants would be a lousy deal for working Bay Staters any time. But it’s almost a form of political abuse for Patrick to do it at a time when our unemployment is almost 10 percent, manufacturing jobs are fleeing the state and he’s already hit blue-collar families with $1 billion in higher sales and other taxes."
Graham is right. There are lots of things that our state should be doing to attract jobs here, to make our streets safer, to reform state government and to help struggling cities and towns. Instead, the Legislature keeps raising revenue to cover wasteful spending while at the same time passing bills that aren't priorities and reducing state services that people depend on. This trend must be reversed.
As we look ahead to 2010 and a new legislative session on Beacon Hill, there are lots of specific things I'd like the House and Senate to consider. But most of all, I hope the Legislature starts getting its priorities back in line and that it starts focusing on what really matters to people across the state.
What do you think? Are you disappointed by Beacon Hill's lack of progress this year? Please let me know by posting a comment.
