Property taxes are presently relied upon to fund more than for what they were designed to fund. Usually, property taxes are more of a tax burden to lower and middle income residents, contributing thus to the overall unfairness in the tax system. Although the larger issue of tax fairness needs to be addressed by the legislature by finding broader more progressive tax solutions, I wonder if there is an opportunity for towns and cities to make local property taxes more progressive.
Continue reading Progressive Property Taxes – A Candidate’s DiscussionWRKO, “Boston’s talk station”, has decided to hold an unofficial gubernatorial debate with an incomplete set of candidates. They’ve apparently decided to not invite Jill Stein, Green-Rainbow candidate for governor. Considering the fact that she’s recently gotten 8% in a Suffolk University poll, and that I’ve seen comments on Boston.com articles asking if there’s a fourth choice because people are unsatisfied with the three their being presented with, I’m convinced people would be interested in hearing from her. We have to let them know that this is ridiculous, that Jill WILL be on the ballot, and the she deserves a spot at the table to answer questions on the problems affecting Massachusetts.
Here’s how to let Jason Wolfe, the VP of Programming, know that this is unacceptable:
– Call (617) 779-3400
– When prompted, press 2
– When asked for an extension, dial 3541
Write letters to the editor of every newspaper you can think of too! Here are some contact addresses.
Continue reading Tell WRKO we want Jill in their “unofficial gubernatorial debate”!Michael Horan
Never mind my own transparent interest in this year’s state elections–it’s gonna represent a major fix for political junkies everywhere. When the Republican GOP primaries in Utah and Kentucky fascinate, you know it’s gonna be a good one. By November, people may have forgot all about Scott Brown’s win. Great fun if you love this kind of thing. And watching everybody get it wrong makes it that much tastier.
Check out Matt Taibbi in Wednesday’s NYT.
Continue reading Power Up for GrabsWell it’s 21 days into May, and Green Mass Group has been delinquent in getting out a push for our second featured cause for our We, The Media campaign/series. But it’s better late than never, and it’s even better that May’s push is well-timed to support an absolutely critical independent media institution during their membership drive.
Free Speech TV is one of those rare institutions that provides a strong sense of hope that progressives and thoughtful people of all stripes might some day find a way to get their stories out into every corner of the country and beyond:
Continue reading We, The Media II: Free Speech TV!The Pittsfield Municipal Airport is situated within the 4th Berkshire District, where I am a candidate for the November 2, 2010 election for State Representative. The Pittfield City Council is preparing to vote on whether or not to approve an initial $6 million package for the airport improvement and expansion project, $1 million of which will be paid by city taxpayers. Ultimately city taxpayers are projected to pay $3 million of the total costs. An additional $13.4 million total in public funds are part of the investment, with the FAA contributing another $6 million.
The environmental impact of this project would be serious, while the economic development argument has been flimsy, in my opinion.
Continue reading Pittsfield Airport Expansion – Candidate’s StatementWhen I hauled out of Newark (NJ) for the pastures of upstate New York some 25 years ago, intent, for reasons which today I honestly cannot recall, on adding another degree to my vita, I figured I’d stick around just long enough to complete what coursework I needed in advance of my dissertation and then get the hell out. Lovely country, to be sure, but after the thrills of Newark–at that time, car hijackings at high noon on main street was the sport of choice–Binghamton seemed, let’s say, a bit … placid. Tame. OK: downright freakin’ dull.
To my surprise, I stayed on for a decade. Binghamton turned out to be manageable, libertarian (rustic style, and that ain’t a bad thing), maybe even a good place to raise a brood, and not incidentally chock full of lively bars featuring astonishingly cheap beer, wings made the right way, blues bands out of Syracuse, and other stuff you do not need to know about. But the local economy–heavily dependent on IBM and Martin Marietta–took a nosedive when quarterly earnings reports called for one big-ass axe, and when I left Binghamton for Philly,
Continue reading Bringin’ It All Back Home: Relocalize the WarI went walking down by Magazine Beach today
and picked up
a clear plastic cup with clear cover
a black plastic cup cover
a white plastic cup cover
a smaller plastic cup, crushed
a broken white styrofoam “clamshell” container
a brown plastic tray for cookies or something like that
a white plastic spoon, dirty
and an orange straw
BOSTON/State House – Half a dozen top law enforcement officials held a press conference Tuesday expressing wide ranging support for CORI reforms passed by the Senate last November and pending vote in the House.
“Police chiefs don’t sign on to this bill easily, because it appears to be soft on crime,” said Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis. “But it’s anything but soft on crime…It’s smart on crime.”
Continue reading Law Enforcement Joins CORI Reform ConsensusLet me make this perfectly clear: A full scale attack has been launched against public education in America. The so-called education reform bill that was passed in Massachusetts in January – and welcomed with great fanfare by Governor Patrick and Mayor Menino – is part of this attack.
Continue reading Public Education is Under AttackIt’s called Tax Fairness.
State House News reported on May 11, 2010 that Rep. Jay Kaufman, who chairs the Joint Revenue Committee, said he “hoped to pursue comprehensive reform” to the state tax code next session. My election to represent the Fourth Berkshire District will help Rep. Kaufman’s hope to become a reality. Incumbents have been mostly silent – and therefore complicit – on the matter of unfair regressive taxation.
Tax Fairness is another reason for the voters in the Fourth Berkshire District to elect the Green-Rainbow slate of candidates whom they will see on the ballot this November.
Continue reading Tax Fairness – A Candidate’s Statement