Question 1 in Massachusetts

I was saddened by question one in MA not passing recently. I was considering working down there if it had passed. Can anyone on here breakdown the budget in mass and tell me why the state tax is needed so much? Why are people fleeing to NH? When I first drove through MA on the Pike over 5 years ago I was expecting to see less slums. I was literally blown away driving through cities like Lowell, Haverhill, Fitchburg, Lawrence etc. Why are many of these towns broke? Hearing about wasteful spending on WTKK explains a lot of it. Simple government money mismanagement. How can people support this? What benefits do you receive from this? My lady friend lost her state income tax return due to the fact that she did not have health insurance. She only made 13000 and the state did hesitate to penalize her and provide her with no coverage. While on the other hand I know a Young Woman who does not work, gets health care for almost free, does not contribute any state tax, is perfectly capable of holding a job however states that she was abused as a child and cannot work, and yet gets free surgery(basically liposuction) for an alleged back problem. If you saw this lady ride a horse or run around you would know that the back problem is not that serious and nothing that proper diet and exercise would cure. This is just a peep into how certain people work the system and do not contribute a dime and basically live a parasitic existence where other people slave away every week and get NO benefits even though they pay into it.

I think the reason why Mass has so many dumpy cities and towns is because its a beacon for people who want to benifit from social programs. We can't have those without lots of taxes now can we? There are also many of illegal alliens here as well, Many of which dont pay taxes because they work under the table. This is because there are lots of bleeding heart liberals who support it. It makes them feel all warm and fuzzy. Believe me I'm not one of them! The state police are not allowed to look for illegals and they are discouraged to do anything with them even if they had them in custody. Only if they are a violent offender would they do anything about it.
Our Governer Deval Patrick offered hope and change and a catchy phrase (together we can). Dear GOD does that sound familiar? Well....we got change alright, highest gas tax in the country plus they are going up on the tolls to boot! Oh yeah, get this. They are looking at putting a chip in your inspection sticker and charging by the frigging mile!!!!

Like they say on WTKK there are more people ON the cart than are pulling it. At what point does Atlas shrug his shoulders?
Besides that, I dont have any strong feelings about the matter.

I am spoiled in NH, no sales tax, no state income tax, no insurance, no seatbelt, no helmet, no title for older vehicles. If you rent in NH and work here the only taxes you really pay are tolls(if you go to concord, nashua, or Dover) gas tax, and meal tax if you eat out. The main thing that NH lacks that I have noticed is large, easy to read street signs, they are hard to read further away but I think a meager increase in gas tax would cover that. I just don't see how the average working person in mass would not vote for it unless they are just that much of a minority, especially if you do not own a home. An average person making minimum wage would benefit immensely. I wouldn't be surprised if some of that state income tax money was used for propaganda to vote against question 1, that would be a waste in itself. It would be tragic if the majority of people did not produce taxes or worked for the state and voted for welfare benefits or more state jobs. My opinion is completely biased having lived in 2 states with no state income tax. Furthermore since it was not repealed I believe that people who pay state income tax should have complete access to health care, and higher education if they cannot afford it otherwise. It's your money, use it when you need it.

Well, In the defence of Massachusetts, New Hampshire isn't exactly a bargain when it comes to paying taxes. We pay an income tax and a property tax, New Hampshire just pays a property tax but, when you take a look at the dollar amount it is pretty much a wash. So beware all you folks that want to flee to NH. it's not any cheaper.

Now having said all that, I couldn't agree more with everything else said in the other two posts. Where in this country is it any better?

Well, I hate to be pessimistic but I have to put this link out to show some number facts:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/10/23/a_state_of_decline/
I feel for any tax payers in mass who blindly pay excess taxes and think it's patriotic or don't care. I believe elderly people should be better taken care of than they are however there is too much dead weight being carried which with the current economic state magnified by the good ol' media the morale of the downtrodden will be difficult to bring up without some kind of government cheese.

When I graduated from college in the mid 60's and was being wooed by the Massachusett tech companies I was stunned by the local housing prices. I remember being shown new homes with unfinished second floors as an attempt to make them more affordable. I guess the plan was for "Yankee ingenuity" to finish the home. Largely because of the high cost I chose Maryland as my new state.

Yanche wrote:I chose Maryland as my new state.

Good choice Yanche, I spent two years in Maryland in the 60's. Nice state...almost stayed.