Oct 19, 2008 3:15 pm US/Eastern
MA Budget Crunch Is Backdrop To Income Tax Vote
BOSTON (AP) ―
Midway through a press conference outlining his response to a $1.4 billion hole in the state budget, Gov. Deval Patrick paused, lowered his voice and spoke directly to the television cameras.
"I know you are anxious. There is real cause for concern, but not for panic," Patrick said Wednesday. "I intend to stick with you and I ask you to stick with each other."
The appeal for calm was meant to highlight the seriousness of the swiftly escalating fiscal crunch. For supporters and foes of Question One, the ballot measure that would eliminate Massachusetts' income tax, Patrick's announcement could also turn out to be a fiscal "October surprise" -- a last-minute game-changing event just weeks before voters take to the polls.
What isn't clear is whether Patrick's plan to cut more than a billion from the budget, institute spending controls and eliminate 1,000 state jobs will spook voters into killing the question -- or persuade them that even more cuts are needed.
Poll: Opposition To Question 1 Growing"Most of us aren't panicking or if we are, we've already gotten it out of our system and we don't have anywhere else to go," said Barbara Anderson of the anti-tax group Citizens for Limited Taxation and a supporter of Question One. "People may be in the mood to throw up their hands and say the government is the problem and I'm holding onto my money."
Question One, the most closely watched of three ballot initiatives to be decided by Massachusetts voters on Nov. 4, would eliminate the 5.3 percent state income tax over two years.
Supporters say it will force lawmakers to shrink a bloated bureaucracy while putting an average $3,600 back in the pockets of taxpayers.
Opponents say the question would cripple key services by doing away with 40 percent of state revenues. That would force cuts in local aid to cities and towns, which in turn would drive up property taxes.
The cuts announced by Patrick -- which he warned would result in fewer community policing patrols, longer waits at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and less frequent cleanings of parks -- would seem like the good old days in comparison, they warned.
Patrick, a vocal critic of Question One, refused to speculate whether the budget cuts and lost jobs would sway voters in either direction come Election Day. He said his plan was driven by the fiscal realities of a sudden drop in tax revenues.
"I can manage more than one thing at a time, but I can't manage the folks who say on the one hand the sky is falling why aren't you moving faster, and the others who say this is all about optics," Patrick said.
Not everyone is convinced the cuts are a big deal.
Carla Howell, leader of the Committee for Small Government, the group pushing the question, said Patrick is exaggerating the effect of the cuts.
Patrick and other opponents of the question, including teachers unions which have pumped more than a million dollars into the campaign to defeat the measure, are trying to manipulate voters, Howell said.
"If they're paying attention to state government they will see that this is a sham," Howell said, describing as "trivial" the level of cuts outlined by Patrick. "That's not austerity. That's a slap in the face to taxpayers."
Howell and other Question One supporters are hoping that voters will look at Patrick's plan, decide the sky isn't falling, and go ahead and support the even deeper cuts that passage of the initiative would require.
"Whenever they talk about cuts, they threaten to throw out the baby instead of the dirty bath water," she said.
A recent study by the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation found that most state services and programs would sustain a cut of more than 70 percent if Question One is approved. Those cuts would be felt across the county prison system, the courts, human services, transportation, state parks and environmental programs, the University of Massachusetts and state and community colleges.
The group also said the benefit to taxpayers would be skewed depending on income. While the average savings for those earning more than $100,000 would be $16,295, those earning less than $50,000 (about 65 percent of taxpayers) would receive an average of $850.
Opponents of the question say that while Patrick may be able to limit the effect of budget cuts this time around, he'd have no such ability under the catastrophic effects of Question One.
"The governor made a concerted effort not to touch local aid. That will not be possible when the state is required by law to cut $12 billion," said Steve Crawford, a spokesman for the Coalition for Our Communities, which opposes the question.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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