Massachusetts Priorities

Massachusetts, like many other states is feeling this recession. It doesn't seem like that matters much to some of our legislators, they have bigger problems to worry about like picking our official state sandwich.

The Fluffernutter, a gooey combination of peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff that has given countless children a sugar rush, is again being proposed as the state sandwich.

Shame-full story.

It's amazing that this is the state of the original Boston Tea Party.

Maybe when we're done talking about state sandwiches we can start talking about health care or the economy again. I think it's a little more important than establishing a state sandwich don't you?

Let's use Mass as an example for health care, it's making the recession worse here.

"some legislators believe the current law is unrealistic given current economic conditions and should be waived for the newly unemployed, but Democratic Governor Deval Patrick vows to continue the program and cut other spending to balance the budget instead."

Mass care increasing recession.

Now, some news on economics. A few months ago I attended a town hall meeting with Deval Patrick, I've posted about it previously. While he didn't pick me for a question at the event I did get to submit a Youtube question with one of his staffers after the event.

The question was never posted or answered, (no surprise there), even though I was assured when I called constituent services that even if it wasn't posted I'd at least get a phone call or e-mail answer. It's been 3 months and I'm still waiting.

First, read this.

Ok, now it's almost laughable that the title of that story was, "Tracking the recession: Stimulus helps revive summer youth jobs programs." However, the last line of the story was, "Don’t expect any growth in teen jobs until 2012."

So let me get this straight...stimulus is reviving summer job programs with no growth in summer jobs!! Was this story written by Joe Biden!!!

There's another point to this story though that ties directly into my question for Deval. All of the so called jobs being talked about by most stimulus supporters are funded with stimulus dollars, like the story you just read. What happens when the stimulus money runs out?

The way I put it to Deval in a question you'll never see him answer was something like this, I don't remember my exact words but I'll be pretty close here.

When you came out tonight Deval you started by talking about jobs being created here in MA. They were all stimulus jobs created with stimulus dollars. When the stimulus money runs out you'll be right back where we started, needing more stimulus dollars to keep funding those jobs.

I'd like to know how you plan to create long-term jobs in the private sector? It was JFK who said you decrease revenue when you increase taxes because you kill jobs.

I used JFK because I knew it would be harder for Deval to criticize a Democrat than a Republican like Reagan and Coolidge. For the record here's the JFK quote I was referring to. I doubt Deval knows it:

"Our true choice is not between tax reduction, on the one hand, and the avoidance of large federal deficits on the other. It is between two kinds of deficits, a chronic deficit of inertia, as the unwanted result of inadequate revenues and a restricted economy, or a temporary deficit of transition, resulting from a tax cut designed to boost the economy, produce revenues, and achieve a future budget surplus. The first type of deficit is a sign of waste and weakness, the second reflects an investment in the future"

The economy here on a state level is much the same as the national level. Rising unemployment, decreasing revenue, tons of wasted money, and absolutely no quality leadership.

It's not all bad though. At least we may soon have an official state sandwich, the Fluffernutter. WOO HOO!!

Thanks for reading.