Bringing Back Taxachusetts
TAGS: Barack Obama, Deval Patrick, Taxachusetts.
The parallels between Deval Patrick’s gubernatorial candidacy and Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy are uncanny. Both are well-spoken minorities who trumpet rhetoric of change and hope. We know that Deval Patrick hasn’t lived up to the expectations of those who voted for him, so this article certainly makes you wonder why Barack Obama would be having his buddy Deval Patrick tagging along on the campaign trail.
Gov. Deval Patrick, who early in the primary season spurned his former mentor Bill Clinton and endorsed Obama for the Democrat nomination, is seeking to raise his national profile on Obama’s coattails in hopes of a prime position in his administration, say Massachusetts Democrat advisers.
[…]Patrick, though, will be front and center with Obama on campaign stops and fundraising events, though the governor’s track record is one that Obama probably wants to run away from.
Patrick has directed a state budget process that is weighed down by deficits and spending, including a gubernatorial office budget that jumped 80% in one year. Aides say the bulk of the increase is for a “volunteer program” that will run out of the governor’s office. Some say it is a fund to pay out to friends and consultant “volunteer” fees that they otherwise would not be able to receive without a lengthy contract-approval process.
Now, Deval Patrick has gone on record saying he plans to serve his full term… Of course, considering his other broken promises, one can’t exactly hold him to his word on staying on as governor, should Barack Obama win the presidency.
But, just as disturbing as the idea of an Obama presidency is the damage Deval Patrick could inflict upon Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, [Deval Patrick] is proposing heavy tax increases on current Massachusetts businesses, while offering tax breaks to attract new businesses to the state. For example: a quarter million in tax breaks for biotech and life sciences companies, which he will announce when he travels out to San Diego in the next couple of weeks. All the while, Massachusetts localities are struggling with budget shortfalls, with no help in sight from the state government.
“We have local citizens time and again voting down budget increases and expanded spending on things like schools and roads, and we have a governor offering tax breaks to companies that will just pour more money into places like Harvard,” says a state party official who has worked hard to oppose Patrick’s budget and profligate spending. “People haven’t thrown around the term Taxachusetts in a few years, but Patrick is doing a pretty job of bringing back the nickname.”
Looks like Deval is going to make a big mess out of Massachusetts, and all the while hoping Obama will win the presidency so he can jump the ship while it sinks.
Together we can regret electing Deval Patrick.
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Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.
[...] Daily Kos wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptLooks like Deval is going to make a big mess out of Massachusetts, and all the while hoping Obama will win the presidency so he can jump the ship while it sinks. Together we can regret electing Deval Patrick. … [...]
[...] Back Taxachusetts Daily Kos wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptLooks like Deval is going to make a [...]