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MTF In The News

Patrick looks to end toll-taker jobs

Feb 8 2010

WBZ TV

The president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Michael Widmer calls the potential move a vital step in the state's shortfall on transportation funding.
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Beacon Hill bids to boost business

Feb 8 2010

By Andrea Estes and Michael Levenson, The Boston Globe

Michael Widmer, president of the business-funded Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, praised the new efforts on Beacon Hill. "Massachusetts is legendary for placing obstacles in the way of businesses seeking to preserve jobs, expand, or locate in the state,'' he said. "Streamlining the byzantine process would be a critical step in improving the state's business climate.''
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Deval Patrick puts toll takers on notice

Feb 8 2010

By Hillary Chabot, The Boston Herald

"This is a vital step given the state's enormous shortfall in transportation funding," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, who also served on Patrick's Transportation Finance Committee.
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Despite recessions, public-sector pay rises

Feb 7 2010

By Christopher Scott, The Lowell Sun

Steve Poftak and Andrew Bagley, research directors for the Pioneer Institute and Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, respectively, have followed the escalation of public salaries and agree with Edwards.
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Police exodus stirring concern

Feb 7 2010

By Maria Cramer, The Boston Globe

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the bonus program is not justified in light of the state's fiscal crisis and the societal expectation that officers should have a higher degree than a high school diploma now that departments have become more professionalized.
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Baker left facts behind

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Feb 6 2010

By Adrian Walker, The Boston Globe

Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation is a budget expert, and he was baffled by Baker's claim, too. Noting that Governor Deval Patrick took over in the middle of fiscal 2007, he assessed the financial picture this way: "When you cut through it all, in 2007 we had a balanced budget with no surplus.''
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Our view: Lean times demand fundamental change in way government works

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Feb 5 2010

The Salem News

Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation describes the pace of recovery as still "anemic" here.
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Some Mass. lawmakers pay little or no federal income tax

Feb 5 2010

WCVB TV

``Absolutely the effect of it is double-dipping,'' said Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. ``It's understandable there may be a per diem for travel from western Massachusetts into the State House that the state provides. But then there is this huge benefit that the federal government provides on top of it.''
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Watchdog: Health plan change could cost millions less

Feb 3 2010

By Cate Lecuyer, The Salem News

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said giving local leaders control over the health insurance they offer, or letting them join the state plan, is the key to significant savings as many municipalities face substantial cuts and potential layoffs.
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Budget reflects dire realities, Obama says

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Feb 2 2010

By Susan Milligan and Alan Wirzbicki, The Boston Globe

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said that the state won't be able to rely on one-time federal spending after this year. "As good as this is,'' he said, "it simply delays the day of reckoning.'
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Billerica, Westford tax watchdogs guard the municipal purse strings

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Feb 1 2010

By Billerica, Westford tax watchdogs guard the municipal purse strings, The Lowell Sun

"I think a lot of people have come out of the woodwork with the Tea Party movement," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a Boston-based policy group that monitors grass-roots political campaigns. "Groups like that are diverse and people are joining for many different reasons."
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Law school attack might threaten public college system

Jan 31 2010

By Steve Urbon, South Coast Today

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation in 2004 proposed just such a change to untie the hands of college administrators who each year have to wrestle with all the uncertainties that come with fluctuating state support. MTF President Michael Widmer told The Standard-TImes, "We never addressed the issue of whether it is constitutional.
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Tipping the balance

Jan 31 2010

By Kathy McCabe, The Boston Globe

"It's like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off,'' said Andy Bagley, research director at the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonprofit fiscal watchdog group. "When cities and towns see payments go up 50 percent, when local aid is cut, it's a pretty tough time to find another five, six or seven million dollars.''
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Package store owners hope to toast to alcohol tax repeal

Jan 30 2010

Gate House News Service / Canton Journal

He says voters are clearly more angry now than they were a year ago, and would be more eager to vote for the tax repeal, even though it means giving up nearly $100 million a year in revenue for the state. That's not chump change. But there's another ballot question this year that could punch a much bigger hole in the state budget by shaving the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. Widmer estimates that could cost as much as $2.5 billion a year, or nearly 10 percent of the entire state budget.
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Editorial: To stabilize state finances, cut costs at local level

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Jan 29 2010

The Boston Globe

So far, only a handful of communities have made the change. But the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and the Boston Municipal Research bureau credibly estimated in 2007 that moving all communities into the commission would save more than $200 million in fiscal year 2011 alone.
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Pension reform plan lauded

Jan 29 2010

By Jim Hand, The Sun Chronicle

"I think it's a very thoughtful and comprehensive package," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation. Widmer said the second round of reforms are actually more important and would result in more savings than the first.
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Gov. Patrick’s $28B budget slashes services, taxes sweets

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Jan 28 2010

By Hillary Chabot, The Boston Herald

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the budget is savvy because it doesn't touch local aid in what looks to be a competitive election year. Cities and towns depend on the $5.2 billion in local aid, which funds everything from schools to city government.
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Patrick unveils $28.2B budget proposal

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Jan 28 2010

South Coast Today / AP

Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the biggest unknown in Patrick's budget is the reliance on $600 million in federal aid that Congress has yet to approve. Patrick said he's confident the money will be there, but Widmer said if the extra money isn't approved, more cuts will be needed.
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Patrick Budget Relies Heavily On Uncertain Federal Funding

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Jan 28 2010

By Steve Brown, WBUR

"If we don't get that second round of money it would be a $600 million hole," Widmer said. "Then we clearly have to have major cuts in local aid and other parts of the budget. That additional money is what allows this budget to minimize the cuts that all of us expected would take place."
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Gov. proposes spending hike

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Jan 28 2010

By John J. Monahan, The Worcester Telegram

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said that federal funding will be the key to the governor's plan to level-fund local aid. Without that additional $600 million in federal aid to the state, he said, "There is absolutely no way," aid to cities and towns could be maintained at current levels.
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Lucrative perk remains for those fired from state jobs

Jan 26 2010

By Michael Jonas, Patriot Ledger / CommonWealth Magazine

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, calls the termination provisions "a total giveaway" and says last year's reform bill failed to get the job done. "All the publicity was focused on the legislative abuses, but the most extensive abuse has been in the executive branch," he said. "The larger problem was totally ignored."
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Speaker betting casinos would swell state coffers

Jan 22 2010

By Ethan Forman, The Salem News

"Right now we are in an unprecedented fiscal position. As a matter of fact, Michael Widmer (director) of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation reported that state revenues for fiscal year 2010, will be $18 billion, a drop-off of $3.8 billion from 2008. Year to date ... this is the biggest two-year decline since World War II ..."
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Marquis touts achievements, looks to future

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Jan 22 2010

By Ethan Forman, The Salem News

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation predicts there is a $3 billion "structural deficiency in this year's state budget," he said.
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Massachusetts Governor Patrick Vows Jobs Amid Republican Gains

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Jan 22 2010

By Michael McDonald, Bloomberg News

Lawmakers face a state budget gap of more than $2 billion in the fiscal year starting July 1 as federal recovery aid runs out, according to Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a Boston-based policy group.
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Editorial: As election looms, Patrick must double down on reform

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Jan 21 2010

The Boston Globe

Meanwhile, valuable discretionary initiatives are suffering; outlays for higher ed, local government, and economic development shrank from $3 billion in 2001 to $2.4 billion in 2010, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. In contrast, health and pension benefits for state employees and retirees grew by $1.1 billion.
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Coakley, Brown face off at the polls on Tuesday

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Jan 18 2010

By Keith Ferguson, Walpole Times

Coakley, however, recently took a shot at Brown for backing a fiscal year 2004 state budget that contained over $390 million in fee increases likened to tax hikes by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
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I-Team: Lawmakers Getting Paid Something Extra

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Jan 18 2010

By Joe Shortsleeve, WBZ TV

Mike Widmer of the Massachusetts Tax Payers Association says he never knew about it. "I was surprised, I usually know about these things. I was taken back that there was $7,200 in compensation that was out of the public lime light."
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Property Taxes Clobber Hurting Homeowners

Jan 15 2010

By Steve Cook, UPI.com

Massachusetts homeowners saw property taxes rise an average of 5.1 percent statewide in 2009 after a 4.8 percent hike in 2008. Now, 276 of the state's 351 municipalities can't raise taxes any higher without getting local voter approval, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
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Next decade holds the promise of change, the peril of avoiding it

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Jan 10 2010

By Steve Urbon, South Coast Today

Michael Widmer, director of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, doesn't see Massachusetts going back to the way it once did business when the recession eases.
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Massachusetts tax collections for December $194 million higher than projections

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Jan 7 2010

By Dan Ring, The Republican

Andrew C. Bagley, director of research for the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation in Boston, agreed, saying the December tax collections are definitely a good economic sign. "We may have bottomed out and started to climb out of an incredibly deep fiscal hole," Bagley said.
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Massachusetts weathered fiscal storm better than most, more pain ahead

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Jan 1 2010

By Nancy Reardon, Medfield Press / GateHouse News Service

Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, has been a vocal critic of choosing what he calls short-term fixes over long-term plans. "You take advantage of the opportunity in a fiscal crisis to make changes that will help over the long term," he said.
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Business can’t win on taxes

Jan 1 2010

By Jay Fitzgerald, The Boston Herald

"The (corporate tax cut) is sort of a Band-Aid on a gaping wound," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
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Economists hopeful, but wary on Mass. economy

Dec 31 2009

By Bob Salsberg, The Daily Comet / AP

"We're in for a very tough fiscal 2011 (starting July 1) and I think that's going to lead to major layoffs in cities and towns around the state," said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
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Massachusetts has weathered fiscal storm better than most, but more pain ahead

Dec 30 2009

By Nancy Reardon, Taunton Gazette / GateHouse News Service

Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, has been a vocal critic of choosing what he calls short-term fixes over long-term plans. "You take advantage of the opportunity in a fiscal crisis to make changes that will help over the long term," he said.
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Tough times loom ahead

Dec 28 2009

By Derek Gentile, The Berkshire Eagle

Although the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a non-profit, independent financial assessment organization, projects a slight uptick in state revenues in the upcoming fiscal year, state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli said Sunday that rising energy and infrastructure costs within the state will negate any gains.
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Nation following state's lead with mandates

Dec 26 2009

By Sopan Deb, The Sun Chronicle

"Romney might've said it, but that doesn't mean anyone else thought it," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It's not reasonable to ever have assumed that the legislation would reduce costs. It was about greater access. It was widely understood at the time that this was chapter one. In chapter two, we would have to address costs"
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Our view: Municipalities facing pension tsunami

Dec 21 2009

The Salem News

"It's just not responsible to kick it another 10 years out so we have another generation of taxpayers paying the burden," Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, told a reporter recently.
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State revenue projected to improve

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Dec 17 2009

By John J. Monahan, The Worcester Telegram

Michael J. Widmer, executive director of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association, a Boston-based business group, said that starting in January employers will see an increase of 30 to 40 percent in their unemployment insurance taxes, which are already among the highest rates in the country.
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Revenue growth, spending cuts eyed for FY11

Dec 17 2009

By Jim O’Sullivan and Gintautas Dumcius, Arlington Advocate / State House News Service

Widmer said the state could face further fiscal 2010 gaps of up to $500 million, even after a round of October budget remedies, largely cuts, totaling $484 million, along with a structural deficit next year that even with anticipated tax collection gains could hit $3 billion.
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State tax revenue on the rebound, officials now say

Dec 17 2009

By Matt Viser, The Boston Globe

"I do feel that we have reached, or are close to reaching, the bottom,'' said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It's been a long slide, to say the least.''
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2011 state deficit pegged at $3 billion

Dec 17 2009

By Nancy Reardon, The Enterprise

"We're facing a very difficult fiscal 2011 that will probably require cuts to the magnitude of 2010," said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
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Mass. Taxpayers Foundation sees 3.7 percent revenue growth in FY11

Dec 16 2009

Arlington Advocate / State House News Service

State tax collections will remain flat this fiscal year but grow at a 3.7 percent clip in fiscal 2011, according to Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimates. "We see the beginning of an economic recovery but it will be slow and employment growth in fiscal 2011 will be minimal," foundation president Michael Widmer told the News Service Tuesday afternoon.
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Business group predicts state tax receipts will start to go up next year

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Dec 16 2009

The Enterprise / State House News Service

BOSTON - State tax collections will remain flat this fiscal year but grow at a 3.7 percent clip in the fiscal year that begins next July, according to Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimates. "We see the beginning of an economic recovery but it will be slow and employment growth in fiscal 2011 will be minimal," foundation president Michael Widmer said.
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Editorial: Get public employee pensions under control

Dec 16 2009

The Eagle Tribune

"It's just not responsible to kick it another 10 years out so we have another generation of taxpayers paying the burden," Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, told Huggins.
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Mass. Taxpayers Association director Michael Widmer criticizes Patrick administration for hiring 1,300 new workers during budget

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Dec 15 2009

The Republican / AP

Michael J. Widmer, executive director of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association, told the Boston Herald there needs to be better scrutiny of new state hires during a financial crisis.
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Editorial: Budget woes mounting

Dec 15 2009

The Boston Herald

But the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimates that the combination of executive branch and legislative action actually only solved about $450 million of the shortfall - which is broader than anyone wants to admit. And no one seems to want to take the even more difficult steps to close it.
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