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"This puts the pressure on the Legislature, because if you don't get the new savings and the new revenues, you'll have to cut more deeply than the governor has in this budget," said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Springfield has $761.6 million in the unfunded liabilities, which translates to more than $12,000 in unfunded liabilities per single-family home; Holyoke would be on the hook for $300 million, which translates to a liability of more than $18,000 per single-family home. And eight other cities in the commonwealth are in similar straits. “It’s a classic problem of the public sector,” said Michael J. Widmer, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation president, “You vote for all these benefits knowing what the cost will be in the future. But of course, you’re not going to be in office by then.”

“It sounds awfully high. It sounds like a fairly well-paying position,” said Andrew Bagley of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “If there’s been no change, that’s a problem. If the governor has called them out, saying this is something you need to balance better and they haven’t, then that’s something that needs a closer look.”

RomneyCare is also not breaking the bank in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, an independent research group that many call the state’s version of the Congressional Budget Office. “There’s a lot of wild accusations that the law is breaking the bank in Massachusetts, and that is simply not the case,” said Michael Widmer, president of the Foundation.

“I think we will see some meaningful relief,” said Michael Widmer, head of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association. “I’m hopeful that we’ll see some innovation as well. Employers are increasingly beginning to say ‘we need to be a part of the solution,’ and their employees as well.”

We reported on this a number of times in 2008, when Romney’s GOP primary opponents kept bringing it up. It’s true that the independent Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation put the total of increased fees and corporate taxes under Romney at $740 million to $750 million per year.

Mike Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Tax Payers Foundation, recognizes that the current economic climate makes it challenging to address all of the State's needs in the current budget.

But Beacon Hill lawmakers in the past have rejected similar tax proposals from the governor. And Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation questioned whether they would accept them this time around. "Those tax proposals I think are reasonable but nonetheless this is an election year so there’s an open question on whether or not the legislature will approve them," he said. "So this puts the pressure on the Legislature because if you don’t achieve the new revenues then you have to cut more deeply than the governor has in this budget."

Keenan pointed to numerous studies, including a 2009 review of MBTA finances by former John Hancock CEO David D'Allessandro, a 2007 Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission study, and a 2002 Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report entitled "MBTA Capital Spending: Derailed by Expansion," all of which conclude that expansion was not badly needed and the consequences would be severe.

Regarding Santorum’s criticisms of high health care costs and unreasonable waiting times in Massachusetts as a result of the health care plan enacted by Romney, the nonpartisan FactCheck.org has already found those claims shaky at best. Costs for the plan had initially increased more than expected, but have lately come in line with projections by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. PolitiFact has ruled false a super PAC's ad claim that the Romney law sent health costs spiraling.