In The News: FY 2010

Nor is excess spending the real nub of our budgetary troubles. "The fundamental cause of the state's fiscal problems is the collapse of tax revenues,'' notes Michael Widmer, the foundation's president.

But no matter how widely the pain is spread, its impact would be deep, said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-funded watchdog group. "Since most of these programs have already suffered several rounds of cuts, this additional cut will have very serious consequences for human services, public higher education, health care, and a wide range of other programs," Widmer said.

Michael Widmer, executive director of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, hit the nail on the head when he called the unexpected bonus payments "illogical." If the state's fiscal crisis were over, it might make sense to give a year-end reward in recognition of financial sacrifices made, but Massachusetts' monetary woes are far from resolved, Widmer argued. We wholeheartedly agree.

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the new spending is difficult to explain in light of the budget problems, but it is logical. "It's a little bit of moving money around," Widmer said. "That's standard."

"Clearly, MassHealth is a significant share of the shortfall,'' said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "But I don't know what's causing it.''

Massachusetts, which has made a series of painful cuts over the past two years, is gearing up for more. Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, told The Boston Globe: "There's no end to the bad news here. The state fiscal situation is already so dire that any additional bad news is magnified."

"So there's no end to the bad news here,'' Widmer said. "The state fiscal situation is already so dire that any additional bad news is magnified.'' Cuts, he said, will almost certainly be necessary before June, unless tax revenue this month and next exceeds projections, a scenario that he said "may be a long shot.''

"This is a striking amount of money these fees are generating for these clerks," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "They are paid well. This should be part of their responsibilities."

"It's a bit of good news,'' said Michael J. Widmer, president of the business-funded Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, who follows the budget closely. "It doesn't change the fact that we've got two more difficult fiscal years ahead, but additional revenue is certainly good news.''

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."