In The News: Economy

"In an economic recovery, 100,000 jobs was a modest goal," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonpartisan research group in Boston. "In a recession, it's an impossibility."

"We can afford the tax credits because it is critical that we build this sector," said Mike Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "We can't mortgage our future."

"It just doesn't pass the straight-face test," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "Obviously, they shouldn't be paying any time. But it's particularly egregious given incredible fiscal pressures the state's facing and cities and towns are facing."

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the law could spur pockets of economic gain around the state - no city or town can receive more than two projects with I-Cubed funding - but would not be a panacea for the wobbly economy.

Critics of the proposal say passage would be a major blow. "It would be an absolute disaster for the state," says Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a Boston public-policy research group funded primarily by employers. If adopted, "this extreme measure would throw the finances of state and local governments into chaos and inevitably lead to major increases in property and sales taxes," Mr. Widmer says.

These casino developers will find it virtually impossible to get funding for their projects ... now that they're entertainment complexes, turns out they're not recession proof.  The gaming industry is going through a very difficult period with major declines in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.  The Spectrum Gaming study concluded that the gross gaming revenues were at the lower end of what the Governor put forward...

"It's important for everyone to be upfront that there's not likely to be any funding for these initiatives anytime soon," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

"All the recommendations really come down to same thing, which is to say the state needs to find money as part of its regular budget to begin to pay off this obligation, to the tune of several hundred million dollars a year," said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed budget research group. "It sets the broad parameters, but it doesn't really provide an answer, and all the hard work remains - namely what are we going to cut to fit this into the state budget, because there's no new revenue source."

"There's no money to pay for this enhanced benefit, regardless of the merits," Michael Widmer of the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation told the Globe. "It's the height of irresponsibility."

But business advocates such as Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, were troubled by the impact that the legislative decisions could have on the broader economy. "There were many more setbacks for businesses than gains," Widmer says. "From an economic point of view, I would rank the session very poorly."