In The News

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said it was “irresponsible” for the state to budget so little when the 10-year average cost is $50 million.  “It’s a common practice that leaves drivers in the lurch,” Widmer said.

"I think it would be very difficult for the Legislature and the governor, if the voters approved (Question 1) to simply reinstate the income tax," said Michael Widmer, the president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "I just think it would be very difficult politically to do that."

"We've seen a huge increase in capital gains taxes," said Widmer. "That makes us more vulnerable to a decline in the stock market, which obviously we've experienced. The only question is how much will it decline." The foundation claims this year's $28.2 billion budget is about $1 billion out of balance, due in part to underestimated spending levels and overestimated revenues tied to tax increases, and Widmer says a $500 million drop in capital gains tax revenues "would not surprise me."

"This trend is very troubling given the huge economic uncertainties," Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation told the Herald. "This is the time we should at least hold the payroll constant."

But Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says the flurry of new hires is "very troubling" given economic uncertainties.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the state's report to the bond market last week also shows a disturbing work-force hike. "This trend is very troubling given the huge economic uncertainties," said Widmer. "This is the time we should at least hold the payroll constant."

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said it would make sense for Springfield "to take a close look at the use of vehicles and develop a policy that has a public purpose and that separates what is essential use from what's a luxury."

The report gives the state ammunition on both points; employers have enrolled more than 160,000 people for coverage since June 2006 and have spent an additional $1 billion on premiums, according to Michael Widmer, head of the pro-business Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. He contends that the Patrick administration's report "makes a mockery of the state's allegation that employers have not done their fair share." But the state needs more funding to keep the subsidized insurance program going amid a state budget crunch caused by declining tax revenues in a weak 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.

The Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, a fiscal watchdog group, applauded its state Legislature's decision last week to authorize borrowing $16 billion for projects such as courthouses and roads. "This is fiscally responsible spending that helps the economy," President Michael Widmer says.