What specific steps would you take to provide property tax relief to cities and towns? Do cities and towns need new tools to help reduce costs?
Government needs to be more accountable and more creative. We need to stop raising property taxes and think out of the box to increase revenue for our cities and towns. Excise Tax has shrunk because people aren’t buying new cars. Other areas where the city collected revenues are down and they need to think of new ways to bring in revenue. It requires some imagination to take us in a positive direction. This is the fundamental difference I have with Mr. Keenan and his brother-in-law, Mayor Koch.
Public resources like land are valuable assets we should hold onto. When these guys negotiate, they give away the store. We don’t need Thayer Academy to clean up the area around Souther Tide Mill. That is prime, waterfront real estate and the city is intent on giving it away. I would design a space where the city could actually make money. I rode my bike around Hough’s Neck today and wondered if any of the abandoned cottages owed unpaid property taxes. Some bed and breakfasts and a couple of function halls on the water could produce significant revenue for the city and relieve the burden of property taxes.
I would also explore the possibility of getting in the energy business. Some municipalities do this and seem to be in better fiscal shape. Quincy probably could have used stimulus money to buy wind turbines. We could easily produce enough energy to run our city buildings and may be able to sell some.
Health Care – single payer system or not. Your thoughts on how to fix healthcare.
The cost of insuring our families continues to skyrocket.
Being insured no longer means you have adequate health care. High premiums, deductibles, and co-pays have put families in the position of rationing health care and necessary services.
A third of the expense is spent on administrative functions and doesn’t do anything to make our population healthier.
While I support the idea of health care reform, neither state nor federal reform measures have addressed cost increases.
While I don’t want government to become more involved in most private business, there is a fundamental problem with our health care for-PROFIT system.
During the worst economic times since The Great Depression, the top 5 insurers made $12.2 BILLION in profit. Much of that profit came from dropping 2.7 million sick, elderly, or low-income clients. Where possible, these people were shifted to government programs, unfairly shifting the burden to taxpayers so private companies could make more money.
Insurers, drug companies, and hospitals spent billions trying to stop health reform measures. Many think the money spent to fight reform could have provided health care to most of the uninsured.
Do you believe in keeping the requirement that a student must pass the MCAS or an MCAS-like test in order to graduate from high school?
Education begins long before children enter school. Families are the first teachers, and policies that help support early childhood education are critical to later success in learning.
Evaluation is an important element in the continuous improvement of any system. Our K-12 public education system has systemic issues that need to be corrected.
Education is a good investment and a significant expenditure. We owe it to our youth and to taxpayers to ensure that funds are well spent and our children are well educated.
Everyone learns differently, and the practice of teaching to the test has been a fundamental change. Although there may have been some benefits, I’m not convinced our young people are getting a better education.
Tests should not be the only indicator of learning. Measuring a well-rounded education requires a multi-faceted approach. Improvements require collaborative effort and a commitment to assuring quality public education.
Public officials who send their children to private school raise valid questions about their commitment to prioritizing public education and funding improvements.
If we want to speak to an American when we call for “customer service”, we need a well-educated workforce. China and India offer free higher education. We have fallen far behind in college graduation rates. High fees make it difficult for many to attend state universities. Higher education is a good indicator of future health status.
We can pay now or pay later in a myriad of wasteful ways.
Do you agree with Arizona’s new immigration law? If not, what should the state do about illegal immigration?
There is a lot of public anger about illegal immigrants and I understand where it is coming from but I’m not sure the Arizona Law will withstand legal challenges. Shrinking resources magnify the problem but some of the rhetoric is dangerous and un-American and we need to take it down a notch.
Learning English is important.
We need tough sanctions on employers who hire undocumented workers and we need to enforce existing laws.
Common sense is essential to any new legislation or policies. For example, banning all public services may prevent children from getting immunizations. That could create a public health crisis affecting all of our children.
We need a new guest worker program like proposed Senate Bill 340. Only if no American is available for the work, would the hiring of migrant workers be allowed. As Americans we are proud of our Pledge of Allegiance which proclaims liberty and justice for ALL.
Would you be in favor of rolling back sales tax rate to 5% or as Question 3 states 3% or leave it as it is?
I would not have voted for this in the first place but now I think we need to leave it in place. Programs have been slashed and with many middle class families needing safety net programs for the first time, this loss of revenue could be devastating.
I would have preferred leaving the income tax where it was to new nickel and dime taxes and fees.
Would you vote in favor of repealing the sales tax on alcoholic beverages?
No, and I hope none of you will vote for this question either. The money from this tax pays for critical alcohol and drug treatment. We have a serious Opiod overdose problem in the Commonwealth. It’s passed car accidents as the leading cause of death among young people. We’re losing 2 people a day in Massachusetts. We also had the highest rate of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect nationally in 2007. In 2008 the rates doubled. Substance abuse is behind much of that abuse.
If we don’t pay for treatment as many times as it takes we will pay the cost in a myriad of other ways.
Would you like to see the legislature pass a law that would ban credit checks for job applicants?
No, I would not. I support employers being aware of the criminal background of potential hires. The murder of Alexandra Zapp by a Burger King employee who never should have been out of jail highlights why we need these protections. The issue is how the information is used and if common sense is used in developing policies. I think there’s a difference between violent crimes and other offenses and job applicants should be evaluated on a case by case basis. This is one more bit of information to consider in making hiring decisions.
There is a significant problem with identity fraud and it seems the potential for incorrect information affecting job applicants is high. With an employment crisis I wouldn’t want to do anything to further complicate the hiring process.
Should there be term limits for the jobs of House Speaker and Senate President?
I believe there are term limits for the Senate President. My first day of work at the State House was the day after the Speakers fight when George Keverian ousted Tom McGee. There was a lot of bitterness over McGee holding that role for so long. Eight years seems like enough time for one individual to hold so much power in either branch. It would be my preference not to legislate this but the reality is that may be necessary.
The Mass. Taxpayers Foundation recently recommended that local officials be given the power to design their own health plans without having to negotiate with the unions, and that state retirees use Medicare for their primary health care coverage. Do you support these proposals?
Municipalities have the choice of entering the GIC. Designing a health care plan is complicated and far beyond the expertise of local government. Unions could be a voice for working families to protect them from further unfair increases.
Many retirees are on Medicare. Seniors have been an important part of our community and we need to ensure they are well cared for. The reality is 77% of health care cost is incurred in the last 2 years of life and 40% in the last month.
While we have a multi-payer system these costs should be shared between the Government and Private Sector. Otherwise taxpayers subsidize the absurd profit margin of industries gauging Americans.
The Mass. Taxpayers Foundation also proposed changes in state and municipal pensions, such as increasing the retirement age and capping annual pensions at $100,000. Do you agree?
Increasing the retirement age may be an effective savings tool if sensible measures are implemented.
Factors such as the type of work need to be considered in developing a plan. Not everyone will be physically able to continue working past 65.
Simply shifting the responsibility of saving for retirement to workers is not a solution. We must do more to assure taxpayers that they will not be funding a system riddled with abuse.
Classifications such as “hazardous duty” are designed to protect public safety personnel. Extending that benefit to administrative workers who support certain candidates is the type of abuse that has the public clamoring for change.
The practice of “double dipping” and allowing public employees to retire long before 65 needs to cease.
Capping annual pensions is a possible solution, but addressing the bloated salaries of public employees making more than $100,000 must also be addressed.
The financial industry caused our current fiscal crisis. Seniors are struggling to pay constantly increasing property taxes and the ridiculous cost of prescription drugs. They should not be punished for what the money people did.
Government serves some important functions and the majority of public servants are not the problem. The abuse of the system is the problem and increasing the retirement age and capping pensions will not stop it.
Creating new rules to ensure retired public employees do not go on to have lucrative careers in the private sector benefiting from their connections seems more urgent. Better oversight regarding possible conflict of interest and other ethics violations are needed.
Should the state Legislature be exempt from the state’s public records law?
The Legislature needs to set a higher ethical standard. I cannot think of a valid reason for them to be exempted from laws protecting the public’s right to information.
That being said, information is posted in a variety of ways and the actual process seems transparent. The bigger issue is what goes on behind closed doors.
It’s about the integrity of those we elect to public office. It’s about assuring that those we embody with power are deserving of that responsibility. It’s about balance and fairness.
It’s not about helping your supporters advance their bottom line or making deals that treat public assets as your own. Technology has offered a host of new ways to get public input. No decisions should be made regarding public assets without the public having an opportunity for input.
The media also has a responsibility to inform the public. Most people do not have time to seek public records. We rely on the media to connect the dots for us and objectively report the facts.”
Should the Legislature be subject to a full audit?
Yes
The state is facing another year of financial difficulty. Where would you suggest we find savings? Please be specific.
My role at the Department of Public Health is to coordinate health education and outreach so we operate less categorically. Government is still very siloed and better coordination would reduce duplication. We need to maximize resources and find ways to save money wherever we can. Many years ago, Ways and Means Chair Pat McGovern released a report on the top 6 budget busters for Government. Paper was high on the list and still is as are all of the other issues.
The process for cutting budgets needs to be fairer. Health and Human Services has had more than our share of budget cuts. Laws may need to be changed to allow fairer cutting across the board than is currently allowed with 9 C cuts.
