" All politics is local" - How the Greedy Pols on FED, STATE & LOCAL level want only one thing - All of your $$$$

" All Politics is local" - Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr.- Speaker of the House 1977-1987

Tip O'Neill knew that everything that happened impacted people on the local level as that is where things in America happen.  The idiots inside the Beltway like to think they are the center of the country but they are as thick as bag full of hammers.

The enclosed story is from the Boston Globe, i.e. the NYTIMES/BOSTON GLOBE/DEM Mouthpiece.

Here is the sysnopsis of the story.  The city of NEWTON, MA is one of the more well off areas in the greater Boston area.  You can pretty much surmise that if you live in Newton, you are doing pretty well.  Housing values are high and people see it as one of the nicest places to live.

The story covers the issue that the Mayor and his employees want more $$$ from the citizens.  They are asking for an override of the limit for how much they can grab out of people's wallets.  They will put this up to a vote in March but you can imagine what the turnout for a city election like this will be.  Very low despite the nature of the issue.

Bottom line - The City takes in $312 MILLION dollars a year - They still need more.  Not like they could cut expenses of gold plated bennies for town hacks.....no, no, no - we must keep those town workers in a comfy lifestyle even if it takes every nickel we can squeeze out of the taxpayers.

Newton, MA is not the only town doing this - many others are doing the exact same thing.  They saw the Idiot in the White House pull off his spendathon of $6 TRILLION Dollars over the last 4 years and they are saying, " ME TOO !!!  ME TOO !!"

The average taxpayer in Newton will pay $8006 p/yr to the city or $667 a month.  For that money, you could pay for a brand new PORSCHE 911....but no, you will be paying for the retirement of the local town hacks even while you have no access to lifetime pension.....

These HACKS make a thief like Bernie Madoff look like pikers.....They will be laughing all the way to the bank while they cripple the citizens who live in our town and cities.  Oh yeah, the State Hacks and FED workers are lined up for the same thing too.....all want as much of your money as they can get.

Thanks Voters - by re-electing the FOOL who conned his way into the White House, you gave the HACKS on the FED, STATE & LOCAL level a green light to pour it on.....They will not be happy until they fill all their pockets with as much of our $$$ as they can grab.

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Newton voters will likely get to vote on a $11.4 million tax increase in March

By Deirdre Fernandes

Boston Globe Staff / December 1, 2012          

Newton Alderman Anthony Salvucci slowly unfurled from his seat, stood up, and gave a rare speech to his colleagues Thursday night.
 

“Don’t sweat it,” the elder statesman of the Board of Aldermen instructed the group. “You people are all sweating, and don’t. Don’t.”
 

Salvucci was urging the board to get behind Mayor Setti Warren’s proposed overrides of Proposition 2½. He said he understood that some aldermen are worried that the requested $11.4 million in new property taxes wouldn’t cover the cost of the city’s projects; that others are troubled by recent construction projects that came in far higher than initial estimates; and that many are anxious about the city’s other needs. But, he said, the board needed to get the request for a tax increase in front of voters so some of the city’s needs — such as new schools, a fire station, and road and sidewalk repairs — could be met.
 

Many of his colleagues agreed. After nearly three hours of debate, aldermen moved the override requests out of committee, setting up a vote by the full board Monday on whether to put them on a March ballot.
 

Claire Sokoloff, the School Committee’s chairwoman, said she is optimistic the district’s overcrowding and building problems would be addressed.
 

“The overwhelming majority of board members understand the need for putting this override to the voters and seeing that it will pass,” she said after the meeting. “It’s a good balance between providing needed improvements to our schools and the city, while being respectful of the reality that these are tough financial times.”
 

Warren has proposed three ballot initiatives to help pay for $143.5 million in projects. His plan calls for a permanent tax increase to provide $8.4 million for road repairs, four police officers, new teachers to handle the school system’s growing student population, expansion and renovation of Zervas Elementary, replacement of the Newton Centre fire station and Fire Department headquarters, and a new communications building.
 

The mayor is also proposing two temporary tax increases, totaling $3 million and to be paid off over roughly 30 years, to cover rebuilding the Angier and Cabot elementary schools.

If all three are approved, officials said, annual taxes on a house with the city’s median assessment, $686,000, would go up by about $343, to $8,006.
 

“It’s not perfect, I do have some issues,” said Alderman Jay Harney, but added, “This gets us to where we need to be.”
 

Alderman Lisle Baker, however, suggested that more items should be included in the override proposals, since the city does not ask voters to approve higher taxes very often.

Other aldermen have been concerned that the estimates for the projects may be off, and that after the Newton North High project — which ballooned from $141 million to nearly $191.5 million — residents won’t be forgiving.
 

The accuracy question gained more traction last week when estimates for an Oak Hill fire station project, not included in the override package, rose by 46 percent, going from $2.8 million to $4.1 million.
 

The news followed on the heels of Day Middle School expansion costs rising by millions, as well as the projected cost of Carr School renovations growing from roughly $9 million to $12.7 million. Neither of those are part of the override.
 

Alderwoman Cheryl Lappin said she agrees an override needs to be on the ballot, but for it to succeed the board’s members will all need to be “out there promoting it . . . and we need to have confidence.”
 

Alderman Ted Hess-Mahan said he hasn’t decided whether to support the override. “I am bemused that everybody is damning it with faint praise, but saying it should go ahead.”
 

Maureen Lemieux, Newton’s chief financial officer, said the administration has tried to be conservative in projecting the costs of the override projects, and suggested the additional expenses for some of the recent construction projects can be covered by savings elsewhere.
 

As for the projects covered by the override, Lemieux said, the city’s budget should be able to absorb marginal increases, should they occur.
 

If the full board approves the override proposals Monday, the questions would be placed on the ballot in a March 12 special election.
 

 

IT'S A TAX - Just what the DEMS and the President want

Just what the Idjit in charge wanted, the ability to tax the Middle Class right into the Poor House.

And then there's this - the Supreme Court pretty much ripped it up....Pissa.

GREED killed the American Unions

The Atlantic Magazine wrote a piece titled " Who Killed American Unions??"

The article was not very compelling....it focused on all aspects other than the key issue.

The one part of the liberal whining that goes on in this article is they didn't mention the key reason why Unions have cratered...

GREED.

Yes, GREED.  The Unions and their members got GREEDY.  That's what killed them.

Now, I understand and agree they are not the only ones who got greedy.  CEOs and other getting obscene pay packages, stock insiders pillaging the economy and causing chaos, etc. etc.  I see it and agree that they have caused as many issues for the American Economy as the Unions.

But, the question is " Who Killed American Unions??" - The main culprit is the Unions themselves.

The last three and half years have accelerated their demise but it started way before that.....
GREEDY UNION Members and their fat arse bosses used their muscle to bully and batter companies like GM, Ford & Chrysler into ridiculous labor agreements.

Public Employee Unions gamed the political system and conceived ridiculous laws and agreements that allow public employees to retire on sky high pensions inflated by overtime and into which many have never paid a cent.  They don't have any care that the agreements were  faulty and unsustainable.  it didn't matter that they got paid for standing down on the job or doing little.  They got the agreements put in place and even if it bankrupts the town, they want the money.

Union Leaders lined their pockets with dues paid by the members and did little other than make themselves rich on the backs of the workers.  They decided that they were entitled to the same type of compensation as those who ran the businesses.....GREED.  More and more was their only goal.

This is what killed the Unions and why today, they only represent a minor fraction of all workers.  Unions were needed when there were no laws to protect workers but in the last 40 years, the Unions became only about paying their workers and the Union Bosses as much as they could extort from the companies and government.

Now the companies have had enough.  The cost of a new car produced in Detroit had almost $10K cost tacked on to it to provide incredible huge pay & benefits to assembly line workers.  The added cost is borne by every person who bought a vehicle from the big three, while others like Toyota set up factories in Tennessee without Unions.  The new factories were able to produced excellent vehicles and cheaper.

That helped put the Big Three teetering on the edge....The market was cornered by cheaper, leaner, better.

Now, Towns and States are seeing the light.  They know that they have been had and the voters are pushing back.  Taxpayers have had enough. Voters have started fixing what has been known for many years.  It wasn't just enough to earn good money, these Union types needed to earn MORE.  And it doesn't bother them at all that it is costing others services or extra costs tacked on to things they want.

It is all about them and their need to satisfy their Greed.

That's what killed the Unions and for the author of the article in the Atlantic Magazine to miss that completely shows there still are people who don't want to acknowledge reality.

Reality is the Unions caused their own demise.  Their GREED and their need to be GREEDY to the detriment of all others.

And the Mass Media wonders why people aren't siding with the Unions....it is because they see the wanton GREED with their own eyes and recognize it for what it is - shameful.

" The Unions say you're not paying enough taxes.."

The Unions say you're not paying enough taxes as they want more revenue for their union members. What world are these morons living in that they feel that they can solve our problems by grabbing more money from the taxpayers?

Cut spending and you'll see there is plenty of $$$ already. It is wasteful spending and allowing state & local employees to have huge wage increases that is a huge part of the problems faced by our state & local governments.

Look carefully when it comes time to vote and if a candidate is inline with these fools, vote them out. An injection of reality is needed and that had to start with putting the brakes on wasteful spending by those who benefit from raising taxes.



Unions push for state income tax hike
Labor and advocacy groups press for increasing state income tax to raise $1.37 billion.
By David Riley
wickedlocal.com
Posted Apr 09, 2012


BOSTON — Here’s a question for taxpayers as the deadline to file income taxes approaches quickly: Do you think Uncle Sam and Beacon Hill took too much, too little or just the right-sized bite out of your paychecks this year?

A coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups believes Massachusetts falls in the “too little” camp, at least for upper-income brackets.

The Campaign for Our Communities calls for raising the state income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 5.95 percent. The proposal also would tax investment income at 8.95 percent, up from 5.3 percent for most investments, but down from 12 percent for short-term capital gains.

Supporters said legislation they back also would hike exemptions to protect low- and middle-income taxpayers, while shielding seniors and the disabled from the higher investment rate.

Cuts to crucial services and annual struggles to balance state and local finances spurred the campaign, predating the recent recession, backers said. They pointed to cuts to mental health and senior programs, the MBTA’s looming budget gap and the proposed closing of Taunton State Hospital, among other things.

“We just do not have a revenue system that is bringing in enough revenue,” said Andi Mullin, director of Campaign for Our Communities. “That is true when the economy is good, and it’s particularly true when the economy is bad.”

Supporters said the changes would raise an additional $1.37 billion in tax revenue.

Cuts also have stretched town, city and school budgets thin, supporters said. Government cannot maintain quality public services while addressing budget gaps through cuts alone, they argued.

“It’s all about getting more money into our communities to fund what we view as essential public services,” said Jim Durkin, spokesman for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 93, a union that has endorsed the campaign.

But House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, R-North Reading, said taxes are too high already.

Jones sponsored legislation this year to cut the state’s income tax rate to 5 percent by 2013. He said the measure would fulfill a successful 2000 ballot question calling for the state to cut the income tax from 5.95 percent to 5 percent over three years.

The Legislature in 2002 froze the rate at 5.3 percent and set targets for revenue growth under which the rate could drop further. The rate dipped to 5.25 percent this year.

Jones has sponsored similar bills in the past.

“I’ve sponsored it simply because I think we have an obligation to fulfill what the voters said they wanted to do,” he said


Neither effort is likely to advance this year. The Joint Committee on Revenue sent Jones’ bill to study, a move that usually dooms legislation for the rest of the session.

The Campaign for Our Communities counts local teachers unions among its supporters, including those in Arlington, Bedford, Boston, Cambridge, Dedham, Fall River and Weymouth.

Paul Toner, president of the Mass. Teachers Association, said budget crunches have led to rising class sizes in some districts and cuts to arts, technology and student support programs. More schools have imposed fees to fund busing and other programs, “increasingly putting the burden on families,” Toner said.

The Massachusetts Senior Action Council, which also backs the campaign, views raising the income tax rates as a way to ensure funding for senior services without competing against other legitimate interests, Executive Director Carolyn Villers said.

“Rather than a bigger piece of the pie,” she said, “we need a bigger pie.”

Jones said he fundamentally disagrees. Hiking the income tax would be a “total, 180-degree about-face” from legislative leaders’ calls to avoid raising taxes, he said.