Whaa? Did I read this right? The citizens of "Taxachusetts" have finally risen against the tyranny of high taxes: there's a ballot measure to get rid of the state's income tax.
Question 1 would cut the tax by half the first year and eliminate it the next year, and Ms. Howell said the state could compensate by cutting lucrative employee pensions, paring bureaucracies and spending wisely.
“We don’t have to cut any essential services or any government programs that are providing a benefit to the people of Massachusetts,” Ms. Howell said. “All we have to do is cut government waste.”
Some voters who wanted taxes lowered to 5 percent have decided to support Question 1 to show their anger at the state, said Barbara Anderson, director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, which advocated 5 percent but is now producing bumper stickers that read “Hell Yes! Question 1.”
Massachusetts does have some experience against that sort of thing - the last time they rallied against taxation, America ended up being an independent country: Link - via Blue's News
Be realistic - everyone who previously received money from income tax will be fighting to continue to receive that money. "Lucrative employee pensions" and "government waste" are not going to just go away because you've cut funding.
If the question was "should we abolish income tax and replace it with ____" (heh, maybe we could replace these questions with madlibs instead), then I might consider it. Otherwise, it's reckless.
Taxing income is basically mass armed robbery. Taxing business is much better, as it is much closer to voluntary (just the cost of doing business, and such).
The government that governs least, governs best. The states should fund infrastructure and fire and police services, and their various licensing agencies(DMV, Health department, etc), and that's about it.
Nothing good has EVER come out of Massachusetts.
Come down here to the south and you will find out what good people are like.
Whatever. No one cares about your opinion. Continue normal commenting Neatorama readers.
The American Revolution came out of Mass. We were also the first to abolish slavery. What do you deem to be good things?
I've had jobs in the public sector, both at the State level and Federal. I hate to break it to you, but the main goal of any middle-level employee isn't to spend your tax money wisely, it's to advance and secure his/her career. Nobody can get fired and once you get high enough on the ladder, you get a pay raise ever year, no matter what the economy is doing or how much you've accomplished.
What do you hate? Liberals? Gays? Winter?
And yeah, historically, AMERICA did come out of Massachusetts. You know, freedom and stuff.