Posted on 06/06/2003 5:07:50 AM PDT by grania
On June 11, members of the Massachusetts Education Association have been asked to email their state representatives and senators in a " 'virtual e-day march' to urge legislators to raise revenues by plugging corporate tax loopholes, restoring income tax rates to previous levels and increasing the sales tax and dedicating the increase to education."
(You just can't make this stuff up). So, what I'm thinking...if you're from Massachusetts, or know anyone from Massachusetts, forward this to them and ask them to pass it along, and have them email and call their MA elected officials on June 9 and 10 demanding that the legislature cut taxes and eliminate waste from the education and other state spending initiatives.
Maybe we can flood the email and phones before June 11, so there's a backlog messing up June11!
When it happened, Jim Rappaport, who is a dedicated person who would have truly served the state, stepped aside because of the perception that it would take Romney to win after the Jane Swift fiasco. Rappaport decided to run for Lt. Governor, stepped aside rather that put the party through a primary battle.
Then, Mitt Romney decided he wanted this Kerry Healey to be his candidate because "the state wouldn't vote for two rich white men" (Duhh...who are our Senators?). Healey got it in spite of an awful lot of lifelong Republicans standing at roadsides, in rotaries, whatever trying to convey how important it was for everyone, not just Republicans, that Rappaport, who even Democrats out there holding other signs, agreed was the best candidate out of the whole mess, become LTGov. Anyway, I suspect with the help of negative cross-over "Republican" votes, Healey was nominated.
Do I trust Romney? No, not at all. He slimed a good man just to get his way. Would he go along with a tax rise if it kept him off the MTA hit list? Of course.
That's why it's so important that our state legislators and senators know that not everyone wants higher taxes.
I therefore ask you to look for meaningful ways to save money, rather than raise income to pay for education and other initiatives. How is the Commonwealth better off if those with tight budgets and unstable (or nonexistent) jobs cannot pay their bills? Perhaps MCAS should be replaced with the requirement that all students have to score on the eighth grade level IOWA test before progressing beyond 10th grade? That would be reasonable, save a fortune that is being spent on a test that seems to be thwarting learning of a lot of other things for both the gifted and those who have difficulty with the current test, and would stop the current jobs boondoggle that tutoring, extra classes, etc. has become.
Interest rates on savings are down, a lot of people have lost a lifetime of savings because of stock market losses, jobs have gone overseas. This is not the time for the MTA to be asking for more revenue. It's time to understand how truly destructive the economic system has become for many people.
This is the letter I sent to my state senator and representative. Feel free to use ideas, or let us know what you wrote.
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