A question on this fall’s Massachusetts state ballot would abolish the state’s income tax. Let us know what you think of this controversial idea. Leave comments below.
11/21/2008
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I can’t think of a worse idea! I don’t understand why people are not willing to pay their share for the services that they receive. Everyone wants their roads plowed (and complain loudly when they think they are not done right), the public roads lit,etc. not to mention they want the homeless off of the street (out of sight at least), they want quality education for their children, public buildings that are not crumbling, police and fire departments that are fully staffed with state of the art equipment, I could go on and on. But people don’t seem willing to pay thier share. I think we have lost sight of how community works and the importance of every individual doing their part. People seem perfectly willing to point the finger, but not at themselves.
I live in one of the smallest towns east of Worcester. By living in a small community you see first hand how much each and every person’s participation counts and shapes where and how we live as a town.
I understand the arguments that eliminating the income tax will make the State more appealing to businesses and homeowners, and I understand the appeal of a small government. But I lack confidence in the ability of the Massachusetts government to both cut spending and do the things that must be done.
Governments both big and little have to power to be beneficial to their people. The key point, however, is that the State must be effective with whatever resources are put at its disposal. Eliminating the income tax without ensuring that legislators will spend well leaves us in no better, and possibly worse, a situation.
Rather than eliminating the income tax, why don’t we reform government so that balanced budgets are mandatory?