Days of impulsive tax increases are over in Massachusetts

The following commentary appeared in the Republican (Springfield) on Friday, July 7:

It came in late and plenty of people will find fault in it, but the Massachusetts state budget for fiscal 2018 reflects the economic reality that the days of free spending and impulsive tax increases are over.

House and Senate leaders agreed to a $40.2 billion budget that avoids tax increases and hold spending flat at state agencies for the most part, according to sources that reported the agreement.

The bill reflected a lower tax revenue than expected when the Legislature went to work on the budget in the spring. The $700 million shortfall was handled with $733 million in budget adjustments, of which more than half, about $400 million, came from direct cuts to the spring budget bills.

Local aid does not appear to be cut from the nearly $6 billion anticipated by cities and towns. About $4.75 billion of that amount is designated for local schools. The budget missed the fiscal deadline of June 30. Slowly, the need to meet the deadline slowly seems to be receding in urgency, and that is not a good thing, but legislators finally got around to ironing out their differences.

The six-member conference committee that came up with the final compromise budget worked in secrecy for a month. That, too, has raised the ire of some citizens and observers who feel a public process is being removed from public view.

These criticisms are valid. All of that said, the budget addresses the fact that if money is not coming in, it cannot go out.