I would like to ask Dr. Ormsby since he is supporting its passage what he thinks will happen to the public school children of North Andover if question #1 passes?
http://www.valleypatriot.com/VP100808drchuck.html



Bill Kelly

Dear Bill,

In the Valley Patriot article authored by Chuck, he talks about New Hampshire being able to do just fine without a state income tax. Are they?

I had a long talk with my sister who moved to New Hampshire nearly three decades ago, because as newlyweds, she and her husband could not afford to buy a house in Massachusetts. They are both nurses working in Massachusetts.

To this day, they would move to Massachusetts in a heartbeat, if they could afford it. Even with the cost of gas [one commutes to Medford, the other commutes to Boston], and the cost of more frequent maintenance and replacement of cars because of the enormous wear and tear on their vehicles, even with the cost of paying Massachusetts income tax on both of their salaries, they wish they'd been able to raise their children here.

She may not pay New Hampshire state income tax or sales tax, but she pays through the nose just the same. And she has far fewer and inferior services to show for it. Mind you, she lives in one of the more affluent communities, but her tax bill includes assessments for state improvements, county taxes, and school taxes, all of which can rise at will because there's no cap like our prop. 2 1/2. There is no such thing in her town as trash pick up or water and sewer. They have a predominently volunteer police and fire department. Most of the roads are state-owned, so they're at the mercy of the state when maintenance and repairs are needed. And there are few jobs; those jobs that exist pay far less than Massachusetts jobs, even after factoring out the afore-mentioned costs of living in New Hampshire and working in Massachusetts.

Oh, did I mention schools? No public kindergarten. Her town didn't even have a high school until my niece was in her sophomore year. Quality? Nothing that compares to Massachusetts schools.

State and Municipal Services don't come free. And the absence of a state income tax does not mean it costs less to live there or that the quality of life is better there.

I came across a great explanation of comparing state taxes at

http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

Also, section v, page 13 of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report, The Enormous Consequences of Question 1, gives a good comparison. You can read the report at http://www.masstaxpayers.org/files/MTF_Question1_Analysis.pdf


Sincerely,
Sandy Gleed

Does your sister support repealing the Massachusetts State Income Tax?

It would certainly save her money on the front end, money she could use to pay her son's college tuition. However, she's smart enough to know that drastic cuts in state revenue would have a huge negative effect on Massachusetts hospitals and would put both her and her husband's jobs at risk.

She's also very aware of what a disaster it would be for the very Massachusetts communities that she wished she could live in, for her patients who live in Massachusetts, particularly the elderly patients who rely on medicaid to meet their medical needs, and for her friends and relatives who live here.

--Sandy

Dr. Ormsby,

Where is your budget for the next fiscal year minus $5.5 million of state aid?

Where is it?

What exactly would you cut and how?

I am sure that you have a plan, because you are all about personal responsibility.

Sincerely,

Bill Callahan

Just as important, where do our other Elected Officials stand on this question?

Good point - it would be nice for the various committees to come out one way or another.