Quick, call Dr. Fauci! The Massachusetts State House is under COVID attack. Why else would Speaker Ronald Mariano refuse to fully open the State House until October 1st while the rest of the world is functioning?
Mariano and Sen. President Karen Spilka claim to be developing a “comprehensive and nuanced reopening plan.” If they were running a private sector business, it would go belly up in a heartbeat.
They are taking the summer break to a new level of time off. In years past, no one ever appeared in the State House during August. Now Bacon Hill doesn’t have to work until October 1st?!
These hack lawmakers are making a strong case for a part-time legislature and cutting their salaries.
What has the legislature accomplished this year? Once again, they failed to pass the state budget on time. Of course, that’s COVID’s fault. The only problem with that tired excuse is that it has been a decade since the budget met the June 30th deadline.
The House did reject term limits for the Speaker. Just what the people wanted—another Speaker for life.
Mariano and Spilka did grant legislative aides $500 stipend(bonus) to help them defray the costs for working from home during COVID. The commuting costs must have really taken a chunk out of their wallets.
What have they done to help the small business community that took the biggest hit during the pandemic? Answer: Nothing. They could not even revoke the $300 unemployment benefits to get people back to work.
What have they done to help taxpayers? As always that answer is nothing. Oops, it is worse than nothing. This year they had a commission to study tax expenditures. Only in Massachusetts is a tax expenditure something the state doesn’t collect taxes on. Surprisingly, the commission found new ways to tax us!
What have they done to help the children? Answer: Nothing. The Bacon Hill hacks sided with the teachers who did not want to go back to work. This is a quid pro quo, because the teachers union funds mass campaign mailings for good sheep Democrats.
I guess we should all be grateful that they do nothing considering the 6000 bills filled with crazy liberal ideas filed each legislative session. However, a better way to cure the problem is to make them part-time and cut their salaries to $100 like our neighbors to the north in New Hampshire where taxes and government spending are low.