You can connect the dots yourselves.....the Republican published a sad list of budget cuts targeted for Western Mass. I've been focused on Open Pantry Community Services, but the OPCS is not alone in its pain. I'd assume that even the most avid supporters of law and justice recognize that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Thus cuts for Girls Inc, Dunbar Community Center, youth programs in Easthampton, Palmer and westfield and AWAKE's entire funding make little or no sense.Now compare the entire amount of budget cuts-- $122.5 million-- to the STAGGERING debt Massachusetts has incurred from the Big Dig Project-- $7 billion in interest. Boston Globe.
What's wrong with this picture?
3 comments:
You raise a good point comparing money spent (wasted?) in Boston to money cut in Western Mass, but the $122.5 million is just for this fiscal year, whereas the $7 billion is interest paid through 2038. So if we assume similar budget tightening over the same period, that's $122.5 x 30 = $3.675 billion saved.
It's still rather appalling that we're spending $7 billion on just interest, but this cut isn't really a "drop in the bucket" compared with the Big Dig debt interest.
Just because Boston feels like building a superhighway under their city we all have to pay the next 30 years, with interest! I'm about ready to call for Western Mass independence from Boston.
you know, succession for Western Mass has certainly been talked about through the years....we'd lose a lot of our tax base, but on the other hand, we wouldn't have to pay for Boston's debacles!
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