All budget, all the time

If you follow politics and you're someone concerned about money matters, then this week is the week for you.

In Washington, all eyes will be on Congress as members put pen to paper to solidify a compromise and avoid a government shutdown. But even before this process is finished, members are also turning their attention to two major fights looming on the horizon - debate over whether to raise the nation's debt ceiling, and the debate over the 2012 budget. If you thought the back-and-forth over last week's threatened shutdown was riveting, then get ready for more.

Then, there's Massachusetts. This week is traditionally the time when the House releases its budget for the coming fiscal year. Look for the document itself to be released mid-day Wednesday, with something like 1500 amendments filed by the end of the week, and a debate after school vacation week.

What's interesting is that all of this discussion is unlikely to produce meaningful change regarding the fiscal health of our state or our nation.

Republicans in Washington scored a major victory last week in getting Democrats to concede to spending cuts, even if they were less than what Republicans wanted. But, these cuts do not produce the systemic reform that is needed to address real deficit and debt reduction. Likewise, the state budget here in Massachusetts is unlikely to yield any meaningful change in the way our state operates, and will likely do little if anything to trim our state debt load, help to make our pension system sustainable, or reform entitlement programs.

As members of the public, we have the luxury of being able to sit back and enjoy good political theater as politicians spar over fiscal matters. But, as taxpayers, our patience should be growing thin as government inaction persists. The truth is that the fiscal health of our nation and our state can't afford to wait any longer for sizable reforms to be enacted - and that's something people of all political persuasions should be able to agree on. We need courageous leaders willing to rise up to this challenge and to take action.

Good News and Bad News: House is in Session

Recently, we wrote a blog post about the inaction on Beacon Hill and the lack of meaningful progress on important issues.

Well, we have good news and bad news.

Good news first: The House of Representatives will be in formal session today.

The bad news: They are coming in for the express purpose of spending money.

Some of this spending is necessary. For example, members will be voting on additional funding for snow and ice costs, a priority we've spoken about before. And, given Friday's unfortunate weather forecast, it's something that must be tended to immediately.

But, this funding is contained within a larger $325 million spending bill that includes things like mid-year pay raises and scores of new policy initiatives. The Boston Herald is running a good Associated Press story about more of what's in the bill.

If nothing else, it looks like members of the House still know how to spend lots of money.

What's not mentioned is that there was apparently an order passed by the House yesterday which sets forth how the bill would be considered today. Orders can typically narrow the scope of what is allowed to be debated or amended in bills. There is no text of the order posted online, so one has only to speculate what's in this order. But, in our experience, it's unusual for a supplemental budget to be considered with this sort of order in place.

Why did legislators choose to pass an order for this bill today? Perhaps we will find out later this afternoon.

Traveling to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving? Here's our travel guide.

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, and as usual, Massachusetts will open its doors to thousands of out-of-state holiday tourists this week.

If you're one of those tourists visiting us from out-of-state, welcome! If you're here for the first time in a while, you might notice that some things have changed. Here's a quick rundown:

• Depending on when you last visited us, you might notice that things are more expensive than they used to be. Why? Well, in the past year or so, legislators have approved hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes and fees. Here's a primer:
1. Our state sales tax increased from 5 percent to 6.25 percent last August. So, everything you buy will automatically cost more. (And, the tax is tougher to figure out in your head.) We apologize on behalf of Massachusetts for this extra tax, but we need your help paying for things like per diems for state legislators. Thanks for chipping in.
2. Thinking of getting a nice bottle of wine as a holiday housewarming gift for your hosts? Well, bad news. When the sales tax increased last year, it was also expanded to cover the retail sale of beer and alcohol - and, that's on top of the pre-existing excise tax. We apologize, but there's also good news. Voters repealed the tax at the ballot box in November. So, if you come back next year, the tax will be gone. We think.
3. Staying in a hotel instead of with relatives? More bad news. Massachusetts allows cities and towns to impose a local option tax on hotel stays, and it went up last year, too. It was a 4 percent cap, now it's up to 6 percent (6.5 percent in Boston). Our state doesn't pay enough local aid to fund municipal services, so it's up to you to make up the difference.
• U r not going 2 like this 4 sure... No texting while driving in Massachusetts. Traffic conditions remain more or less the same, however, and it's still basically impossible to find out where you're going. Some of our roadways are being fixed up, though. Thanks for all of that ARRA stimulus money! (Just look for one of those huge green ARRA signs to identify funded projects. They're everywhere.)
• Looking for things to do while you're here? How about hitting the casino for a little gambling? All you have to do is drive across the border. Massachusetts legislators failed to pass a casino bill before the end of the legislative session. Maybe next year.
• Want some good news? We actually have a Republican US Senator from Massachusetts - Scott Brown. Unfortunately, Democrats control most other state and federal elected positions in Massachusetts. But, rest assured, we're working on it.
• Flying home? Well, friendly TSA agents at Logan Airport have a goodbye pat waiting for you. It's not what you got the last time you flew out of Logan, and let's just say that it's not a pat on the back...

That should more or less bring you up to speed. Thanks for visiting Massachusetts, and we hope you'll come back real soon.

(Editors' note: Do you have an item to add to our list? Please post a comment below and let us know your suggestions!)

Massachusetts businesses feeling the post-election blues?

The Associated Press reports that Massachusetts employers have announced a wave of layoffs in the one week since Deval Patrick was re-elected Governor.

Could there be any doubt why? AIM reported before the election that business confidence was up, partly on the assumption that pro-tax-cutting candidates would be elected to the U.S. House in November. Could it be that Massachusetts businesses have the post-election blues after seeing Mass. Democrats prevail again?

One of Patrick's first initiatives when he took office was to raise corporate taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. And, he capped off his first term by signing into law a crushing 25% increase in the state sales tax. Do we expect anything to really change in a second term, especially with the prospect of a multi-billion dollar state budget deficit next year?

It's disappointing to see tax policies sting some of our state's largest employers. But, small businesses are feeling the pinch too, even though it doesn't always make headlines. We see it every day as we talk to fellow small business owners struggling to deal with the rising cost of health care and tax increases.

These are the people who know on a deeply personal level what it's like to meet a bottom line and keep their people employed. These are the people who actually write the checks for health insurance, rent and federal and state taxes. They know first-hand how Massachusetts' economic policies rob businesses of any incentive to grow.

Small business owners are good citizens. By their very nature, they want to create jobs and be a thriving part of the state's economy. And, they're more than willing to pay their fair share for services they use. The problem is that, in Massachusetts, the government takes advantage of them. In the Bay State, growing your business means having to pay substantially bigger tax bills and deal with much higher costs of doing business. At the end of the day, it's often a wash, and small business owners simply can't get ahead - or even survive.

If we expect to retain and grow jobs here, our political leaders need to understand that small businesses need room to breathe, and that raising taxes is not the answer every time they try to spend money and state coffers come up short.

As a state, we rely on the entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners to keep our economy going. Yet, we do little as a state to encourage that spirit and allow it to prosper.