By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson

Remember Grover Norquist, the Bush economic advisor who planned to “shrink government so small you can drown it in a bathtub”?

He didn’t quite make it at the Federal level, so he came to Massachusetts to see what he could do here.  He got some dolts to put a referendum on today’s ballot to repeal the state’s 5.5% income tax. This was meant to be the start of a national effort. Norquist was quoted in the papers as saying, “If we can do it in Massachusetts, we can do it anywhere.”

Here income taxes provide 40% of the state’s revenues.  Lose that and it would be the end of state aid to the 351 cities that make up Massachusetts.  (There are no unincorporated places here.  Every square inch belongs to some municipality.) The only other way rural towns here can pay for anything is from property taxes.  State aid helps support our school systems and road repair.  Without that money property taxes would drive a whole bunch of us off our land.

Optimist though I am, I’ve never been accused of overestimating the intelligence of large groups of voters. I’ve been less confident about the results of income tax repeal than about the outcome of the presidential election — and you know I wasn’t terribly confident about that.

The referendum has lost.

Grover, go home. Find yourself another hobby.  The destruction of government is not something you’re good at.

Posted on November 4th, 2008 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Uncategorized