Bigger Fish to Fry, Governor!

For the last several weeks, Democrats on Beacon Hill have been dedicating their time, effort and taxpayer money on appointing an interim Senator, making the Fluffernutter the official sandwich of the Bay State and boycotting Hyatt hotels. In more normal times those might all be heady issues to address but Republican lawmakers are here to remind all of those Democrats that there are bigger fish to fry!

Today, Governor Patrick announced that September revenues were $243 million below projections, far worse than his administration estimated. This grim piece of fiscal news is not a surprise, since Governor Patrick and Democratic leadership based the FY10 budget on overestimated tax revenue numbers. This news is disappointing to say the least. Towns and cities across the Bay State are already struggling to keep teachers, cops and firefighters on the payroll and another cut to local aid could be the final nail in the coffin.

Governor Patrick will now have to make drastic cuts, only three months into the new fiscal year. Over the next several weeks, Republicans will be pushing cost savings initiatives that were overwhelmingly rejected only six months ago during budget debate. It’s time for innovation and creative thinking. Slashing local aid and other important state accounts will be devastating to say the least and would be further proof that Beacon Hill Deomocrats are out of touch with the people they are elected to represent.

While we recognize cuts will need to be made, lawmakers must work diligently to come up with cost savings measures to offset the magnitude of the budget deficit. Republicans vow to continue bringing new and fresh ideas to the table. Whether or not Democrats will want to roll up their sleeves and do the tough work remains to be seen.