Should we abolish Massachusetts state tax?

This was in the Boston Globe on Monday:

A group of antitax activists launched a campaign over the weekend to abolish the state income tax, setting the stage for a contentious public battle if the measure is added to the ballot this fall.

After pushing a similar initiative that almost passed six years ago, a group called the Committee for Small Government is back for another round, asking voters to end the income tax and save the average taxpayer $3,600 a year.

The group, led by libertarian Carla Howell, is almost certain to gather the 11,000 signatures needed to put a question on the November ballot. To say that state officials are worried about the prospect would be an understatement.

Oh, God, this is so inviting isn't it? Every turn the government has its hand in your pocket, and there is so much of government that I think needs overhauling. I look at my pay stub and it just makes me sick looking at what both the state and federal governments combined take from me. It's just plain wrong that a person who makes what I make--barely...barely... enough to keep up--has to pay the amount of taxes that I do to support projects that I could care less about, or feel they aren't being run right.

This is one of those times when I hear myself wanting to shout from the rooftops that government is too big, it's too much in our lives, and something has gone very awry that we're at this place in time.

Maybe the best thing to do actually would be to pass something like this and cut off the legislators, because one thing they spend so much time doing is bringing money into their districts. The money's there, and whether the district really needs it or not, bringing home a big barrel of pork is how these guys get elected.

Do something drastic to change the system. Really derail the lawyers that run government.

And if you cut off this source of revenue, obviously what will happen is that property taxes will go up--way up. But I don't own property anyway because I can't afford to own it.

Hell, maybe with what I save in taxes I could use to buy a nice condominium on the water. Marina Bay in Quincy. I'd be moving up, moving on up.

Quiz: Is this a Democrat or a Republican?

I keep saying you can’t tell the Democrats from the Republicans anymore. Freshman State Rep Pam Richardson, in the Commonwealth of Taxachusetts who has a “D” listed after her name, filed a bill in the Legislature to combat the underground economy. The UE comprises people who are paid cash under the table and don’t pay tax on the income. Around this neck of the woods in Massachusetts, that’s code for the Brazilians who work for landscapers and contractors, but let’s not drag this down into the mud and turn it into a racial issue. It’s not, although it would be an easy crack to make that Richardson’s wealthier and whiter Northside constituents are coming down on their poorer and browner Southside neighbors. But we know there are assorted contractors and the like who live on that side of Framingham who surely take a payment or two under the table. It’s really a class issue, once more highlighting the growing gulf between those that have it, and those that don’t.

It’s just a little funny to see a Democrat trying to take money from a worker’s pocket. It used to be Democrats understood the working man and woman’s plight and did whatever they could so people could hang on to what little they had. Outside her district, there are a lot of people who are really struggling and do whatever they can to make ends meet. I mean, by many standards, I make a pretty good wage even as a lowly writer, but I still have to do a little work on the side and I still don't always make ends meet. (Note to Rep. Richardson: I do pay taxes on my freelance work.) Maybe instead of trying to take money, it might be more helpful if Richardson would either a) use her brain and influence to help people earn a better living, and b) use the aforementioned characteristics to reduce the reasons for the underground economy. Here are just a few suggestions.

Work on making housing affordable. Forget the cost of a house, has anyone looked at the cost of renting an apartment lately? Rent can be more than a mortgage, and that's without utiliites.

How about focusing on public safety? This goes hand-in-hand with housing. Funny how it works, but the most affordable housing tends to be situated in the most unsafe part of town.

How about working on the cost of commuting to our jobs? Can we get a break on car insurance in this state? Or how about more, meaning better and cheaper, public transportation? Train fares just went up, so to get to my job in Boston I take three hundred bucks right off the top of my monthly income just to park and ride the train. It’s still cheaper than driving and parking in Boston, but just so you know, I didn’t get a raise to cover this.

Richardson’s background is all in education. That cute picture on her Web site shows a couple of kids. Does she know what the cost of education is? I’m not talking college. Wait until one of those kids wants to plays sports in school. Or needs a calculator the size of an IBM computer for algebra. These are the sorts of things that keep working parents up nights.

How about tax reform? Or at least better use of our taxes. People really hate to see their taxes wasted. Richardson’s answer to solving the UE is to put together an 11-member task force. Billed to the taxpayer’s, I’m supposing. Let me get this straight: She’s spending our money to figure out how to take even more? Nah, she’s not going to last. In four years she’ll be out of a job without a steady paycheck, and then maybe even Richardson will be working under the table.