The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance today blasted Beacon Hill lawmakers for their plan to override Governor Maura Healey’s extremely modest budget vetoes, warning that the legislature is making a bad fiscal situation even worse.
On Wednesday, the House is expected to restore tens of millions of dollars in spending vetoed by the Governor. These overrides come just one day after the Healey administration released new data showing a projected $3.7 billion reduction in federal funding due to federal spending reforms enacted by the Trump Administration and Congress.
“Beacon Hill politicians spent the better part of a year warning about fiscal uncertainty from Washington, and now that those cuts have arrived, they’re ignoring their own warnings. Instead of learning to live within our means, the Legislature is proving once again that its only solution to a budget problem is more spending,” Paul D. Craney, Executive Director for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.
Over the past five years, Massachusetts state spending has ballooned by nearly $10 billion, far outpacing inflation, population growth, and revenue trends. Craney said that unsustainable growth is exactly why the state now faces mounting fiscal challenges and why the Governor’s limited vetoes were necessary.
“The Governor’s vetoes were an extremely small step toward restraint, but the Legislature can’t even handle that. When state spending increases by billions year after year, even small, reasonable cuts become politically impossible. That’s why Massachusetts keeps lurching from one budget crisis to the next racking up one of the highest debts-per capita in the country,” noted Craney.
Craney pointed out that lawmakers’ actions come despite the state’s own Department of Revenue projecting at least a $650 million decline in tax revenues this fiscal year.
“The message from Beacon Hill is clear: when money gets tight, taxpayers pay the price. Families across Massachusetts are cutting back and making tough choices every day due to our state’s rising costs and poor economic planning. It’s time for our state government to think about tightening its belt,” said Craney.
“Massachusetts cannot spend its way out of this problem. The Legislature needs to face reality and finally learn to live within its means,” closed Craney.
# # #