Wednesday's Big Thing

For John, BLUF:  Are Beacon Hill and Clueless synonyms?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Probably not a big deal much beyond Greater Lowell, but at 3:00 PM there will be a rally in front of Lowell City Hall for those supporting Question 2 on the Ballot, about rolling back the Gas Tax with the automatic inflation provision.  This movement is sometimes called "Tank the Tax".  Clever.

We probably do need the three cent a gallon increase in the gas tax, just so we can pay to fix the infrastructure.  And, frankly, it is preferable to more tolls, which just serve to slow down traffic and thus increase air pollution and thus foster global warmingclimate change.

For me the real problem is legislators one more time abdicating their responsibilities and handing them off to the bureaucrats.  If the tax needs to go up, due to inflation, then let the legislators VOTE on it.  We need to stop the passing of legislation empowering the bureaucracy.  Thus I am all for repeal of this little bit of stupidity.

And, Governor Patrick, in denigrating this "Tank the Tax" effort misses the point that it isn't so much about the 3¢ a gallon as it is about the indexing the tax to inflation (but apparently not deflation).  There are few better ways to lose credibility than to accuse people standing on principle of being venal and cheap.

So, looking forward to seeing you at Lowell City Hall at 3:00 this afternoon.

Regards  —  Cliff