Is Raising Taxes the Answer to Avoiding Cuts to Core Services?

Health Care For All's Healthy Blog (May 15th, 2009) published this information on their website, http://www.hcfama.org/, in justifying why raising taxes is a good idea for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I support raising taxes and major reform on how our state spends taxpayers' funds for core services and infrastructure projects. I also believe that our welfare and SSI systems needs to be scrutinized as abuse is quite rampant by many residents.

Unfortunately, some residents believe that being on welfare and getting a SSI check for their child's diagnoses is the answer to supporting their families and continuing to practice unhealthy behaviors in their homes and in their communities. What do you think?

Robbin Miller, LMHC
Facilitator

Here is the information from Healthcare for All's Healthy Blog:

"Economic theory and historical experience both show that raising taxes during a downturn—particularly taxes that affect only higher-income families—is generally better for a state’s economy, and better for its citizens, than sharp budget cuts.

The reasons are simple. Almost every dollar that states and localities spend on aid for the needy, salaries of public employees, and other vital services enters the local economy immediately. So if states cut their spending in these areas, overall demand suffers at a time when demand is already too low and support services are most needed.

The alternative—raising taxes—also reduces spending, but by less than budget cuts of comparable size. And by targeting these taxes appropriately, their negative effects can be minimized.…Keeping budget cuts to a minimum can also benefit the states in another way. Well-designed investments in education, health care, transportation, the environment, and other areas strengthen the economy over the long term. States with educated, healthy workforces, strong infrastructure, and a high quality of life will be best positioned to benefit from the economic recovery.

In short, we believe that maintaining many of the services provided by state governments is critical to an economic recovery, and that cutting those services would harm those who are most in need. "