Massachusetts has always been known for having it's fair share of well fed politicians...and of course the occasional corpulent slugger. No one begrudges government officials gorging themselves on rubber chicken dinners and gallons upon gallons of "chowdah," but voters in the Commonwealth might be somewhat displeased to learn that they've been footing the bill for some pretty extravagant late night snacks.
The Boston Herald, the newspaper best known for keeping up with Tom Brady's headwear preferences, is reporting that the Massachusetts State Legislature has increased personal expenses by about $500,000 over the past year, all while in the midst of approving a near $1 billion tax increase.
The paper is reporting that lawmakers have spent $126,000 of public money over the past year on meals from such well known Beacon Hill establishments as Sam LaGrassa's and the 21st Amendment Bar. That's a lot of turkey clubs and chef's salads.
But wait there's more. How about $227,000 for new rugs, wood refinishing, and assorted office improvements? Couple that with $9,600 spent on office furniture and artwork and you have a nice little shopping spree going. After all, legislators can't possibly be expected to enjoy a good meal in shabby settings. Maybe that would be acceptable in Montpelier or Concord, but this is Bean Town we're dealing with here.
Seth Gitell, House Speaker Robert DeLeo's spokesman, defended the expenditures to the Herald. Noting that the food was "for budget week meals for staffers and members working consecutive extended sessions," Gitell apparently is unaware that records indicate that some meals were ordered well after the budget week had ended. As for the renovations, Gitell contends that "The identified expenditures reflect the routine costs of running a business with more than 700 employees and maintaining offices in a historic and fragile building."
Frank Conte of the Beacon Hill Institute is among those who are unimpressed by both the legislature's spending and excuses. "It doesn't show good stewardship in these fiscal times for the Legislature to spend this kind of money," Conte told the Herald. "Given that Massachusetts has had significant budget problems, lawmakers should stop this kind of spending and put it towards the general budget."
Both State Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker DeLeo have ignored calls from Governor Deval Patrick, whom it should be noted is a fellow Democrat, to reallocate the funds from the Legislature's $22 million reserve fund (which was used to bankroll the take-out and rugs) to help cover budgetary expenses and avoid massive tax hikes.
Such a sacrifice wouldn't be unprecedented. Governor Patrick's office has a similar fund, worth about $1.1 million, which was used to help supplement the state's general budget.
"When the economy is strong and revenues are coming in, it's a savings tool you can use for unexpected expenses. Given the dire economic climate we're in right now, we zeroed out our [fund] and, in a spirit of shared responsibility, we're recommending that the Legislature does the same," Patrick spokesman Joe Landolfi told the Boston Globe in June. The Governor's recommendation was presumably heard, and subsequently ignored by the Legislature.
Government has always been a different kind of game in Massachusetts. From Honey Fitz to Sal DeMasi, machine politics is a well known and widely accepted fact of life in the Bay State. Spending half a million dollars on personal expenses while taxpayers deal with the weight of a crippling recession is just adding insult to injury. Massachusetts residents already deal with living in one of the most expensive states in the nation; to hand those same folks $1 billion worth of new taxes while spending those same tax dollars on picture frames and cheeseburgers is a bit much.
Then again, once you remember that most of those same taxpayers are probably Patriots fans, you seem to lose any sympathy you might have developed.
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