Finally, A Politician that Looks at the Whole Picture

This morning while eating breakfast I sat down and watched a few minutes of news on the local Fox affiliate here in Boston. Not expecting to do anything besides laugh because the personalities on that station are down to earth and consistently cracking jokes, however I ended up witnessing something surprising. A politician actually being up front, honest and sincere in what he was saying. While I know this is surprising the interesting part is that this politician is a high ranking official in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts State Treasurer Tim Cahill (Democrat) is the politician who appeared on the news broadcast this morning. While being interviewed Treasurer Cahill stated that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is looking for the state to bail them out of their current financial mess. He went on to say that in the interest of the financial status of the state along with the protection of tax payers that the turnpike should work out its own financial issues. Going on he also stated that government officials seem to only look at the current picture (amount due now) and not the long term picture which includes fees and interest which will accrue over time. The Treasurer also stated that he felt obligated to "raise his voice" concerning the issue and when he did he was chastised by fellow politicians for doing so. He also stated that he felt as though the state should not "reward" the department for its "Miss-management."

While personally being a life long resident of the Liberal state of Massachusetts I have grown to distrust many of the politicians here. Reason being that so many of them are only looking to pass bills that benefit themselves, their party, and their "friends." So many times here we see nothing being accomplished and the days, weeks and years slip away with no end in sight. Examples for this include but are certainly not limited to the Big Dig project which was overseen by corrupt politicians looking only to benefit and has now cost the tax payers of Massachusetts $22,000,000,000 more than originally projected.

Corruption in Massachusetts also includes the passing of laws in order to benefit the Democratic party. This I will explain in lay mans terms so that everyone will understand. Back in 2004 when U. S. Senator John Kerry a Democrat from Massachusetts was running for President of the United States, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed a law forbidding the current Governor (Mitt Romney-Republican) the ability to name a replacement for his (Kerry) seat in the Senate barring a Presidential election and so requiring a special election. Now that there is a Democratic Governor along with the failing health of U. S. Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy Democrat, the state wants to once again change the law back to its original wording which would allow for the current Governor (Patrick-Democrat) to name his (Kennedy) replacement if Senator Kennedy were to become too ill to serve or pass away.

The present Governor (Patrick-Democrat) has raised tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike as well as those on the states major Bridges and Tunnels. Not to mention the $400,000,000,000 plus budget plan for 2008 in which he expected $360,000,000 plus in revenue from his now defunct casino plan. The Governor also attempted to sleaze ball his was into leasing a Cadillac for his use while in office. The governor was not going to personally pay for the excess in spending until it was brought to the attention of the public. Lets not forget about the $10,000 drapes that were purchased for the corner office or even the $78,000 that was and still is being paid to a personal assistant for his wife. The personal assistant works no more than 15 hours per week. I could go on and on about the Governor's ideas and tactics but I will not here and save for a future post.

There is a simple conclusion to the Turnpike's financial troubles, this includes the removal of tolls and toll takers. Toll takers make an average of $65,000 per year to simply take peoples money. The so called tax on every gallon of gas purchased in Massachusetts would more than pay for the repaving of all state roads in the state which only need to be repaved every five years or so. The money generated from the issuing of speeding tickets by state troopers on state roads should also be put into this pool as well again lessening the burden on tax payers and commuters throughout the state.

These issues are only a few facing the residents and politicians of Massachusetts. They can not and should not be over looked and I urge Treasurer Cahill to continue to do what is right. I also want to thank him for bringing this issue to light and allowing the residents that voted him into office to see that their vote did not go to waste. There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything and this is certainly a case of doing things the right way. Treasurer Cahill please keep up the good work and hopefully other politicians in Massachusetts as well as those in Washington will take note of your honesty and start to do the same.