Left In Lowell

What a difference an administration makes. Immediately (as opposed to what, a year or more delayed reaction in 2002?)…when the budget projections and the actuals stop matching…Governor Patrick is asking his staff, his departments, everyone to tighten their belts to adjust to the declining revenues and credit problems. The Governor sent out a notice to state employees:

Dear Colleague:

As you all know, the national economy — and the financial system on which the economy relies — is under significant stress. As the impact spreads to local businesses and families, it has now spread to the state budget.

By the end of September, state revenues for the first quarter of this fiscal year are $223 million below benchmark, excluding non-recurring receipts; when you count those one-time receipts, we are $143 million off. While these numbers reflect only the first three months of the fiscal year, and are only a fraction of a percent of our budget, they signal worse news ahead. The national economic slowdown, tightening credit and its impact on business activity and consumer spending, market volatility and its effect on capital gains all require us to take further steps now to assure a balanced budget.

These results do not catch us by surprise. Since March, we have implemented spending restrictions, imposed hiring controls, eliminated non-essential spending, and enacted a host of streamlining measures throughout state government. We come to this moment prepared to address the challenges we face.

Today I have directed the Secretary of Administration and Finance to recalculate the revenue estimate for this fiscal year. She will complete that task by October 15th. On the basis of that new estimate, I will cut spending under Section 9C. I fully anticipate that this will affect both programs and our workforce

In addition, he links to more detail on the Governor’s website. The subtitles as listed:

1. Revenue Adjustment and Spending Cuts…
2. Spending Cuts Outside of 9C Authority…
3. Reforms and Restructuring…

• Dismantling the Turnpike Authority…
• Consolidating Agencies…

4. Pension Reform…
5. Containing Health Care Costs…

Governor Patrick finishes the letter with:

We will work with you to assure that the outcome is fair, reasonable and responsible for you and our fellow citizens of Massachusetts. And we will do our best to keep you informed of our efforts and decisions as we work through them.

I do not take these steps lightly. I have not and will not lose sight of the value of your service to the Commonwealth and the benefit of your work to your family. I know the road ahead will be rough. But we must keep going. The responsibility we have and the commitment we make is to govern for tomorrow, not just today. Now, more than ever, we will lean on the sense of community and shared responsibility that I have always believed was critical to assuring a better future for us all.

Thank you for your continued dedication to the people of Massachusetts.

Sincerely,

Governor Deval L. Patrick

A proactive tightening now will prevent disaster down the line. And treating the people who work for you with respect and asking them to do their part as patriotic Americans and members of the Commonwealth is the right kind of leadership.

It matters who you elect.

As most of you know, I'm one part of a trio of Mass bloggers calling ourselves Left Ahead! who, most every Tuesday at 2:30, can be heard live-streamed at BlogTalkRadio, a website which facilitates citizen online webcasting by giving hosts a call-in number and taking care of the technical side of streaming and archiving. We've had guests ranging from state candidates to issue advocates to other bloggers (Elias and sco come to mind) to talk about the issues facing Massachusetts voters.

Well, BlogTalkRadio is teaming up with FOX News Radio for a "Battle of the Blog Talkers" on FOX Across America hosted by Spencer Hughes and carried on FOXNewsRadio.com and Sirius XM Radio. From October 6th through the 9th at 2-3pm, four liberal and four conservative BTR hosts will battle it out (with listener voting via web and text) for two slots each side on the Friday, Oct 10th show, and one winner from each “side” (liberal and conservative) from Friday’s show will get the chance to join Spencer in co-hosting a special FOX News Radio Election 2008 series live from 8 to 9 a.m. EDT the week of October 20th.

It turns out these people are weird (insane? silly?) enough to invite me to participate.

It so happens that I’m slotted for the Monday, October 6th show (2pm), up against fellow liberal blogtalker Julie Pippert of MOMocrats. Listeners will vote for whoever they think did the best that day, and the winner will move on to the Friday slot with three other winners from the right and left to the Friday show, from which winners of each side (by listener vote) will move on to the week of October 20th morning show.

It’s sort of Survivor meets talking heads. If you talk good enough, they might not vote you off the island.

On another note, we’ve been assured (repeatedly) that liberals will get a fair shake on the shows. The format calls for uninterrupted time for each contestant.

I know it’s sort of Crossfire-esque. On the other hand, it’s sort of like a mini debate club event, and just maybe a lot of fun. That is, if I can keep from talking a 100 miles a minute. I hope I can count on your listening, and your vote (if you think I did the best anyway!) on Monday afternoon!