On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:00:50 -0400, Dave LaCourse
wrote:
[...]
Our Dem gov inherited a surplus just two short years ago,
and now we are into a billion dollar debt.

Not surprisingly, Dave got that totally wrong.


In a November 27, 2006 presentation to Governor-Elect Deval Patrick's budget
advisers, Romney aides projected a budget deficit for fiscal 2008, which
begins in July, of between $400 million and $1.1 billion. The latter figure
proved correct.

Other facts about Mitt Romney tour as Governor of Massachusetts:

Under Romney, Tax Burden Went Up
In 2002, Tax Foundation Ranked Total Tax Burden In Massachusetts 9th In The
Nation. According To The Tax Foundation, Total Tax Burden In Massachusetts Was
7th Highest In The Country In Both 2006 And 2007.

Romney Didn’t Reduce Income Tax
Romney Pledged To Roll Back The State’s Income Tax To 5 Percent By The End Of
His First Term, But Today, Income Tax Rate In Massachusetts Is Still 5.3%.

Romney Didn’t Reduce Corporate Tax Rate
Throughout Romney’s Term As Governor, Massachusetts’ Corporate Income Tax Rate
Remained At 9.50%, The Fourth Highest State Rate In The Nation.

Romney Raised Taxes At Least 19 Times
Romney Enacted 19 Tax Increases, Which Cost Taxpayers An Estimated $519
Million In First Year They Were Enacted.
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer Noted That
Businesses Have Been Paying $1 Billion Annually In New Taxes For The Last Four
Years.

Romney Proposed An Additional 6 Tax Hikes That Would Have Cost Taxpayers An
Additional Estimated $56.1 Million In Their First Year, But They Were Not
Enacted.

BUSINESS CLIMATE DECLINED UNDER GOVERNOR ROMNEY

When Romney Took Office In 2003, The Non-Partisan Tax Foundation Ranked
Massachusetts’ Business Climate 26th In The Nation.

After Romney’s First Year As Governor, Massachusetts Dropped Eight Places To
34th In The Nation. By The End Of Romney’s Term, Massachusetts Had The 14th
Worst Business Tax Climate In The Country, Ranking 37th On The Tax
Foundation’s List.

Number Of New Employer Businesses Decreased Under Governor Romney
Associated Industries Of Massachusetts President Richard Lord Said Romney’s
Tax Increases Could Discourage Employers From Staying Or Relocating In
Massachusetts.

From 2002 To 2005, Estimated Number Of New Employer Businesses In
Massachusetts Decreased By 9.215% While Increasing Nationally By 22.12%.
Massachusetts Lost 3,384 Business Establishments Between Mitt Romney’s First
Year And Third Year As Governor.

UNDER GOVERNOR ROMNEY, MASSACHUSETTS RANKED AT BOTTOM OF NATION FOR JOB
CREATION

Massachusetts Is One Of Only Seven States That Has Still Not Recovered All Of
The Payroll Jobs That It Had At The Peak Of The Business Cycle. Romney
Spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom: Did We Recover All The Jobs That Were Lost? No.
From The Beginning Of 2001 To The End Of 2006, Massachusetts Ranked 49th In
The Nation In Job Creation, Outpacing Only The State Of Michigan.

Formal Payroll Employment In 2006 Was 16,000 (0.5%) Below Its Average Level In
2002, The Third Lowest In The Nation.

While The Number Of Employed People Over Age 16 Rose Nationally By Nearly 8
Million Between 2002 And 2006, The Number In Massachusetts Fell By 8,500.
GOV. ROMNEY DIDN’T SOLVE MASSACHUSETTS’ BUDGET DEFICIT

Romney Inherited Deficit But Left One Too

On Campaign Trail, Romney Claims To Have Closed A Nearly $3 Billion Budget Gap
Inherited When He Took Office.

Romney Actually Only Faced A Budget Deficit Of $1.3 Billion At The Beginning
Of His Term.

Romney Admitted In 2005 That The $3 Billion Gap Didn’t Come True.
In November 2006 Romney Aides Projected A Budget Deficit For Fiscal 2008
Between $400 Million And $1.1 Billion. The latter figure proved correct.

And Romney Increased Size Of Government

Romney’s Recommended Budgets Increased Real Per Capita Government Spending By
7.85%.
Total Spending In Recommended Budgets Grew 22.2% Under Romney’s Watch, From
$29.477 Billion In Fiscal 2003 To $36.021 Billion In Fiscal 2007.