State of Massachusetts Archives: on Budget & Economy

Ayanna Pressley: Federal projects can spur economic growth

Ed Markey: Home mortgage deduction should not be on the table

Gomez said while he hoped the deduction would stay, "going into anything with preconditions almost guarantees failure."

"I do have a precondition," Markey responded. "And it is that home mortgage deduction should not be on the table. People should be able to afford the home of their dreams."

Gabriel Gomez: Deficit reduction might even include home mortgage deduction

"I'm not going in there with any preconditions. I would throw everything in the bucket and discuss it," Gomez said, though he noted that eliminating the deduction would be "at the bottom of the list."

Markey said, "I do have a precondition and my precondition is that the home mortgage interest deduction is not on the table, that people should be able to rely on that promise, that they will be able to afford the home of their dreams."

Ed Markey: Sequestration is another word for mindless cuts

"Sequestration is another word for cuts--mindless cuts," Markey said. "This sequester is cutting into the business plan of Massachusetts." Markey said he has been organizing efforts in the House to restore funding for the National Institutes of Health, so that grants to many schools and biotech firms in Massachusetts would be reinstated.

Lynch said he voted for sequestration because defaulting on debt was a negative direction for the U.S. "It would have devastated this country," he said. "We have to try to get people to come together and look at our budget anew and look at total reform of our budget. We have to reorder our priorities within the budget."

Steve Lynch: Voted for sequestration because debt default was worse

"Sequestration is another word for cuts--mindless cuts," Markey said. "This sequester is cutting into the business plan of Massachusetts." Markey said he has been organizing efforts in the House to restore funding for the National Institutes of Health, so that grants to many schools and biotech firms in Massachusetts would be reinstated.

Lynch said he voted for sequestration because defaulting on debt was a negative direction for the U.S. "It would have devastated this country," he said. "We have to try to get people to come together and look at our budget anew and look at total reform of our budget. We have to reorder our priorities within the budget."

Steve Lynch: Supported sequestration and opposed financial bailouts

Markey framed sequestration, which Lynch supported, as causing potentially devastating cuts that could cost Massachusetts jobs. And Lynch charged that Markey, with his vote for the Wall Street bailout, essentially put money in the pockets of big banks to the detriment of average Americans. Both candidates agreed that the recession is still hitting minorities; that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke deserves another term; and that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

Brian Herr: Control spending; oppose earmarks; reduce national debt

To reduce the national debt, Herr said he wants to control spending and is willing to make difficult, unpopular decisions, such as opposing earmarks and "pet projects."

"We can't tax our way out of this," he said. While he thinks stimulus spending has only saved jobs and not created new employment or growth, Herr said he would like to see government invest in the digital backbone of the third district to encourage companies to expand. He also backs continued support for those still unemployed. "I'm not opposed to government," he said. "I studied it, and I like it."

Brian Herr: Limited Hopkinton annual property tax increase to under 2.5%

Herr believes politics in Hopkinton is a microcosm of politics at the state and national levels and believes his experience there [demonstrates how to put] problem-solving before party politics and promote pragmatic budgeting.

Scott Brown: AdWatch: $2 trillion spending spree puts us deeper in debt

Scott Brown supports an across-the-board tax cut. Martha Coakley says, quote, "We need to get taxes up." Brown has pledged not to raise taxes. Coakley says she will. Brown opposed the $2 trillion spending spree that's putting us deeper in debt. Coakley supports massive new spending and the tax increases to pay for it. Call Martha Coakley and tell her we can't afford more taxes.

Scott Brown: No new regulation of the financial markets

Brown has said that he's not in favor of new regulation of the financial markets, preferring to let "private enterprise try to get us out of this mess."

Scott Brown: People are angry over tax and spend mentality and $12T debt

A: I respectfully have to disagree with you this is not a Democrat state; it's not a Kennedy state; it's the people, and right now they're angry. They tried the tax and spend mentality and don't forget we already have twelve people down there right now [in Massachusetts' delegation to the U.S. Congress] that are voting the same way on the same special interest there. Taxing and spending us to a twelve trillion dollar national debt. People are telling me around the state that they want somebody different has been an independent thinker and talker. I have been representing now the state house's fiscal conservative watchdog so I have to respectfully disagree. You should come and see the enthusiasm and excitement to put somebody down there [in D.C.] who is not like the others.

Martha Coakley: Economic system spiraling out of control; go after Wall St.

Stephen Pagliuca: Managing director at Bain Capital; trained as accountant

Scott Brown: Let private enterprise try to get us out of this mess

A: It's all about the economy and jobs. Pulling back on the financial [regulations], I think if you do too much too soon, it doesn't have a chance to catch up and see if we can work out of this ourselves through free enterprise, through private enterprise, intervention and creativity. So I'm all in favor of just holding back for a little bit and letting private enterprise try to get us out of this mess.

Q: Is another government stimulus plan a good idea?

A: I don't think so. We are leaving a legacy, amassing amazing amounts of debt, passing it on to our kids and grand-kids, and at some point we are just going to be top heavy.

Scott Brown: No cap on bankers' salaries

A: I don't agree with Barney's proposal on that. We should let the free-enterprise and the business market do what it needs to do to get our economy back and running. I'm concerned that government intervention into private businesses is just crossing the line.

Deval Patrick: Focus on stimulating economic growth via local aid

Grace Ross: Shift $3B in more taxes on very rich by flattening tax rates

ROSS: Well, it’s very straightforward. If you add together all the many taxes that everyone’s been talking about and you look at who pays those taxes it turns out that the folks at the bottom pay about twice out of every dollar what the folks at the top do. So if we had a system that was even flat, not just for income tax but for all taxes, we would have about $3 billion more, mostly coming from the folks at the very top. So that’s $3 billion more in a $22 billion budget. Then if we look at an issue like we spend about a billion dollars a year on sweetheart siting deals for big corporations--we have a very uneven system. That’s a billion more dollars in our budget, combine reporting for corporations, which requires them to actually pay for the business they do in Massachusetts, we get almost $5 billion back with all of those.

Kerry Healey: Focus on local aid and mobilizing people to call for it

MIHOS: But you can’t get it done. You’ve been trying. You won’t work with them, you vilify them each and every day.

HEALEY: The people who are watching here tonight can mobilize and get that done. When people are educated they will pick up their phone and call up their legislator and demand what is theirs and they deserve the rollback.

ROSS: Your office had the capacity to veto any piece of the budget that you wanted to veto and I don’t see the billion dollars that you’re talking about.

HEALEY: They had the capacity to override it. It’s 77% Democrats.

Kerry Healey: Work cooperatively with legislature on economic stimulus

A: My sense is that I have the ability to work cooperatively with the legislature to get things done. I have had a major roll in getting Melanie’s Law passed. And that was, I think, a real test of one’s ability to work in a bipartisan manner. Another example of my ability to get things done within the legislature would be the passage of the witness protection bill, that we recently signed.

Shannon O'Brien: Accused of mismanagement of Abandoned Property account

Mitt Romney: Will cut deficit and help Americans save