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The Pandemic Persists: Pain Points for the Children of Massachusetts
Policymakers have the responsibility and an opportunity to make smart and fair policy choices that will support children and families. This is particularly true now …
Unemployment Insurance Saved the Massachusetts Economy. How Can We Ensure It Will Be Strong for the Future?
More than any other economic program, Unemployment Insurance (UI) has helped the Massachusetts economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. UI enabled many families to remain safe …
Statement on Senate Ways and Means Committee’s FY 2021 Budget
Read the statement by Marie-Frances Rivera, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget), on the Senate Ways and Means Committee’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Budget.
Raising Rates on Unearned Income: An Equitable Way to Avoid Cuts and Support a Robust and Just Recovery
For each one percentage point increase in the state tax rates applied to unearned income, the Commonwealth could raise roughly $465 million a year to …
Envisioning Equity Part III: Reimagining Our Criminal Legal System
For more information, view the presentation slides here. *** The Envisioning Equity Series: Fall 2020 – MassBudget hosted a series of community …
Statement on Governor Baker’s Revised FY 2021 Budget Recommendation
Read the statement by Marie-Frances Rivera, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget), on Governor Baker’s revised Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Recommendation.
Envisioning Equity Part II: Housing to Build a Just Recovery
Watch the full recap to learn the housing policy challenges existing at the national, state, regional, and local levels and to explore ways that antiracist policy choices can help build housing for a just recovery.
Testimony for the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, the Joint Committee on Revenue, and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance Economic Roundtable
We’re clearly in a budget crisis. Which is extremely troubling at this time, when we need real, comprehensive relief for families and individuals — so many of our neighbors, young and old, are struggling with accessing basic necessities and keeping healthy and well.
Our Commonwealth’s budget – how we raise revenue through taxes and fees, and how we spend that revenue – is the clearest picture of our shared values. Considering the revenue side picture is crucial, but the other side of the ledger is just, if not more important.
State Borrowing is No Substitute for New Revenue in Dealing with the COVID-19 Economic Downturn
States rely on borrowing to manage their finances in good times and bad. Yet borrowing is not a substitute for raising the revenue needed for an economic recovery. Policymakers should look to raising progressive new revenues paired with limited borrowing to avoid cuts to critical public spending.
