Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Massachusetts referendum on income tax repeal

This election, there will be a binding referendum on the Massachusetts ballot to end the state income tax. The proposal would eliminate 40% of state revenues, causing havoc in state budgets and public services, from education to policing.

(U.S. Food Policy is nonpartisan, so I re-read the sentence above several times to be sure it is a dispassionate summary of the facts.)

Several public interest groups are leading a campaign to Vote No on what they call this "reckless" referendum. The groups include Stand for Children and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), an inspirational and astonishingly diverse multi-faith multi-community organization that U.S. Food Policy has covered previously because of its work on the Massachusetts health care reform.

The groups are collecting pledges from registered MA voters who plan to vote no on the referendum. There is no cost to fill out the form. The Vote No campaign tells me contact information you supply will be used once for a reminder before the election, and not sold or shared with other organizations. The main advantage of giving your name is to inform policy-makers about the level of public concern about the referendum. If you would like to pledge in this way, and are willing to let GBIO get credit for having helped to collect your pledge, follow the link to GBIO's part of the Vote No on Question 1 site.

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