Yes or No, that is the question

Ahhhh, fall in New England, a time of falling leaves, brisk mornings, wood smoke in the air and colorful campaign signs. Besides the usual signs for all the candidates this year, here in Massachusetts we have our yearly complement of ballot questions. This year we have three of them, one of doing away with the state income tax, one with changing the status of possession of marijuana from being a criminal offense to a civil offense and the third, the perennial question on whether or not dog racing should be banned.

Tonight I have spent some time researching the income tax question and trying to decide whether I should vote yes or no, a yes vote meaning that I want to get rid of the state income tax, a no vote meaning I want to keep the state income tax.

I have provided two links here, one for each side, if you would care to read what each side has to say on the issue.

http://www.votenoquestion1.com

http://www.smallgovernmentact.org

I am still undecided on this issue, what I am afraid of, and I was afraid of this before I even read the propaganda, is if I no longer pay income tax, will my property tax go even higher than it already is? I am not sure how much money comes from the state to run my town, but if they take the state taxes away, will I have to make it up? If I honestly believed that the state would actually eliminate all the waste currently in the government, I would vote yes in a heartbeat, but with the current administration and legislature, I don’t see that happening.

The other scary thing I see, is on the website of the “No” supporters, there is a list of supporters. I see names like “Acorn”, many unions, many citizen organizations and alliances and associations, all people who benefit from the programs and waste created by the state government. It is to all their benefit to keep the income tax to perpetuate their existence.

But then I also look at it this way, no matter how I vote and if the question actually passes, the legislature will somehow find a way to not enact the measure, as they have done in the past. See, here in Massachusetts it really doesn’t matter what the voters want, it’s all about the special interests and the legislature. Oh and don’t forget the children.