January 24, 2025 • 39 mins
Governor Maura Healey has filed her budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026. The plan includes a number of tax increases, a cap on charitable deductions, and a spending increase of about 7%.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray i WBS Costin's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, al, thank you very much. We are in
the nine o'clock hour tonight. Right now, it's nineh eight.
My name is Dan Ray, and we're going to talk
this hour about Massachusetts, our home state, dear Massachusetts. And
I have a reason for this, and we'll get to
that in a moment. I'll tell you that coming up
at ten o'clock tonight, we are going to be talking
(00:27):
with an expert, doctor Sandra Dalton Smith, the author of
Sacred Rest Recover your Life, Renew your energy, and Restore
your sanity. And we're going to talk about getting sleep
and getting rest, and it's so important and I think
it's something that none of us really truly understand and appreciate.
(00:48):
We had doctor Sandra Dalton Smith with us during the
eight o'clock hour within the last two or three weeks,
and I just thought that she would be a great
guest for an hour, and that's happened. That happens a
lot as a matter of a couple of guests. Tonight,
I think we will head back to give you an
opportunity to ask questions. So that's what's going on. And
(01:08):
then at the eleven o'clock hour tonight we would do
what we call the twentieth hour. Even though I haven't
worked all five nights this week, there have been five
nights of nightside. Morgan White was in for me on
Monday and Tuesday night, and my shows this week were Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
I'm here all next week, by the way, fear not,
but we do twenty hours of nightside every week, and
(01:30):
we like to kind of end the week on a
lighter note at also the ten o'clock hour. It's going
to be a note which hopefully is going to give
us some cause for thought and cause for a pause
for rest, the idea that all of us probably are
not getting the amount of sleep that we need. And
that's what we'll talk about a ten. So let's talk about
(01:51):
something that is near deer to my heart, and that
is the comwalth of Massachusetts. And there was a time
not so long ago when Massachusetts was colloquially referred to
as Taxachusetts. That was back in the nineteen eighties. And
then we had a series of Republican governors Weld and Salucci,
(02:15):
Acting Governor Jane Swift. Dare I say, Mitt Romney and
Charlie Baker, and to a more or a lesser degree,
the Republicans tend to be a little bit more skeptical
about burdening wage earners, workers, people who get up every
(02:38):
day and do something earn their living. And not only
the federal government, but the state government wants to take
more and more and more. So today or tonight, I
would love to talk to you in Massachusetts about the
dilemma that we find ourselves in. And that dilemma is
(03:00):
that our government here in Massachusetts, and particularly our legislature,
about our government across the board, they have a hunger
and a need for more money every year. I don't
know how many of you have gotten raises in the
last two or three years, but the one thing that
(03:20):
I can tell you is the government always in Massachusetts
gets a raise now right now. Earlier this evening, I
received from the Media Relations Office of the Governor a synopsis,
a little bit of a summary of the budget that
(03:44):
the Governor Heatley has proposed. They're characterizing per budget as
fifty nine point six billion dollars. That's a lot of money, Okay. However, However,
when I go to a state website which is actually
the governor's budget FY twenty six recommendations. That website says
(04:06):
that the governor is recommending a state budget. Her recommendation
is nearly sixty two billion dollars, So there's a little
bit of a discrepancy there about two and a half
billion dollars. One of the Boston newspapers today was suggesting
that it's even higher than that. But whatever it is,
(04:31):
the state always seems to need more money. So now
at the Boston Globe, editorially, I think it's today, was
it yesterday? It's their editorial yesterday they finished up, and
of course the Globe is always in favor of tax increases,
whether it's again needed, MBTA not necessarily needed as much education.
(05:00):
There's a lot of needs here in the Commonwealth. But
for example, they finish up by saying lawmakers also need
to discuss whether they're willing to raise taxes to keep
the budget balanced. Healey's budget relies on three hundred and
twelve million dollars from new tax policies. Three hundred and
twelve million dollars. That's real money. It's about a third
of a billion dollars when you think about it. In
(05:21):
twenty twenty three, the state authorized a charitable donation tax deduction.
It had no limit, but now Healey is proposing capping
that deduction at five thousand dollars per filer. So what
that means is that in Massachusetts there are some very
wealthy people who make substantial donations to medical facilities, to universities,
(05:49):
to some of the big charities that we all are
very familiar with, United Way and others, boys clubs and
girls clubs and all of that. And it's a way
in which services can be provided to individuals whomever. There's
a lot of charities, great charities here in Massachusetts. We
do our night Side Charity Combine every year, last two
(06:13):
hours of my broadcast year in late December. We have
done that now for this was our twelfth year that
we have done I believe was our twelfth in December
last month, December of twenty twenty four. And look, there
are people who might who make donations to charities of
five dollars and ten dollars or one hundred dollars, which
is wonderful, uh, and it makes it's it's a very
(06:39):
good instinct. But then there are people who make donations
you'll see them of one hundred million dollars to this,
you know, to the Harvard School of Public Health, and
and there was a charitable deduction which the voters passed
back in the year two thousand and three, and through
a number of governors and legislatures that was ignored and
(07:01):
then it was finally put into a play here in Massachusetts.
For many, many years there was no charitable deductions allowed,
meaning whatever charity charitable contribution you were to make it was,
it was great for the charity, but there was no
(07:22):
tax break for the donor. Well, now what they have
decided to do is to cap it. So that means,
if you're a very wealthy person, you might still give
your one hundred million dollars to one of the big
teaching hospitals here in Boston, or you might say, you
(07:42):
know what, maybe I'll hold on to that money. And
maybe since I'm being surrounded by taxes more and more
every year here in Massachusetts, and some of the things
that will be taxed are going to be nicked nicotine,
different types of nicotine, a candy.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Again, it's almost as if that in Massachusetts we taxed
things anything that moves and anything that doesn't move, and
they just go out of their way. Their appetite is rapacious.
It is just it can never be satisfied here in Massachusetts.
(08:29):
So you earn your money. And the question that I
want some of you to answer for me is how
much do you feel the government, the federal government and
the state government should take from your paychecks. That's really
kind of my bottom line question. Now you may say, well,
it doesn't really matter to me because whatever. Okay, well
(08:50):
it should, but that's okay. But I'll tell you who
it's going to matter to. And we've talked about this before,
and i'd love to hear those of you who are
sports fans. You were going to see Boston sports teams,
professional sports teams, the Celtics, the Bruins, the Red Sox,
and the Patriots and the Revolution to a lesser extent
because they don't have the big, multimillion dollar year contracts.
(09:12):
You're gonna see more and more professional athletes say hey,
and athletes agents say I'm not having my guy sign
with the Red Sox or the Yankees, that those taxes
are out of you know, I'm going to have them
sign up with the Texas Rangers, or they're going to
sign up with the Tampa Bay Devil, the Tampa Bay Rays,
(09:33):
or in cities and in states where where the amount
of taxes that they pay on a big contract, if
you're signing a one hundred million dollar contract, and if
you're conscious of how much of that money you're going
to get as a pro athlete, and if it's a
close call, you know, the Red Sox we're chasing Juan Soto.
(09:57):
And again, not to get too derailed here in sports,
but one of the things we love about Massachusetts we
have good professional sports teams and we go to the Garden,
go to Gillect for the most part, or go to
Fenway Park and know that you're looking at a contending team. Well,
a lot of that's going to go away. But even
more importantly, Massachusetts, Massachusetts is going to once again earn
(10:22):
the reputation of being Taxachusetts. It has already. We see
there's more people leaving Massachusetts. And the people who are
leaving Massachusetts are the people who earn more money because
tax policy does make a difference.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I know some of you are going to say, Dan,
you're talking about tax policy. I don't even know what
you're talking about. If you have a question, give me
a call. I want to know from each of you.
Whatever you do for a job, however much money you make,
how much money do you feel at the end of
the year does the government meaning the Feds and the state,
(10:57):
And in some cases I guess well, in many cases
your town's particularly if you own a home, what percentage
of your money do you feel the government should have
a right to take from you? That's the question you
have the answers six, one, seven, two, five, four, ten
thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty. And
(11:18):
if there's anyone listening out there tonight who have moved
out of Massachusetts in whole or in part because of
the tax policies here, love to hear from you. You
don't have to identify yourself. You could use a different
name if you want, tell me what state you've moved to,
tell me what you do for a living, and tell
me why you moved. It's as simple as that. All
(11:39):
of these it is just the question of I want
the government out of people's pockets. Okay, I really do.
The government has some great responsibilities that I think all
of us agree are necessary, but it just seems to
me that they will get in your pocket every way,
Whether it's the candy bar that you that you're going
(12:01):
to buy, the small little pleasures of life. They're going
to allow mount more cameras, more speed cameras, to make
sure that if you're caught speeding, they want to penalize you,
and they want to tax you, particularly if you're someone
who earns a living, if you're a citizen and you're
a worker, or for that matter, if you're a non
citizen and you're a worker and you're getting a paycheck
(12:24):
as opposed to being paid under the table, you're paying
some taxes. How much do you think the government should
extract from you? Just you? I will be back on Nightside. Well,
what are the numbers real? Really? See six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one ten
thirty Those are the two numbers will get you through.
(12:45):
And this has nothing to do, in my opinion, with
Democrats and Republicans. This has everything to do with you
and how much you're how much you need to pay
to government to in order to have the privilege of
living in Massachusetts. Back on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Taxes. We have. We fought a revolution about this, by
the way back in the late seventeen hundreds, No taxation
without representation. Remember that was the cry of the patriots,
not the current New England patriots. No no, no, no, no, no,
the original patriots, ladies and gentlemen. So I just want
(13:29):
to go to the calls and I want to hear
from you. And here's the other thing. I want someone
to explain to me the phrase when they say people
should pay their fair share, but that they should do
fair share. No one defines what fair share means. You know,
some people fair share means everything. Some people it might
mean very little. But love to know, you know, with
(13:50):
the signs fair share, make people pay the fair share,
fair share. Let's go. Let me go to John and Deanna. Hey, John, welcome,
how are you tonight? Welcome? Hey.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Before you get to the topic on hand, just a
program may suggest I wish your station would spend at
least an hour week for more government waste, government fraud
people calling in. I think we all know somebody who
works for the government or subsidized the company and they
do nothing, They get a ridiculous compensation package. Everything costs
more Massachusetts electricity, auto insurance, and obviously taxes too. So
(14:24):
but to address your question, my opinion, we should have
a higher skin of deduction. I'm abitryly just picking like
one hundred thousand. The first hundred thousand your tax free.
You have a sales tax, you should be able to
make pay all our state's expenses based on that sales tax.
Although wait, we made double tax and we know, like
how many times you hear we want to raise the
(14:45):
gas tax when there's no accountability for the current revenue
from gas tax, the roads get done, nothing's getting repaired,
and where are our tax dollars going?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, and enough. I wish, I wish I had a
good answer for you. I really don't. I don't think
I can tell you this. I've spent a lot of
winter time in New Hampshire, and when I last checked,
I might be wrong on this one. New Hampshire was
north of Massachusetts, and New Hampshire receives more snow and
(15:19):
more cold weather the further north you go. And yet
their roads are better than the roads in Massachusetts, and
they keep those roads better at about a third of
the cost per mile of what we spend on the
roads in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Sorry, within the last week that that Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
If somebody knows this, please call him. We get electricity
off the same grid, but for some reason, New Hampshire's
electricity is a fraction of what Massachusetts cost. And again,
I'll tell.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
You what, I'll try to look into that. I'll tell
you that you know they've former governor for eight years
was Kristanunu And Kristan Unho is a business guy. And
if he thought that he could get rates lowered for
his consumers in New Hampshire, I'm sure he probably came
up with some sort of a deal that benefited his
(16:18):
you know, his constituents. I don't know, think the governor.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
But when the governor's doing, not the new governor bringing
up trying to get all the Massachusetts businesses to move
to New Hampshire and rightfully sew it a day. One
last thing came when you said that fair ship. I
think I've been saying the same thing when Biden used
to say it. Obama used to say it. I don't
care Republican the Democrat has it, Can you please define it?
Speaker 2 (16:40):
They don't want to define it because you know, it's
something where where people who don't think and you're a thinker,
and most of my listeners think it's like everybody should
pay the fair share. Yo, how much is that? Ooh?
You know, for me it's like two percent, but for
you it's on fifty five percent. I mean, you know.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
It's And if you're not if you last this year,
if you're not illegal, and you make you a million dollars,
you pay no taxes. Good for you. You know that's
the law. Right, you'll go up with a tax law change.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Well, what I'm a big I'm a big believer and
I think you are too, uh in the concept of
a flat tax. Meaning you you talk about all the
corporate loopholes in the federal you know, taxes and all
of that, and the K Street lobbyist down in Washington,
And the reason all those people get there and get
paid a lot of money and they make donations to
(17:31):
politicians who write the Internal Revenue Code is they want
to have a tax break for their industry. Want to
have a tax break for this tax break for that.
We don't have anyone representing us down there except members
of Congress, and here in Massachusetts, very few of them
really interested in looking out for me or you. They
that's just the way it is. They're down there. But
(17:53):
but if you have a flat tax, you could say,
as you said, anybody who makes up to let's say,
seventy thousand dollars a year, doesn't pay any tax on
the first seventy thousand dollars. An absolute deduction, a deduction
on that across the board. Everybody gets that off. And
then you begin to say, Okay, everybody's gonna pay. And
I've seen different figures twelve percent, thirteen percent. If you're
(18:17):
if you're making ten million dollars a year, you're gonna
pay thirteen percent on that doesn't matter what investments you make.
No loopholes, no.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
No, no deductions, no credits.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeahs simple as that. And that would be a fair share.
But that's not what they want. The people who are
who are mouthing the platitude fair share, they want us.
What they're really saying is soak the rich.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
And guess what I guarantee I think again, those people
who are saying pay your fair share, I guarantee you
they're not paying their fair share of taxes.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Most of them aren't paying anything exactly because they're the
ones who are outside demonstrating in the middle of the
week on a Wednesday morning. Anyway, John, you got to
call my show more off and I love you spirit man.
And when's the last time you called this show?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Uh, probably a week or two ago.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Well, keep keep the pace up then, I love it,
I really do. Thank you so much. Okay, thank you, Toby.
And he's an honest man too. We got news at
the bottom of the hour coming up. It's nine to
thirty one. We're a little bit late. We will talk
about this only until nine o'clock. So if you have
a different point of view, if you think that rich
people should pay substantially more than they're paying now, if
(19:27):
you believe in soak the rich, come on, tell me why,
tell me why? At what point do you stop soaking
them or do you just soak them until they say,
I don't like the tax policies and I don't like
the weather, and I'm heading south back on nightside. The
only line that's well, they got one line at six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty and he can try also six one, seven, nine, three,
(19:50):
one ten thirty back on nightside right after this, and ladies,
I want you, I want to hear from you, folks.
I have my calls at this point, most of them
seem to be mail. I want to hear females on this. Okay,
simple as that. What what what is the fee? What's
your fears? Share? Tell me what you think it is?
Back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
You're on night Side with on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Okay, let's get back to the calls. We're going to
go to this, says doctor Silo in Lowell. Doctor Silo,
how are you that type of doctor?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Pretty good? Pretty good?
Speaker 5 (20:26):
Dan?
Speaker 4 (20:27):
How are you good?
Speaker 2 (20:28):
What sort of doctor?
Speaker 4 (20:29):
If I could ask, I do engineering, energy, research, and
renewable resources.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Excellent? So tell us what uh what do you think
of Massachusetts tax policies?
Speaker 4 (20:48):
All right, this is gonna be short and sweet. My
personal thing is, yeah, I've lived in mass all my life,
so I can put in forty years if I I've
been in mass plus. I believe I believe that my
own this is just my own personal opinion. I believe
(21:09):
that there's a hidden, a hidden corruption in the tax
system in the state. And the reason I say there
is because I mean there's no oversight to determine what
they really do with the tax money that they already receive.
And you know, I'm not going I'm not going into
(21:31):
explaining to you know, residents of mass of what we're
taxed for. We're taxed for damned near everything.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
But well, as they said, there's the tax doctor silo,
anything that moves or anything that doesn't.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Move exactly, and and and there there needs to be
some kind of oversight, Like I see a position where
they say, okay, we're going to list all the all
the monetary requirements that the state needs to run the state,
and then they need the list where the money comes from.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
You know, I have some good news for you actually,
and I'm being very serious when I say that we
have a position for that responsibility who we elect every
four years. It's a state auditor. And we finally have
a state auditor and auditor Diana does Ugly, who happens
to be a Democrat, by the way, who wants to audit,
amongst other things, the legislature and their stonewallinger.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Yeah, I know that this is what I mean. They
don't want they don't want any oversight. And I look
at it. I've heard about that, and I said, well,
actually we voted on it, and we said yes, she
should be able to she should be able to audit you.
Because see, the thing people are, the citizens of mass
needs to realize is look, if you're up in Beacon
(22:51):
Hill and you're doing your job and they say we
got to audit you, you should say, Okay, I ain't got
no problems with that. But if you if you want,
I want to put some kind of shield or barrier
up so you can't be audited, then you must have
some kind of hidden corruption in there. That's what I
would think, and I think everybody in the all citizens
of the state would think the same thing.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Wouldn't it be great if someday someone you get a
letter from the I R S that says we're going
to audit you. Did you could say what the legislature
says is nope, you kin'd audit me.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
That, Well, we can't, we can't do that. We we
know we file uh, you know, off off the top
of my head. If you get a letter from the
I R S saying you owe a certain amount of money,
you can file a hardship form. And most of the
time the I R S will say, okay, we understand,
you know, we know we had the COVID and a
bunch of other stuff. Usually the I R. S is
(23:48):
pretty reasonable. Now, maybe that's kind of strange for me
to say that, but I think they're kind of reasonable.
But they have oversight. The State Master doesn't have no
oversight that I know of. They're supposed to to have it.
But they say, oh no, you can't audit us.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Well, that take me saying we've had the state auditor
on the program on several occasions and we stand shoulder
to shoulder with her in her effort to audit the
state legislature, and we'll have her back.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
That's no promise, right, So why do you why do
why would you even deny her the chance to go
in there and audit you if you weren't doing something wrong? Yeah,
doesn't that make sense?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
No, of course it does. But what they're going to
say is, we have the separation of powers. We're the
legislative branch, and we should not be audited by.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Something that doesn't to me. To me as a as
a citizen that lives here, you know you you can
be audited. I don't care who you are or what
kind of powers you have. And Beacon Hill, if if
the government or the or the people say Hey, yeah,
we want you to be audited. Now, if you let
the audit go through and just say yeah, we're going
(24:54):
to give you whatever you need, most people would say, okay,
well they must be doing their job. But if, for if,
if you even think about saying no, people are going
to think, well, you must have some kind of corruption
going on in there, because that's what I would think.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Yeah. No. You know, first of all, I don't think
you've ever called my show before, so I want to
welcome that I have that you haven't. Well, your first
time caller, we give you a round of applause here
from a digital studio audience. You understanding ovation.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
I'd listen to your show all the time. When I
come back from work. I usually get out, like at
eleven thirty at one of my jobs, and then I
turn you on and I say, man, I got to
call this guy Dan for something, and this is it.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
So well, you hit a home run tonight, and I
hope you come back and step into the batter's box again. Okay,
And I really mean that. Thank you, doctor Silo, Thank
you very much.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Great night, Youtobe YouTube, take care, bye bye you too.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Good night. Let me go to jose In Braintree. Jose,
how are you, sir?
Speaker 4 (25:54):
I'm doing pretty well. Oh Dan, I got I gotta
tell you.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
I live in the town a brainch where they test
the property test or increase.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (26:03):
The voters did that just to keep the jobs for
like schools and like the.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
Just in general, the public works.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
I don't have a problem, pain.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Can you hear me?
Speaker 2 (26:18):
I can hear you. Very fine, very well, you go
right ahead. I'm just go ahead.
Speaker 6 (26:22):
And so just just in the year this this year,
my property tax went up three hundred dollars a quarter.
So it okay, that being said, is like your first
college said, where's these taxes going? Like as soon as
the dollars exchange your tax on it with the receiver
(26:45):
and the person paying. So it's it's quite upsetting. Like
I don't care what what what party you with, Republican
or Democrat. We're tired of this. We're tired of this
massive it's it's ridiculous. Like wherever you turn, you.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Sound like, Jose, you sound like a young guy to me.
I don't know how old you are, but when when
you're how much twenty five?
Speaker 4 (27:13):
You said, thirty five, thirty five?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Okay, well you're you're a young guy. You're half my age.
When I was your age. Back many years ago, Massachusetts
was called Taxachusetts because they just had these insane policies
and they tax more now than they ever did, and
they can. They want to go up on everything. They're
going to have pretty soon. Cameras on roads, so if
(27:38):
you make a turn, you know, you go through a
red light or through a yellow light, or you don't
stop or whatever, they'll have your that's a form of taxation.
I mean, obviously not technically it's taxation, but it's another
way with the government's going to get their hand in
your pocket. They think it's worth it to put the
cameras up, hire more people, to to send out tickets
(28:01):
to people, bills to people. You know, it's just going
to force people to leave Massachusetts. You know, I've lived
here my entire life too, But you get to a
point where you say, you know what, enough is enough,
No moss, no moss.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I lived here all my life, and each day I'm
closer and close to looking into a warmer state that
the taxes aren't crazy.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
Yeah, well, there's a bunch of them. Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, Texas.
There yea, and again people, you know, people have had
that choice. What do you think in all honesty, don't
tell me how much you make or anything like that.
It doesn't matter. What do you think would be a
fair amount of taxes. Let's say for every thousand dollars
that you earn, and you work, so you get up
(28:47):
every day, five days a week or whatever whatever, how
many days a week out of one thousand dollars, how
much should the government be able to take out of
your pocket, both in terms of federal, state, and local
What should it add up two d.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
I'm okay with a quarter of it, and totally I'm
okay with that.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Okay, and I think that's a reasonable figure. Because you
have property taxes. You live in brain Tree, you have
property taxes, you have state income taxes, you have federal
income taxes, and of course you also pay a lot
of taxes. Every time you go to the supermarket, there's
you know, sales tax on this or sale or you
know different you know, different sales taxes. They're gasoline taxes.
(29:28):
When you pay you know, two ninety or two ninety
five for gallon of gasoline, a good portion of that
goes to state. In federal taxes. You don't even really
most people don't even realize that you probably do. But
there's there's fairly substantial taxes by the way, both federal
and state, on every gallon of gasoline that you put
in your car so you can afford to go and
(29:50):
drive to work.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Yeah, exactly what you're saying. This is one thing I
want people to be careful with as well.
Speaker 7 (29:58):
Like if you ever pay your ex tax by cash? Yeah,
if you ever do that by cash, I believe the
person that the people that take care of the state.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
I think it's Kelly Ryan that take care of the payment.
Speaker 4 (30:16):
Uh, There's been numerous the times that.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
That I've paid.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
It's which which is my fault?
Speaker 6 (30:22):
I paid the XO tax in cash at like when
I lived in Boston at City Hall or in Brainstreet.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I do that. Never do that. You got to always
on that use a check. Okay, that's you know, that's
the safest lesson.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Let'son learned.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
He Jose, thank you so much, Thank Jose, thank you
for Have you called before? Is this your first time?
Speaker 4 (30:47):
I called?
Speaker 6 (30:48):
When when I first uh, when I was eighteen, when
I first voted. We we we had a conversation so
years ago.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Well I've only been in the year here. We're in
my eighteenth year. So I I want you to come
back more often, because eighteen years from now, Jose, I'm
probably gonna be retired.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
So I love people.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I loved your call. Get out and run for public office.
What sort of work do you do? Don't just tell
don't tell me where you work, but what type of
work do you do?
Speaker 4 (31:19):
I'm a commercial driver.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Good for you, Good for you, well, good for you.
You are the backbone. I have a friend of mine
named Steve who's a long haul truck driver, you guys,
and a fellow named sterling out in South Dakota who
drives all over the country. You guys are the backboat
of the country because there's nothing that I buy that
you guys don't transport to the stores that I go
(31:41):
to buy. So thank you for what you do. You
are the backboat of this country, my friend. Thank you, welcome.
Thanks than Jose. Good night. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty. Those are the line. Those are the only
lines that are open right now. I got coming up,
I got JJ, and I got Terry, got a little
root for you. Give me a call. We're gonna change time.
Topics of ten. Going to talk about how to get
(32:02):
better rest, how to get better sleep. We all need it.
Coming back on nights Side.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Back to the phones. You go, let me go to
JJ in Winchester. JJ. Welcome. How are I.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
Thank you well? I'm doing well. Thanks stan So. To
answer your question, I think you know me well enough
to know what I'm about to say. Zero percent income
tax zero It's the worst thing they could ever do
to the Constitution at an amendment like that. Get rid
of it. And also, you know, the people have to
(32:43):
really understand what is the proper role of government. Is
the government's jobbed the vibe for us? Well, then the
government people away from us. Too big enough to give
us everything, they're big enough to take it all away
as well.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
The government giveth and the government takes.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
That's the way I like the way you said it, though, Dan,
You've been saying it a long time, and I like it.
The government that is the smallest governs the best. I think,
I you know, maybe change it around a little bit,
but you know what I means.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
And a.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Vigilant because why should they a group of elite representatives
both themselves raises decide what should be spent on, what
the money should be spent on. No, let's all look
at what is money really being spent on? Is it
really efficient? Is it really necessary?
Speaker 2 (33:35):
You know. One of the things that you can do,
UH is you know someone will say, well, okay, JJ,
how do you raise money for police and fire and
all of that. You can have what's called the value
added tax. They do a lot of that in Europe
where were people who buy Maseraties and Lamborghinis. They get
hit with a healthy tax on top of that, you know,
(33:58):
so you know, off of the cost of the car.
And there could be you can have there's different ways
to raise money. Look, and I love what I love
JJ is the people who say people, the rich people
should pay their fair share. And they just ask them
what's their fair share?
Speaker 3 (34:18):
And I'm gonna I'm gonna petition you to get a
guest on he's he's some sound Money defense league And
basically they make they help legislators in every state, including
Massachusetts or Taxachusets to start thinking about fiscal and UH
monetary policy. They go together because if you talk about
(34:41):
supporting firemen and police and all that necessary stuff, Well
I I okay, but what's what's happening is we have
a fiat currency that loses values, so we have to
spend more money to take care of those departments, and
we don't know it's it's not efficient. We have to
we have to overhaul this whole thing.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
No, there's a lot of reform that is needed. But
I just love it when you say you have people,
you know, tax the rich, soak the rich. The next
one's going to be eat the rich.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
Yeah, and I have someone on my Facebook friend list
that it keeps saying that, but you know it's it's
not it's it's an emotional slogan. It makes them feel good,
but in reality, it doesn't. It doesn't work. It just
causes job creators, which the wealthy are right, you're not
working for someone poorer than you, right, You're working with
someone created your job and had the capital do it
(35:36):
or the investment. We're driving them away. This is a
failed state. I hate to say that about Massachusetts because
I live here, but it's a failed state when you
have to continue to soak people working people continue to
take from them, and spend, spend, spend on stuff. They
don't even know what you're spending on. We don't even know.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
We saw some of it, We saw some of the
no big contracts that out of the shelter, and that
has woken Governor Heally up. I think she's actually her
eyes have now been open to that. My favorite is
the guy that got the six million dollars no big contract,
the cab company on the Cape. It's a lot of
cab rides. For six million dollars. You could ride a
cab probably all day long in the Cape and still
(36:18):
have money left over.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Remably, shouldn't be tacked in the rights to work, shouldn't
be attacked seat. I think we need to have all
mind shift in our culture about what the role of
government should be, and then we can stop to solve
these problems. Thank you for coming this topic.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Then JJ, I should have I should have thought to
dedicate the show to you. But but send me the
information in that group. You got my email and I'll
look into it. Thank you much.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
Yeah, okay, thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Let me go to Terry down to the Cape. Terry,
welcome back. How are you. How's everything? I bet it's
cold in the Cape tonight, Terry. No beach beaches, beach
activity this weekend's no, there's.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
No swimming down here. Damn. How are you I'm doing?
Speaker 2 (37:02):
I hope you'd have it.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
A good winter.
Speaker 5 (37:05):
Yeah, it's not bad, honest. So I got a different
spin on this a little bit because I am not
an expert in state budgetary. It's too many storws for
me to think of. But one of the things that
bothers me the most is fraud and corruption. I recently
(37:29):
learned that when Governor Sheerly took her oath of office
to be governor, she inherited a three billion dollar payback
to the federal government that's required.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
It was two point one billion dollars that was incurred
under the Baker administration and.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
Now but it was three billion, but because they used
COVID money to pay unemployment benefits, correct, and they shouldn't have.
But Governor Baker, and excuse me, Governor Heally and her
team successfully negotiated that down to two point five billion
(38:21):
dollar payback over ten years. And then we have the
crisis with the Catholic Church and all of those hospitals
that went under because the Catholic Church direct restored them
to a for profit institution to run hospitals so that
(38:43):
they could make more money to pay out their nine
hundred and eighty four million dollars settlement on the sexual
abuse issues that are ongoing.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
It's amazing how all of these things have impacted internally.
You've raised some great points. Unfortunately, I got fifteen seconds left.
Speaker 5 (39:03):
In the hour, and Dan, we got that tea that
ran out under the premious administration, under that horrible storm
they weren't prepared for, and that costs billions of dollars,
and that's coming out of our pockets.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
Dan, you bet.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
You, you bet you. And it all comes down to
incompetent leadership in one form or another. Terry, I gotta
let you run. Stay warm this weekend, Okay, he in.
Speaker 5 (39:31):
Errig is it? Okay?
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Bye Dan, good night, bye bye. All right, we get back.
We're going to talk about how to get better sleep.
In the importance of sleep. I think there's going to
be an interesting hour for everyone. No politics, everybody sleeps.
We're coming back on Night Side
It's Night Side with Dan Ray i WBS Costin's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, al, thank you very much. We are in
the nine o'clock hour tonight. Right now, it's nineh eight.
My name is Dan Ray, and we're going to talk
this hour about Massachusetts, our home state, dear Massachusetts. And
I have a reason for this, and we'll get to
that in a moment. I'll tell you that coming up
at ten o'clock tonight, we are going to be talking
(00:27):
with an expert, doctor Sandra Dalton Smith, the author of
Sacred Rest Recover your Life, Renew your energy, and Restore
your sanity. And we're going to talk about getting sleep
and getting rest, and it's so important and I think
it's something that none of us really truly understand and appreciate.
(00:48):
We had doctor Sandra Dalton Smith with us during the
eight o'clock hour within the last two or three weeks,
and I just thought that she would be a great
guest for an hour, and that's happened. That happens a
lot as a matter of a couple of guests. Tonight,
I think we will head back to give you an
opportunity to ask questions. So that's what's going on. And
(01:08):
then at the eleven o'clock hour tonight we would do
what we call the twentieth hour. Even though I haven't
worked all five nights this week, there have been five
nights of nightside. Morgan White was in for me on
Monday and Tuesday night, and my shows this week were Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
I'm here all next week, by the way, fear not,
but we do twenty hours of nightside every week, and
(01:30):
we like to kind of end the week on a
lighter note at also the ten o'clock hour. It's going
to be a note which hopefully is going to give
us some cause for thought and cause for a pause
for rest, the idea that all of us probably are
not getting the amount of sleep that we need. And
that's what we'll talk about a ten. So let's talk about
(01:51):
something that is near deer to my heart, and that
is the comwalth of Massachusetts. And there was a time
not so long ago when Massachusetts was colloquially referred to
as Taxachusetts. That was back in the nineteen eighties. And
then we had a series of Republican governors Weld and Salucci,
(02:15):
Acting Governor Jane Swift. Dare I say, Mitt Romney and
Charlie Baker, and to a more or a lesser degree,
the Republicans tend to be a little bit more skeptical
about burdening wage earners, workers, people who get up every
(02:38):
day and do something earn their living. And not only
the federal government, but the state government wants to take
more and more and more. So today or tonight, I
would love to talk to you in Massachusetts about the
dilemma that we find ourselves in. And that dilemma is
(03:00):
that our government here in Massachusetts, and particularly our legislature,
about our government across the board, they have a hunger
and a need for more money every year. I don't
know how many of you have gotten raises in the
last two or three years, but the one thing that
(03:20):
I can tell you is the government always in Massachusetts
gets a raise now right now. Earlier this evening, I
received from the Media Relations Office of the Governor a synopsis,
a little bit of a summary of the budget that
(03:44):
the Governor Heatley has proposed. They're characterizing per budget as
fifty nine point six billion dollars. That's a lot of money, Okay. However, However,
when I go to a state website which is actually
the governor's budget FY twenty six recommendations. That website says
(04:06):
that the governor is recommending a state budget. Her recommendation
is nearly sixty two billion dollars, So there's a little
bit of a discrepancy there about two and a half
billion dollars. One of the Boston newspapers today was suggesting
that it's even higher than that. But whatever it is,
(04:31):
the state always seems to need more money. So now
at the Boston Globe, editorially, I think it's today, was
it yesterday? It's their editorial yesterday they finished up, and
of course the Globe is always in favor of tax increases,
whether it's again needed, MBTA not necessarily needed as much education.
(05:00):
There's a lot of needs here in the Commonwealth. But
for example, they finish up by saying lawmakers also need
to discuss whether they're willing to raise taxes to keep
the budget balanced. Healey's budget relies on three hundred and
twelve million dollars from new tax policies. Three hundred and
twelve million dollars. That's real money. It's about a third
of a billion dollars when you think about it. In
(05:21):
twenty twenty three, the state authorized a charitable donation tax deduction.
It had no limit, but now Healey is proposing capping
that deduction at five thousand dollars per filer. So what
that means is that in Massachusetts there are some very
wealthy people who make substantial donations to medical facilities, to universities,
(05:49):
to some of the big charities that we all are
very familiar with, United Way and others, boys clubs and
girls clubs and all of that. And it's a way
in which services can be provided to individuals whomever. There's
a lot of charities, great charities here in Massachusetts. We
do our night Side Charity Combine every year, last two
(06:13):
hours of my broadcast year in late December. We have
done that now for this was our twelfth year that
we have done I believe was our twelfth in December
last month, December of twenty twenty four. And look, there
are people who might who make donations to charities of
five dollars and ten dollars or one hundred dollars, which
is wonderful, uh, and it makes it's it's a very
(06:39):
good instinct. But then there are people who make donations
you'll see them of one hundred million dollars to this,
you know, to the Harvard School of Public Health, and
and there was a charitable deduction which the voters passed
back in the year two thousand and three, and through
a number of governors and legislatures that was ignored and
(07:01):
then it was finally put into a play here in Massachusetts.
For many, many years there was no charitable deductions allowed,
meaning whatever charity charitable contribution you were to make it was,
it was great for the charity, but there was no
(07:22):
tax break for the donor. Well, now what they have
decided to do is to cap it. So that means,
if you're a very wealthy person, you might still give
your one hundred million dollars to one of the big
teaching hospitals here in Boston, or you might say, you
(07:42):
know what, maybe I'll hold on to that money. And
maybe since I'm being surrounded by taxes more and more
every year here in Massachusetts, and some of the things
that will be taxed are going to be nicked nicotine,
different types of nicotine, a candy.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Again, it's almost as if that in Massachusetts we taxed
things anything that moves and anything that doesn't move, and
they just go out of their way. Their appetite is rapacious.
It is just it can never be satisfied here in Massachusetts.
(08:29):
So you earn your money. And the question that I
want some of you to answer for me is how
much do you feel the government, the federal government and
the state government should take from your paychecks. That's really
kind of my bottom line question. Now you may say, well,
it doesn't really matter to me because whatever. Okay, well
(08:50):
it should, but that's okay. But I'll tell you who
it's going to matter to. And we've talked about this before,
and i'd love to hear those of you who are
sports fans. You were going to see Boston sports teams,
professional sports teams, the Celtics, the Bruins, the Red Sox,
and the Patriots and the Revolution to a lesser extent
because they don't have the big, multimillion dollar year contracts.
(09:12):
You're gonna see more and more professional athletes say hey,
and athletes agents say I'm not having my guy sign
with the Red Sox or the Yankees, that those taxes
are out of you know, I'm going to have them
sign up with the Texas Rangers, or they're going to
sign up with the Tampa Bay Devil, the Tampa Bay Rays,
(09:33):
or in cities and in states where where the amount
of taxes that they pay on a big contract, if
you're signing a one hundred million dollar contract, and if
you're conscious of how much of that money you're going
to get as a pro athlete, and if it's a
close call, you know, the Red Sox we're chasing Juan Soto.
(09:57):
And again, not to get too derailed here in sports,
but one of the things we love about Massachusetts we
have good professional sports teams and we go to the Garden,
go to Gillect for the most part, or go to
Fenway Park and know that you're looking at a contending team. Well,
a lot of that's going to go away. But even
more importantly, Massachusetts, Massachusetts is going to once again earn
(10:22):
the reputation of being Taxachusetts. It has already. We see
there's more people leaving Massachusetts. And the people who are
leaving Massachusetts are the people who earn more money because
tax policy does make a difference.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I know some of you are going to say, Dan,
you're talking about tax policy. I don't even know what
you're talking about. If you have a question, give me
a call. I want to know from each of you.
Whatever you do for a job, however much money you make,
how much money do you feel at the end of
the year does the government meaning the Feds and the state,
(10:57):
And in some cases I guess well, in many cases
your town's particularly if you own a home, what percentage
of your money do you feel the government should have
a right to take from you? That's the question you
have the answers six, one, seven, two, five, four, ten
thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty. And
(11:18):
if there's anyone listening out there tonight who have moved
out of Massachusetts in whole or in part because of
the tax policies here, love to hear from you. You
don't have to identify yourself. You could use a different
name if you want, tell me what state you've moved to,
tell me what you do for a living, and tell
me why you moved. It's as simple as that. All
(11:39):
of these it is just the question of I want
the government out of people's pockets. Okay, I really do.
The government has some great responsibilities that I think all
of us agree are necessary, but it just seems to
me that they will get in your pocket every way,
Whether it's the candy bar that you that you're going
(12:01):
to buy, the small little pleasures of life. They're going
to allow mount more cameras, more speed cameras, to make
sure that if you're caught speeding, they want to penalize you,
and they want to tax you, particularly if you're someone
who earns a living, if you're a citizen and you're
a worker, or for that matter, if you're a non
citizen and you're a worker and you're getting a paycheck
(12:24):
as opposed to being paid under the table, you're paying
some taxes. How much do you think the government should
extract from you? Just you? I will be back on Nightside. Well,
what are the numbers real? Really? See six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one ten
thirty Those are the two numbers will get you through.
(12:45):
And this has nothing to do, in my opinion, with
Democrats and Republicans. This has everything to do with you
and how much you're how much you need to pay
to government to in order to have the privilege of
living in Massachusetts. Back on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Taxes. We have. We fought a revolution about this, by
the way back in the late seventeen hundreds, No taxation
without representation. Remember that was the cry of the patriots,
not the current New England patriots. No no, no, no, no, no,
the original patriots, ladies and gentlemen. So I just want
(13:29):
to go to the calls and I want to hear
from you. And here's the other thing. I want someone
to explain to me the phrase when they say people
should pay their fair share, but that they should do
fair share. No one defines what fair share means. You know,
some people fair share means everything. Some people it might
mean very little. But love to know, you know, with
(13:50):
the signs fair share, make people pay the fair share,
fair share. Let's go. Let me go to John and Deanna. Hey, John, welcome,
how are you tonight? Welcome? Hey.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Before you get to the topic on hand, just a
program may suggest I wish your station would spend at
least an hour week for more government waste, government fraud
people calling in. I think we all know somebody who
works for the government or subsidized the company and they
do nothing, They get a ridiculous compensation package. Everything costs
more Massachusetts electricity, auto insurance, and obviously taxes too. So
(14:24):
but to address your question, my opinion, we should have
a higher skin of deduction. I'm abitryly just picking like
one hundred thousand. The first hundred thousand your tax free.
You have a sales tax, you should be able to
make pay all our state's expenses based on that sales tax.
Although wait, we made double tax and we know, like
how many times you hear we want to raise the
(14:45):
gas tax when there's no accountability for the current revenue
from gas tax, the roads get done, nothing's getting repaired,
and where are our tax dollars going?
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, and enough. I wish, I wish I had a
good answer for you. I really don't. I don't think
I can tell you this. I've spent a lot of
winter time in New Hampshire, and when I last checked,
I might be wrong on this one. New Hampshire was
north of Massachusetts, and New Hampshire receives more snow and
(15:19):
more cold weather the further north you go. And yet
their roads are better than the roads in Massachusetts, and
they keep those roads better at about a third of
the cost per mile of what we spend on the
roads in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Sorry, within the last week that that Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
If somebody knows this, please call him. We get electricity
off the same grid, but for some reason, New Hampshire's
electricity is a fraction of what Massachusetts cost. And again,
I'll tell.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
You what, I'll try to look into that. I'll tell
you that you know they've former governor for eight years
was Kristanunu And Kristan Unho is a business guy. And
if he thought that he could get rates lowered for
his consumers in New Hampshire, I'm sure he probably came
up with some sort of a deal that benefited his
(16:18):
you know, his constituents. I don't know, think the governor.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
But when the governor's doing, not the new governor bringing
up trying to get all the Massachusetts businesses to move
to New Hampshire and rightfully sew it a day. One
last thing came when you said that fair ship. I
think I've been saying the same thing when Biden used
to say it. Obama used to say it. I don't
care Republican the Democrat has it, Can you please define it?
Speaker 2 (16:40):
They don't want to define it because you know, it's
something where where people who don't think and you're a thinker,
and most of my listeners think it's like everybody should
pay the fair share. Yo, how much is that? Ooh?
You know, for me it's like two percent, but for
you it's on fifty five percent. I mean, you know.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
It's And if you're not if you last this year,
if you're not illegal, and you make you a million dollars,
you pay no taxes. Good for you. You know that's
the law. Right, you'll go up with a tax law change.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Well, what I'm a big I'm a big believer and
I think you are too, uh in the concept of
a flat tax. Meaning you you talk about all the
corporate loopholes in the federal you know, taxes and all
of that, and the K Street lobbyist down in Washington,
And the reason all those people get there and get
paid a lot of money and they make donations to
(17:31):
politicians who write the Internal Revenue Code is they want
to have a tax break for their industry. Want to
have a tax break for this tax break for that.
We don't have anyone representing us down there except members
of Congress, and here in Massachusetts, very few of them
really interested in looking out for me or you. They
that's just the way it is. They're down there. But
(17:53):
but if you have a flat tax, you could say,
as you said, anybody who makes up to let's say,
seventy thousand dollars a year, doesn't pay any tax on
the first seventy thousand dollars. An absolute deduction, a deduction
on that across the board. Everybody gets that off. And
then you begin to say, Okay, everybody's gonna pay. And
I've seen different figures twelve percent, thirteen percent. If you're
(18:17):
if you're making ten million dollars a year, you're gonna
pay thirteen percent on that doesn't matter what investments you make.
No loopholes, no.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
No, no deductions, no credits.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeahs simple as that. And that would be a fair share.
But that's not what they want. The people who are
who are mouthing the platitude fair share, they want us.
What they're really saying is soak the rich.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
And guess what I guarantee I think again, those people
who are saying pay your fair share, I guarantee you
they're not paying their fair share of taxes.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Most of them aren't paying anything exactly because they're the
ones who are outside demonstrating in the middle of the
week on a Wednesday morning. Anyway, John, you got to
call my show more off and I love you spirit man.
And when's the last time you called this show?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Uh, probably a week or two ago.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Well, keep keep the pace up then, I love it,
I really do. Thank you so much. Okay, thank you, Toby.
And he's an honest man too. We got news at
the bottom of the hour coming up. It's nine to
thirty one. We're a little bit late. We will talk
about this only until nine o'clock. So if you have
a different point of view, if you think that rich
people should pay substantially more than they're paying now, if
(19:27):
you believe in soak the rich, come on, tell me why,
tell me why? At what point do you stop soaking
them or do you just soak them until they say,
I don't like the tax policies and I don't like
the weather, and I'm heading south back on nightside. The
only line that's well, they got one line at six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty and he can try also six one, seven, nine, three,
(19:50):
one ten thirty back on nightside right after this, and ladies,
I want you, I want to hear from you, folks.
I have my calls at this point, most of them
seem to be mail. I want to hear females on this. Okay,
simple as that. What what what is the fee? What's
your fears? Share? Tell me what you think it is?
Back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
You're on night Side with on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Okay, let's get back to the calls. We're going to
go to this, says doctor Silo in Lowell. Doctor Silo,
how are you that type of doctor?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Pretty good? Pretty good?
Speaker 5 (20:26):
Dan?
Speaker 4 (20:27):
How are you good?
Speaker 2 (20:28):
What sort of doctor?
Speaker 4 (20:29):
If I could ask, I do engineering, energy, research, and
renewable resources.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Excellent? So tell us what uh what do you think
of Massachusetts tax policies?
Speaker 4 (20:48):
All right, this is gonna be short and sweet. My
personal thing is, yeah, I've lived in mass all my life,
so I can put in forty years if I I've
been in mass plus. I believe I believe that my
own this is just my own personal opinion. I believe
(21:09):
that there's a hidden, a hidden corruption in the tax
system in the state. And the reason I say there
is because I mean there's no oversight to determine what
they really do with the tax money that they already receive.
And you know, I'm not going I'm not going into
(21:31):
explaining to you know, residents of mass of what we're
taxed for. We're taxed for damned near everything.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
But well, as they said, there's the tax doctor silo,
anything that moves or anything that doesn't.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Move exactly, and and and there there needs to be
some kind of oversight, Like I see a position where
they say, okay, we're going to list all the all
the monetary requirements that the state needs to run the state,
and then they need the list where the money comes from.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
You know, I have some good news for you actually,
and I'm being very serious when I say that we
have a position for that responsibility who we elect every
four years. It's a state auditor. And we finally have
a state auditor and auditor Diana does Ugly, who happens
to be a Democrat, by the way, who wants to audit,
amongst other things, the legislature and their stonewallinger.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Yeah, I know that this is what I mean. They
don't want they don't want any oversight. And I look
at it. I've heard about that, and I said, well,
actually we voted on it, and we said yes, she
should be able to she should be able to audit you.
Because see, the thing people are, the citizens of mass
needs to realize is look, if you're up in Beacon
(22:51):
Hill and you're doing your job and they say we
got to audit you, you should say, Okay, I ain't got
no problems with that. But if you if you want,
I want to put some kind of shield or barrier
up so you can't be audited, then you must have
some kind of hidden corruption in there. That's what I
would think, and I think everybody in the all citizens
of the state would think the same thing.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Wouldn't it be great if someday someone you get a
letter from the I R S that says we're going
to audit you. Did you could say what the legislature
says is nope, you kin'd audit me.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
That, Well, we can't, we can't do that. We we
know we file uh, you know, off off the top
of my head. If you get a letter from the
I R S saying you owe a certain amount of money,
you can file a hardship form. And most of the
time the I R S will say, okay, we understand,
you know, we know we had the COVID and a
bunch of other stuff. Usually the I R. S is
(23:48):
pretty reasonable. Now, maybe that's kind of strange for me
to say that, but I think they're kind of reasonable.
But they have oversight. The State Master doesn't have no
oversight that I know of. They're supposed to to have it.
But they say, oh no, you can't audit us.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Well, that take me saying we've had the state auditor
on the program on several occasions and we stand shoulder
to shoulder with her in her effort to audit the
state legislature, and we'll have her back.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
That's no promise, right, So why do you why do
why would you even deny her the chance to go
in there and audit you if you weren't doing something wrong? Yeah,
doesn't that make sense?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
No, of course it does. But what they're going to
say is, we have the separation of powers. We're the
legislative branch, and we should not be audited by.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Something that doesn't to me. To me as a as
a citizen that lives here, you know you you can
be audited. I don't care who you are or what
kind of powers you have. And Beacon Hill, if if
the government or the or the people say Hey, yeah,
we want you to be audited. Now, if you let
the audit go through and just say yeah, we're going
(24:54):
to give you whatever you need, most people would say, okay,
well they must be doing their job. But if, for if,
if you even think about saying no, people are going
to think, well, you must have some kind of corruption
going on in there, because that's what I would think.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Yeah. No. You know, first of all, I don't think
you've ever called my show before, so I want to
welcome that I have that you haven't. Well, your first
time caller, we give you a round of applause here
from a digital studio audience. You understanding ovation.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
I'd listen to your show all the time. When I
come back from work. I usually get out, like at
eleven thirty at one of my jobs, and then I
turn you on and I say, man, I got to
call this guy Dan for something, and this is it.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
So well, you hit a home run tonight, and I
hope you come back and step into the batter's box again. Okay,
And I really mean that. Thank you, doctor Silo, Thank
you very much.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Great night, Youtobe YouTube, take care, bye bye you too.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Good night. Let me go to jose In Braintree. Jose,
how are you, sir?
Speaker 4 (25:54):
I'm doing pretty well. Oh Dan, I got I gotta
tell you.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
I live in the town a brainch where they test
the property test or increase.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (26:03):
The voters did that just to keep the jobs for
like schools and like the.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
Just in general, the public works.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
I don't have a problem, pain.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Can you hear me?
Speaker 2 (26:18):
I can hear you. Very fine, very well, you go
right ahead. I'm just go ahead.
Speaker 6 (26:22):
And so just just in the year this this year,
my property tax went up three hundred dollars a quarter.
So it okay, that being said, is like your first
college said, where's these taxes going? Like as soon as
the dollars exchange your tax on it with the receiver
(26:45):
and the person paying. So it's it's quite upsetting. Like
I don't care what what what party you with, Republican
or Democrat. We're tired of this. We're tired of this
massive it's it's ridiculous. Like wherever you turn, you.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Sound like, Jose, you sound like a young guy to me.
I don't know how old you are, but when when
you're how much twenty five?
Speaker 4 (27:13):
You said, thirty five, thirty five?
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Okay, well you're you're a young guy. You're half my age.
When I was your age. Back many years ago, Massachusetts
was called Taxachusetts because they just had these insane policies
and they tax more now than they ever did, and
they can. They want to go up on everything. They're
going to have pretty soon. Cameras on roads, so if
(27:38):
you make a turn, you know, you go through a
red light or through a yellow light, or you don't
stop or whatever, they'll have your that's a form of taxation.
I mean, obviously not technically it's taxation, but it's another
way with the government's going to get their hand in
your pocket. They think it's worth it to put the
cameras up, hire more people, to to send out tickets
(28:01):
to people, bills to people. You know, it's just going
to force people to leave Massachusetts. You know, I've lived
here my entire life too, But you get to a
point where you say, you know what, enough is enough,
No moss, no moss.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I lived here all my life, and each day I'm
closer and close to looking into a warmer state that
the taxes aren't crazy.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
Yeah, well, there's a bunch of them. Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, Texas.
There yea, and again people, you know, people have had
that choice. What do you think in all honesty, don't
tell me how much you make or anything like that.
It doesn't matter. What do you think would be a
fair amount of taxes. Let's say for every thousand dollars
that you earn, and you work, so you get up
(28:47):
every day, five days a week or whatever whatever, how
many days a week out of one thousand dollars, how
much should the government be able to take out of
your pocket, both in terms of federal, state, and local
What should it add up two d.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
I'm okay with a quarter of it, and totally I'm
okay with that.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Okay, and I think that's a reasonable figure. Because you
have property taxes. You live in brain Tree, you have
property taxes, you have state income taxes, you have federal
income taxes, and of course you also pay a lot
of taxes. Every time you go to the supermarket, there's
you know, sales tax on this or sale or you
know different you know, different sales taxes. They're gasoline taxes.
(29:28):
When you pay you know, two ninety or two ninety
five for gallon of gasoline, a good portion of that
goes to state. In federal taxes. You don't even really
most people don't even realize that you probably do. But
there's there's fairly substantial taxes by the way, both federal
and state, on every gallon of gasoline that you put
in your car so you can afford to go and
(29:50):
drive to work.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Yeah, exactly what you're saying. This is one thing I
want people to be careful with as well.
Speaker 7 (29:58):
Like if you ever pay your ex tax by cash? Yeah,
if you ever do that by cash, I believe the
person that the people that take care of the state.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
I think it's Kelly Ryan that take care of the payment.
Speaker 4 (30:16):
Uh, There's been numerous the times that.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
That I've paid.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
It's which which is my fault?
Speaker 6 (30:22):
I paid the XO tax in cash at like when
I lived in Boston at City Hall or in Brainstreet.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I do that. Never do that. You got to always
on that use a check. Okay, that's you know, that's
the safest lesson.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Let'son learned.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
He Jose, thank you so much, Thank Jose, thank you
for Have you called before? Is this your first time?
Speaker 4 (30:47):
I called?
Speaker 6 (30:48):
When when I first uh, when I was eighteen, when
I first voted. We we we had a conversation so
years ago.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Well I've only been in the year here. We're in
my eighteenth year. So I I want you to come
back more often, because eighteen years from now, Jose, I'm
probably gonna be retired.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
So I love people.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I loved your call. Get out and run for public office.
What sort of work do you do? Don't just tell
don't tell me where you work, but what type of
work do you do?
Speaker 4 (31:19):
I'm a commercial driver.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Good for you, Good for you, well, good for you.
You are the backbone. I have a friend of mine
named Steve who's a long haul truck driver, you guys,
and a fellow named sterling out in South Dakota who
drives all over the country. You guys are the backboat
of the country because there's nothing that I buy that
you guys don't transport to the stores that I go
(31:41):
to buy. So thank you for what you do. You
are the backboat of this country, my friend. Thank you, welcome.
Thanks than Jose. Good night. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty. Those are the line. Those are the only
lines that are open right now. I got coming up,
I got JJ, and I got Terry, got a little
root for you. Give me a call. We're gonna change time.
Topics of ten. Going to talk about how to get
(32:02):
better rest, how to get better sleep. We all need it.
Coming back on nights Side.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Back to the phones. You go, let me go to
JJ in Winchester. JJ. Welcome. How are I.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
Thank you well? I'm doing well. Thanks stan So. To
answer your question, I think you know me well enough
to know what I'm about to say. Zero percent income
tax zero It's the worst thing they could ever do
to the Constitution at an amendment like that. Get rid
of it. And also, you know, the people have to
(32:43):
really understand what is the proper role of government. Is
the government's jobbed the vibe for us? Well, then the
government people away from us. Too big enough to give
us everything, they're big enough to take it all away
as well.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
The government giveth and the government takes.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
That's the way I like the way you said it, though, Dan,
You've been saying it a long time, and I like it.
The government that is the smallest governs the best. I think,
I you know, maybe change it around a little bit,
but you know what I means.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
And a.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Vigilant because why should they a group of elite representatives
both themselves raises decide what should be spent on, what
the money should be spent on. No, let's all look
at what is money really being spent on? Is it
really efficient? Is it really necessary?
Speaker 2 (33:35):
You know. One of the things that you can do,
UH is you know someone will say, well, okay, JJ,
how do you raise money for police and fire and
all of that. You can have what's called the value
added tax. They do a lot of that in Europe
where were people who buy Maseraties and Lamborghinis. They get
hit with a healthy tax on top of that, you know,
(33:58):
so you know, off of the cost of the car.
And there could be you can have there's different ways
to raise money. Look, and I love what I love
JJ is the people who say people, the rich people
should pay their fair share. And they just ask them
what's their fair share?
Speaker 3 (34:18):
And I'm gonna I'm gonna petition you to get a
guest on he's he's some sound Money defense league And
basically they make they help legislators in every state, including
Massachusetts or Taxachusets to start thinking about fiscal and UH
monetary policy. They go together because if you talk about
(34:41):
supporting firemen and police and all that necessary stuff, Well
I I okay, but what's what's happening is we have
a fiat currency that loses values, so we have to
spend more money to take care of those departments, and
we don't know it's it's not efficient. We have to
we have to overhaul this whole thing.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
No, there's a lot of reform that is needed. But
I just love it when you say you have people,
you know, tax the rich, soak the rich. The next
one's going to be eat the rich.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
Yeah, and I have someone on my Facebook friend list
that it keeps saying that, but you know it's it's
not it's it's an emotional slogan. It makes them feel good,
but in reality, it doesn't. It doesn't work. It just
causes job creators, which the wealthy are right, you're not
working for someone poorer than you, right, You're working with
someone created your job and had the capital do it
(35:36):
or the investment. We're driving them away. This is a
failed state. I hate to say that about Massachusetts because
I live here, but it's a failed state when you
have to continue to soak people working people continue to
take from them, and spend, spend, spend on stuff. They
don't even know what you're spending on. We don't even know.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
We saw some of it, We saw some of the
no big contracts that out of the shelter, and that
has woken Governor Heally up. I think she's actually her
eyes have now been open to that. My favorite is
the guy that got the six million dollars no big contract,
the cab company on the Cape. It's a lot of
cab rides. For six million dollars. You could ride a
cab probably all day long in the Cape and still
(36:18):
have money left over.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Remably, shouldn't be tacked in the rights to work, shouldn't
be attacked seat. I think we need to have all
mind shift in our culture about what the role of
government should be, and then we can stop to solve
these problems. Thank you for coming this topic.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Then JJ, I should have I should have thought to
dedicate the show to you. But but send me the
information in that group. You got my email and I'll
look into it. Thank you much.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
Yeah, okay, thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Let me go to Terry down to the Cape. Terry,
welcome back. How are you. How's everything? I bet it's
cold in the Cape tonight, Terry. No beach beaches, beach
activity this weekend's no, there's.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
No swimming down here. Damn. How are you I'm doing?
Speaker 2 (37:02):
I hope you'd have it.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
A good winter.
Speaker 5 (37:05):
Yeah, it's not bad, honest. So I got a different
spin on this a little bit because I am not
an expert in state budgetary. It's too many storws for
me to think of. But one of the things that
bothers me the most is fraud and corruption. I recently
(37:29):
learned that when Governor Sheerly took her oath of office
to be governor, she inherited a three billion dollar payback
to the federal government that's required.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
It was two point one billion dollars that was incurred
under the Baker administration and.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
Now but it was three billion, but because they used
COVID money to pay unemployment benefits, correct, and they shouldn't have.
But Governor Baker, and excuse me, Governor Heally and her
team successfully negotiated that down to two point five billion
(38:21):
dollar payback over ten years. And then we have the
crisis with the Catholic Church and all of those hospitals
that went under because the Catholic Church direct restored them
to a for profit institution to run hospitals so that
(38:43):
they could make more money to pay out their nine
hundred and eighty four million dollars settlement on the sexual
abuse issues that are ongoing.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
It's amazing how all of these things have impacted internally.
You've raised some great points. Unfortunately, I got fifteen seconds left.
Speaker 5 (39:03):
In the hour, and Dan, we got that tea that
ran out under the premious administration, under that horrible storm
they weren't prepared for, and that costs billions of dollars,
and that's coming out of our pockets.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
Dan, you bet.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
You, you bet you. And it all comes down to
incompetent leadership in one form or another. Terry, I gotta
let you run. Stay warm this weekend, Okay, he in.
Speaker 5 (39:31):
Errig is it? Okay?
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Bye Dan, good night, bye bye. All right, we get back.
We're going to talk about how to get better sleep.
In the importance of sleep. I think there's going to
be an interesting hour for everyone. No politics, everybody sleeps.
We're coming back on Night Side
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