THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 19, 2019 Page 13 ~ Op-Ed ~ Why the Fair Share Amendment We have a crumbling transis good for Massachusetts By Jason Lewis M assachusetts is a great place to live, work and raise a family. We are rightly proud of our state’s reputation as a national and international educational, scientifi c and economic leader. However, our Commonwealth also faces tremendous unmet needs that are hurting our families and communities and putting our economic future at risk. According to the 2015 bipartisan Foundation Budget Review Commission, our public schools are underfunded by $1-2 billion, which is harming our ability to provide every student with the educational opportunities that they deserve. Inadequate state funding for our public colleges and universities has led to large increases in tuition and fees, and the average student debt load has more than doubled since 2004. For our youngest learners, shortfalls in state funding for early education mean that we have 51,000 young children living in poverty who are unable to access preschool. portation system that needs an investment of more than $8 billion just to bring roads, highways and the MBTA into a state of good repair. And we would need to invest another $9.5 billion to complete all necessary bridge repairs. The challenges we are facing are immense, and in the context of our current budget capacity, they can sometimes feel insurmountable. So how can we fund these critical unmet needs? Working families are tapped out with the high costs of housing, healthcare, transportation, childcare and other expenses. They are barely getting by, often working multiple jobs and living paycheck to paycheck. Although they would greatly benefit from investments in education and transportation, they cannot aff ord to pay higher taxes to fund these investments. This is why I have fi led legislation to revive the Fair Share Amendment, which would impose a four-percent surtax on households earning more than $1 million a year and dedicate the estimated $2 billion in new revenue to support education and transportation in the Commonwealth. These wealthy households can aff ord to pay slightly higher taxes to support the critical investments that we need. Furthermore, under our current upside-down tax system, the wealthiest households in Massachusetts actually pay a lower share of their income in state and local taxes than do the poorest households. This is the exact opposite of a fair and progressive tax system. This proposal is exactly the same as the citizens’ initiative that previously garnered strong support from the public and legislators. In 2015, the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition launched a campaign for the Fair Share Amendment by collecting more than 157,000 signatures from Massachusetts voters. In May 2016 and again in June 2017, the state legislature voted overwhelmingly to advance the Fair Share AmendMASSACHUSETTS | SEE PAGE 15 City of Malden Massachusetts Police Department RABIES CLINIC CITY OF MALDEN Malden Annual Rabies Vaccination at The Central Fire Station Salem Street, Malden, MA Rabies Vaccination Day: Saturday, May 11, 2019 Rabies Vaccination Day: Saturday, May 11, 2019 9 am - 11 am Price - $10.00 per shot All Dogs Must Be Leashed All Cats Must Be In Carrier Veterinary Services Provided by ALL CREATURES CLINIC, SALEM MA Sponsored by Malden Police Animal Control For Information Call (781) 397-7171 ext. 1302 NON-RESIDENTS WELCOME WE WORK FOR YOU! * Have your car repaired by * An I-CAR GOLD CLASS SHOP for 1605 North Shore Road, Revere * 781-284-1200 Visit us at: www.AtlasAutobody.com or call (781) 284-1200 to schedule your appointment today!
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