Mass Budget and Policy Center: A Preview of the FY 2017 Budget

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A Preview of the FY 2017 Budget  

Next week the Governor will file his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017. Funding provided in our state budget can be how we improve the education we provide for our children, how we maintain our roads, bridges, subways and other critical infrastructure, and how we protect and strengthen the economic security of all of our people. But in recent years we have struggled to make these types of effective investments. A long-term pattern has plagued Massachusetts for more than a decade: deep cuts in recessions, barely balanced budgets in the best of times, and chronic structural budget gaps. Each of our last three Governors has taken office facing substantial budget gaps. And each has left office with substantial budget gaps. Why?

The data provides a very clear answer: the state cut taxes by over $3 billion between 1998 and 2002 and has never been able fully to close the budget gap created by those tax cuts. The majority of the gap has been closed by annual budget cuts that have compounded over time: since FY 2001, unrestricted local aid has been cut by 43 percent, funding for higher education has been cut by 19 percent, support for environment and recreation accounts is down 28 percent, and there have been similar cuts throughout much of state government.

MassBudget's A Preview of the FY 2017 Budget provides an overview of both the specific challenges facing the Commonwealth this year and troubling longer-term trends. We see that tax cuts that are reducing revenue by over $3 billion a year have undermined our capacity to make the investments in our people and communities that could make our economy more productive and our Commonwealth an even better place in which to live, work, and raise a family.

To read the full Preview, click HERE.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square,Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108