The Wall Street Journal op-ed page has a feature headlined "Four Governors on How to Cut Spending" that includes a contribution from, of all people, the Democrat who is governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick. Governor Patrick was elected in 2006, when the Massachusetts State budget proposed by Governor Romney was $24.1 billion. For 2011, the governor is proposing to spend $29.4 billion. The guy increased spending by 22% over 5 years, and now he's writing opinion pieces in the Wall Street Journal on "How to Cut Spending"? Give me a break.
In the Journal article, Governor Patrick acknowledges, "We increased our sales tax to 6.25% from 5%." If he really cut spending, why would he need to raise taxes? The article doesn't mention Mr. Patrick's most important source of planned new revenue for the state, a vast expansion of casino gambling that he has championed.
