Gov. Charlie Baker leaves workplace after eight years happy with his accomplishments however conscious that there’s nonetheless work to be accomplished for Bay State residents.
“The tax cuts, certainly, given how much money the state has and the financial position the Commonwealth is in,” Baker stated of what was left on the desk.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ 72nd governor will finish his second and last time period within the nook workplace with one final full day Wednesday, after which he’ll stroll out of the State House as its chief government for the final time.
Ahead of that, he agreed to take a seat with the Herald for one among his last interviews.
When Baker started his first time period, he stated Tuesday in his workplace, his administration was confronted with a $1 billion deficit and an getting old state infrastructure that had lengthy been promised enchancment which was by no means delivered.
He leaves workplace with a $5 billion annual surplus, and that’s even after giving $3 billion again to taxpayers and stowing away $7 billion within the state’s wet day fund. Baker stated his hope with the tax cuts, proposed this January at an about $700 million price ticket however shelved after state legislation required the Treasury ship billions again to overtaxed residents, was to assist those that are most in want of help.
“Some of it was about our competitive positions, but some of it was also about being more aggressive about taxing lower income people than the federal government is, about giving a circuit breaker increase to seniors who have to pay property taxes that are going up because the value of their homes is going up, about giving an increase in the dependent care deduction because a lot of people are dealing with a lot of issues around those kind of things with their families,” he stated.
Baker stated that even considering again to his time in state authorities beneath former Gov. Bill Weld nobody might have ever imagined that the commonwealth’s financial place could be nearly as good because it presently is.
“The current condition of the commonwealth, financially, is beyond anything anybody could ever have reasonably anticipated and, because of that, I think it is really important that the state send some of that largess back to the people,” he stated.
Baker stated he was happy with the infrastructure work his administration had managed, a activity for which he usually remarks he’ll get no credit score regardless of the plain want for the efforts.
His administration delivered excessive pace web entry to elements of Western Massachusetts which had been ravenous for it, for instance, a venture that took most of his two phrases, he stated.
“But for them it was a game changer,” he stated. “We put 20,000 poles in Western Mass, we put in thousands of miles of cable, I mean, it was an enormous undertaking. But when you listen to the people who got the service, finally, after 20 years of waiting for it in some cases, it just changes their lives.”
Baker additionally listed work on the opioid epidemic and he and his Lt. Governor’s work with the 351 cities and cities amongst his chief successes.
“We got a lot of things accomplished that have been on the radar forever and just never happened,” he stated.
Baker acknowledged that the MBTA faces difficulties, however maintained once more — as he has previously — that cash isn’t the difficulty. He stated the most important hurdle forward of the state’s transportation system, as famous by the Federal Transit Administration, is hiring.
“I think the MBTAs biggest problem right now is headcount,” he stated.
Following a reasonably poor efficiency among the many state get together and a traditionally poor efficiency throughout midterm elections for the GOP nationally, Baker appeared extra optimistic than grim about the way forward for Republican politics.
“Political parties go through ups and downs, and they go through turmoil, and generally speaking its voters who send them a message,” he stated.
Baker will transfer on to steer the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the place he stated he’ll proceed the work he’s accomplished in workplace assist defend weak populations.
“One of the things that interested me in this very difficult and complicated job was the opportunity to try and make things better for student athletes,” he stated. “These are kids, right, and we have to be in the business of doing what we need to do to look out for them, period.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”