BOSTON -- Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who campaigned for president last year on his managerial and budget-balancing ability, Thursday slashed almost a half-billion dollars in state spending in a move that brought outcries from the poor and elderly.
Hours later, the Legislature enacted a temporary 15 percent increase in the state income tax, giving Massachusetts the highest tax rate in all 50 states. Dukakis was expected to sign the measure.
The budget cuts, for the 1990 fiscal year which began July 1, will eliminate more than 3,000 state jobs and likely generate mass layoffs in local governments dependent on state funds.
'I am today doing the worst thing I have ever had to do in my political life,' Dukakis said in signing the spending package. The total represents $491 million less than the budget sent him by the Legislature June 30.
The cuts and the 18-month, $740 million tax hike -- to pay for fiscal 1989's debts and unpaid Medicaid bills dating back to 1985 - climaxed a year-long feud with the Democratically-controlled Legislature over the state's growing fiscal crisis.
State officials have blamed the mess, which began to emerge during the governor's unsuccessful race against George Bush, on a combination of the nation's economic slowdown and changes in federal tax laws, which put a big dent in tax revenues in many states. But critics blamed the crisis simply on overspending.
Dukakis had insisted even more taxes were needed to maintain the state's reputation for compassion. But he conceded that was a lost battle and ordered a series of cuts in state aid to cities and towns, higher education and a range of social services from mental health to AIDS research and education.
The $210 million cut in state aid to municipalities was expected to trigger massive layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police officers in the 351 cities and towns that depend on the state for in some instances up to 55 percent of their own budgets.
Also eliminated were cost-of-living increases for Aid to Families with Dependent Children, general relief and state retirees. And administration officials estimated more than 3,000 state employees will lose their jobs by Oct. 1.
'The first $250 million hits bone and will cause real pain,' Dukakis said in a news conference broadcast live on Boston television and attended by hundreds of state employees. 'The balance hits raw nerve and will be devastating to people and to communities.'
Reaction was swift and sharp, with advocates for education, human services and state communities predicting 'disaster,' 'outrage,' and a crippling of vital services.
Dukakis, who conceded the Legislature is likely to override a number of vetoes, particularly local aid, shielded $241 million in cuts by using a controversial 'conditional' veto that precludes legislative oversight.
Dukakis, who has been under constant fire since his return from the presidential campaign, accepted much of the blame for raising taxes and slashing services by failing to get his message to angry Massachusetts residents.
But he also lashed out at 'talkmasters and columnists' he said helped feed an atmosphere of 'miscalculatuions and mistakes and misinformation.'
'I know there will always be those who can sell more papers or boost their ratings by beating up on public servants,' said Dukakis, bristling at media characterizations of state employees as 'hacks.'
The three-term governor, who has sunk to his lowest ratings in popularity polls in the face of an incessant barrage of criticism from anti-tax advocates on radio and in newspapers, expressed 'sadness, anger and frustration' and warned Massachusetts residents the time has come to for a re-evaluation.
'Either we use this unhappy moment to turn in a new and better direction or we leave it to those who come after us to suffer from our mistakes -- and let the vulnerable suffer among us in ways for which they can and never will be compensated -- or even receive an explanation.'
