Massachusetts

Taxes

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

What do you do to be involved in the community?

I’m part of a few different communities, but as for the town itself, I mainly vote and pay taxes—lots of taxes.

In fact, I just voted to increase my own taxes to help fund the schools and other municipal services. In Massachusetts, we call that “a Proposition Two and a Half Override.” I have no idea why.

We’ll find out tonight if the override passed.

My feeling is that even though my kids are done with the schools, I want current students to have what they need. But these tax increases are very tough on elderly people with fixed incomes. I see both sides.

Masshole here

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I think I’ll stay in Massachusetts. It’s such a boring answer, but with the world the way it is, I really wouldn’t want to risk any other state or country. The long cold winters are a big problem for me, but you can always jump on a plane to someplace warm.

Top 5 things about Massachusetts:

We have many beaches — from Salisbury to Westport, plus Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

We have mountains — the Berkshires are a magical region loaded with world class cultural organizations like Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow

We have Boston — it ain’t NYC, but it’s a real city with an international airport and several wonderful art museums

Most of the people I love and care about live here.

Politics: we were the first state to legalize same sex marriage and pass universal healthcare. We guarantee women’s reproductive freedom and have restrictive gun laws (although loopholes still exist). Trump lost every single Massachusetts county in the 2020 election.

People call us “Massholes,” but that’s just because they don’t know how to fuckin’ drive.