(Massachusetts voters have a fantastic choice for State Auditor thanks to Nat's run. The public interest (not to mention our pocketbooks) will be well-served by taking advantage of his commitment to a just, sustainable Commonwealth. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
Welcome! I'm Nat Fortune, and I'm the Massachusetts Green- Rainbow Party candidate for state auditor. I teach physics and environmental science and policy at Smith College in Northampton, and I'm chair of the school committee for my town of Whately. I've been on the committee for the past 7 years. My wife Joyce serves on the town select board, and our two children, having graduated from Whately Elementary, now attend Frontier Regional High School.
I understand how hard it is for our towns to pay for the schools and services we need and deserve. I want ensure that we have a government worth paying for, at a price we can afford to pay.
So why auditor?
Because the state auditor's job is to make sure that you are getting your money's worth from your taxes, and that those taxes are being spent where they're needed most. The state auditor's job is to be your fiscal watchdog.
I think it's time we have a watchdog that barks. |
| Adjusted for inflation, state aid to elementary and secondary education has been cut by 40% over the last 10 years, 30% in the last 4. Those cuts have occurred during Republican and Democratic administrations alike. Support for higher ed is among the worst in the country. Unfunded mandates continue, and local aid to cities and towns continues to fall.
At the same time, our government has been lowering the corporate income tax and unearned income tax and raising regressive sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes and fees. There seems to be no end of new ways to try and get money from people who don't have it, while granting new breaks to those who do. The end result is it is actually harder to raise the revenue we need, and harder for most of us to provide it.
Our government gives out hundreds of millions of dollars for job creation, but never checks to see if the jobs were actually created, never asks for the money back if they aren't, and never asks if that money would be better spent rehiring laid off teachers, librarians, firefighters, social service workers, and police.
Our government has borrowed billions to pay for the Big Dig and related projects, and promised to use future tolls and taxes to cover the cost of borrowing instead of operations, so we're actually borrowing money to pay for current salaries.
Our government gives away more than a billion dollars in special passes to some of the most profitable industries in the state, including drug makers, movies, and mutual funds. These are taxes we choose not to collect from favored businesses with inside connections on Beacon Hill but do collect from every other business, maybe even yours! That's over a billion dollars a year we don't have for our schools, libraries, parks, public safety, or lowering regressive taxes.
Your state auditor should be asking if these special deals really represent the best use of your tax money and state revenues.
Your state auditor should be asking if we are really raising tax revenue in the fairest and most efficent manner.
Your state auditor should ask if we would be better off redirecting that spending to rebuilding our cities, towns and schools.
I will.
So, to paraphrase the Governor, why hire me? Look, I know you don't have to be a rocket scientist to be state auditor - our current auditor, retiring after 24 years, started out as a professional boxer, then a state legislator - but I think it couldn't hurt! I'm analytical, thorough, and tenacious, and I love data. I've used audits to reduce energy use in our school by more than 30% and received an all-state award for my analysis of state and local contributions to school funding.
Most importantly,as a Green, I am independent of the parties, lobbyists and insiders running Beacon Hill. I am the only candidate who refuses contributions from lobbyists, and as your state auditor, I will answer only to you.
In conclusion, I want to help ensure we have schools and services worth paying for, at a price we can afford to pay. This November 2nd, please cast your vote for me, Nat Fortune, for State Auditor. |
