Author Archives: billmanzi

Government as a Business- Schnurer Part Two

Posted on June 6, 2013 by billmanzi

Eric Schnurer has posted the second installment of his series on government, with a focus on governments “competing like business.” I talked about Schnurer’s first piece on this blog last week. Let us look at the new installment Schnurer starts … Continue reading →

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Chapter 90 Funding: New Tug of War

Posted on June 1, 2013 by billmanzi

Yesterday I posted about the budget conference currently under way in Boston between the House and Senate, and listed some of the local aid numbers for Methuen. I mentioned that there was still some controversy over where we would end … Continue reading →

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Methuen Local Aid Allocations

Posted on May 31, 2013 by billmanzi

Both the Massachusetts House and Senate have passed budgets, with the process of reconciling those documents in the hands of a conference committee. There are some slight differences in the documents, with the below listing the different allocations for local … Continue reading →

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Podcast: Steve Kerrigan, Candidate for Lt. Governor

Posted on May 29, 2013 by billmanzi

I was very fortunate to have on the Manzi in the Morning Radio Program (980 am WCAP every Wednesday at 10:00 am)Steve Kerrigan, who is a candidate for Lt. Governor. Steve was the first announced candidate for that office, and … Continue reading →

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Detropia- PBS Looks at Detroit

Posted on May 27, 2013 by billmanzi

A PBS film on Detroit, and what is happening to it, and how it is impacting some of its people, tonight at 10:00 p.m. on PBS. Worth a look. http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf Watch Coming to Independent Lens: Sundance Award Winner Detropia on … Continue reading →

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Methuen Memorial Day Service

Posted on May 27, 2013 by billmanzi

Today’s Methuen Memorial Day Service. Apologies for the poor audio, as the wind was blowing hard and made it difficult. Thanks to the American Legion, the VFW, and all that participated in today’s ceremony.

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Enforce No Budget No Pay

Posted on May 26, 2013 by billmanzi

There have been so many budget battles in Washington over the past few years that the public has by and large tuned them out. From my perspective the Republicans, even when they may have had a solid point or two, … Continue reading →

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Manzi in the Morning- Michael Widmer Interview

Posted on May 22, 2013 by billmanzi

Michael Widmer came on the Manzi in the Morning Program to talk about Transportation Finance, the State budget, unfunded OPEB liabilities, and reform in transportation. Widmer is the President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, and he is, in my view, … Continue reading →

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Governor Patrick Restores Some Cuts

Posted on May 21, 2013 by billmanzi

Governor Patrick, after cutting the current budget due to lower than expected tax revenues, is restoring $20.8 million of the $225 million cut as tax revenue begins to rebound. The latest figures show tax revenues $500 million or so above … Continue reading →

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Run Government as a Business????

Posted on May 19, 2013 by billmanzi

The Atlantic ran a pretty good story on government called, “Government Should Run Like a Business—but Not in the Way You Think.” Eric Schnurer has written a piece that provokes some thought, and got quite a bit of commentary from … Continue reading →

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