The libertarian Mercatus Center says that Massachusetts ranks 46th in "freedom," thanks to such oppressive measures as motorcycle helmet laws and high cigarette taxes, but it doesn't exactly buy into the "Taxachusetts" slur: "Tax rates remain about average, and the government payroll is remarkably small."
So what's so bad about the Bay State? "The biggest fiscal problem for Massachusetts is debt, which equals more than a quarter of personal income."
Hmm. If the state's debt is our biggest problem and our tax rates aren't unusually high, why not raise taxes (perhaps on gasoline) to help retire our debt? That's unthinkable for a libertarian, so Mercatus has an alternative solution: "Reduce state grants to local school districts to encourage better use of funds. Use savings to retire state debt."
Of course, state aid to local school districts is targeted to poorer cities that don't have much of a tax base, so Mercatus is essentially saying we should reduce the state debt by firing teachers in Lawrence and Springfield.
Why not say that any school district that depends on money from the state must lower its legal dropout age to 12? Think of all the savings — and freedom! — to be gained!
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