Two very good talking points from the Patrick Campaign as reported by Blue Massachusetts Group to counter those who claim Patrick has “done nothing.” Use them when you talk politics to your friends.
1. According to The Federal Reserve Bank of
2. All three major credit rating agencies have given
Moody's cites as the first credit strength of the Commonwealth, "effective management during strained economic times, with a willingness and ability to promptly identify and close gaps through use of both new revenues and spending reductions."
Fitch's report says, "Massachusetts' 'AA' rating reflects considerable economic resources and a record of prudent financial management...the rating outlook is stable based on the expectation that the Commonwealth will continue to address economic and revenue weakening in a manner consistent with its demonstrated sound financial practices."
Standard & Poors notes the Governor's "strong and conservative budget management practices, with swift action to restore balance after identifying revenue shortfalls in the past year." The Commonwealth's stable outlook reflects Standard & Poor's view of the "Commonwealth's proactive approach to managing budget volatility in the past year. Revenue adjustments have been frequent and gap-closing actions have been swift to restore balance."
As pointed out by Blue Massachusetts Group, this contrasts with the performance of Small Government Advocate and often-mentioned Presidential caliber Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s performance.
Moody's Investors Service, one of the nation's premier credit-rating agencies, has a message for the governor and the state: What you've been doing won't work much longer. Stop putting off the hard choices or trouble will ensue.
Moody's cited the state's reliance on one-time solutions and empty reserves in its decision, days before Pawlenty's [final State of the State] speech, to downgrade the state's outlook to negative.
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